Birdwatching in Belgium

Should you happen to visit Belgium you maybe pleasantly surprised to find excellent birding in many places (more than 400 bird species recorded). The costal areas during the winter attract thousand of Pink-footed and Greater White-fronted Geese, Raptors and many other birds. For waders and gulls the harbours and moles can offer great birding, and to the east the great forests of the Ardennes offer many forest birds like Grey-headed Woodpecker etc. It’s also the breeding ground for Tengmalm’s Owl. Contact one of the many local Birdingpals and they will be happy to help you.

Local Birdingpal Contacts

Local Birdwatchers Using the Birdingpal resources you must agree to the following: If you contact a local Birdingpal and make arrangement to go birding, you should note it is common courtesy to make sure you show up for the appointment. If for any reason you are unable to do this, the least you must do is contacting the local Pal right away. Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club.
Shortcuts to Local Pals: Antwerp Brabant Brussels Flanders Hainaut Limburg Namur
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		C	Snyers	Antwerp	Anytime	Dutch/English Spanish
		W	Heylen	Herenthout, Antwerp	Anytime	Dutch/English French
		F	Collet	Kapellen, Antwerp	Anytime	Dutch/French English/Spanish German
		I have been birdwatching for 10 years, mostly in my own neighbourhood and at known sites in Belgium and the Netherlands. The area where I live is not a hot spot for specialties, but it is centrally located between Zeeland (province of the Netherlands with some excellent birding areas), the Belgian coast and the Ardennes region. Of international interest: I know several places where I have observed hard-to-find species like Tengmalm's Owl, Nutcracker, Great Horned Owl, Dipper, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Common Quail, Spotted Crake, Pink-footed Goose, ... Best period to visit is probably winter (december through february) for waterfowl and shorebirds and early spring (march) for the Ardennes. A few places are also worth the visit during spring migration (Breskens) and fall migration (Belgian coast), but this is very dependent of weather and wind.
		T	de Smedt	Lier, Antwerp	Anytime
		J	de Meirsman	Mechelen, Antwerp	Anytime
		E	van Audenhove	Mol, Antwerp	Weekend
		B	Vogels	Stabroek, Antwerp	Anytime	English/French Dutch
		As a volunteer we have a big birding group in the north of Antwerp to count and monitor the bird population in a lot of different habitats. In our region are a lot of wetlands but also a large part of forests and the big dutch wetlands are also very close. Due to the different habitats the bird population is also very different like spoonbills, bearded tit, bittern to black and middle spotted woodpecker, crested tit in the forests. You can see the latest reports on our website www.antwerpennoord.be/vogelwerkgroep/waarnemingen/index.html The north of antwerp is probably one of the most diverse places in Flandres to go birding or to combine a birding trip with work or a city trip. Although I work in Brussels there are probably other volunteers to get you arond in the port of Antwerp, the forests or moorland.
		G	van den Heuvel	Westerlo, Antwerp	Anytime	English/Dutch some German/French
		M	Thibaut	Westmalle, Antwerp	Weekend	Dutch/English French, some Spanish/German
		Flanders isn't very interesting on a international scale, but some good Dutch wetlands are in reach (upto 100 kms).
		Y	Princen	Aarschot, Brabant	Weekend	Dutch/English French/Spanish German/Russian
		L	van Hellemont	Leuven, Brabant	Anytime
		A	Willemsen	Rupelstreek/Willebroek, Brabant	Anytime
		B	Nef	Wavre, Brabant	Weekend
		S	Bonmarchand	Brussels	Anytime	French/English Italian/Spanish Dutch
		D	de Groote	Oudenaarde, East Flanders	Weekend	Dutch/English
		B	Cottele	Ghent, East Flanders	Weekend
		D	Verbelen	Ghent, East Flanders	Anytime	Dutch/French English
		J	Van den Berghe	Ghent, East Flanders	Anytime	Dutch/Enlish French
		I bird all around Belgium.
		S	Feys	Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen	Anytime	Dutch/English French
		P	Van den Bossche	Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen	Weekend	Dutch/Englisch French/Spanish
		Watch birds national (Belgium) as international (Europe, Latin America, India).
		F	Ghyselen	De Pinte, Oost Vlaanderen	Anytime	English/French Dutch
		W	Faveyts	Galmaarden, Oost-Vlaanderen	Weekend
		P	van Daele	Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen	Anytime
		H	Matheve	Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen	Weekend	Dutch/English French
		F	Willemyns	Brugge, West-Flanders	Anytime	Dutch/English French
		M	Demeulemeester	Kortrijk, West Flanders	Anytime
		B	de Langhe	Oostende, West-Vlaanderen	Weekend
		J	Demey	Oostende, West-Vlaanderen	Weekend
		F	Ellis	Nalinnes (Southern Belgium), Hainaut	Anytime	French/English
		K	Demyer	Genk, Limburg	Weekend	Dutch/English French/German Spanish
		M	Ittelet	Couvin-Philippeville, Namur	Anytime
Professional Guides If you contact a professional Birdingpal guide you must be prepared to pay a fee for guiding services.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		S	Boddington	Brussels	Anytime	English/French Dutch/German Esperanto
		Growing up in the south of England, I became interested in birds at a very early age, starting with those in my parents' garden. Since then, I have lived in Yorkshire, the south of France, Germany and The Netherlands before settling in Brussels, and have birded extensively throughout most of Europe. In 1998, I birded the whole of Europe by train, visiting 20 countries in just 45 days and seeing 215 species, from Azure-winged Magpie in the Algarve to Long-tailed Skua in Lapland. An article recounting this epic journey was subsequently published in Birdwatching Magazine. I also spent a considerable amount of time in and around San Francisco, as well as birding in Texas, South Dakota, New York, New Jersey, Mexico, Costa Rica and Australia. I have taken part in two raptor migration surveys in the northern valleys of Israel, one in central Veracruz, and have spent two summers working as a bird guide in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. Information gladly provided for free but, for guided birding, please contact me.

Local Information

	Name	Description
	Birder friendly lodging	Belgium
	Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia	Belgium
	Local weather	Yahoo
	Electronic maps	Google
	Find lowest prices for field guides, books, maps etc.	BookFinder4U
	Bird check list	Printable
	Natuurpunt Schelde-Leie	Club
	Natuurpunt Noorderkempen	Club
	INBO	Nature Trusts
	Recente zeldzaamheden	Latest Sights
	Observations remarquables récentes	Latest Sights
	Birding Hotspots around the world	Sites

Last update 07/11/2011