Having lived in the Netherlands for several years, I quite frequently get requests for information on birding over here. So I have put together a few pages on the subject, for visitors to the country. It is somewhat oriented towards birders from Britain in terms of the species highlighted, but should hopefully be of interest to visitors from any country.

Incidentally, to clarify a point of confusion for many people: Holland is not the same as the Netherlands. Holland is the largest province of the Netherlands (in fact it has been split into the provinces of North Holland and South Holland) and occupies most of the west of the country. Fortunately for careless visitors, inhabitants of the other provinces are usually very tolerant about being told they live in Holland, and you are not likely to be risking your health as you might be if you referred to Glasgow being in England!

I have also tried to indicate how the various Dutch place-names are pronounced. All pronounciations are however approximate: not a single vowel-sound in Dutch exactly matches any vowel-sound in English, and several of the consonants are different as well. And if you should want to ask your way to the Engbertsdijksvenen reserve in Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk - well, good luck to you!

Main birding areas in the Netherlands

Speciality birds of the Netherlands

Birding sites

Other information