Pictures: Teus Luijendijk

9 April 2004, Amersfoort Ut

9 April 2004, Amersfoort Ut

Once a common breeding bird, this species is nearing extinction in The Netherlands. There is still plenty of rough habitat available (like construction terrains and railroad areas), but the numbers have declined dramatically over the past 30 years. It used to be, for instance, a certain bird to encounter on the boulevard of Katwijk ZH. Though it's still more or less an icon for that place, the birds have disappeared completely a few years ago.