Trips / Netherlands
At a glance
Showing 8 of 539 birds · Highlights
Where: The Wadden Coast and Lauwersmeer and The Zeeland Delta
When: October to March, at their peak in December and January
Where: The Frisian Lakes and Meadow-Bird Country and The Biesbosch and the Great Rivers
When: April and May, with the first birds back in late February
Where: The Wadden Coast and Lauwersmeer and The Biesbosch and the Great Rivers
When: Mid April to May, singing at first light
Where: The Wadden Islands and The Wadden Coast and Lauwersmeer
When: March to September, easiest on a falling tide
Where: The Zeeland Delta and Flevoland and the Oostvaardersplassen
When: April to July, from the marked edge of a breeding area
Where: The Wadden Islands and The Wadden Coast and Lauwersmeer
When: August to October and again in May, on a rising tide
Where: Flevoland and the Oostvaardersplassen and The Biesbosch and the Great Rivers
When: All year, with the best viewing from November to March
Where: The Veluwe and Limburg and the Southern Hills
When: February to April, when the calling is at its most persistent
The Dutch birding year is set by migration, not by rain. Spring fills the meadows and reedbeds with breeding birds, autumn moves hundreds of thousands of waders through the Wadden Sea, and winter brings the geese.
Spring
Meadow birds display, reedbeds fill up, and the woods are in full song from before six in the morning.
Go for Breeding birds, long daylight and the best song of the year.
Trade off School holidays and the bulb fields fill the coast, and rooms cost the most in April and May.
Typical daily average March 4 to 13 °C / 39 to 55 °F, April 7 to 17 °C / 45 to 63 °F, May 10 to 20 °C / 50 to 68 °F, June 13 to 22 °C / 55 to 72 °F
Autumn
Wader numbers build through the Wadden Sea, and the coast picks up whatever is moving south.
Go for Big counts on the tidal flats, and a real chance of a scarce migrant on the islands.
Trade off The song has stopped, so you identify birds on plumage and call instead.
Typical daily average July 13 to 22 °C / 55 to 72 °F, August 13 to 22 °C / 55 to 72 °F, September 11 to 19 °C / 52 to 66 °F, October 8 to 15 °C / 46 to 59 °F
Winter
Geese cover the grassland in six figures and diving duck gather on the IJsselmeer.
Go for The biggest concentrations of birds in the Dutch year, and the cheapest rooms.
Trade off Eight hours of daylight, a lot of grey overcast, and a wind off the North Sea with nothing to slow it down.
Typical daily average November 4 to 9 °C / 39 to 48 °F, December 2 to 7 °C / 36 to 45 °F, January 1 to 6 °C / 34 to 43 °F, February 1 to 6 °C / 34 to 43 °F
Each park name links to that park's own website.
1 day
Schiphol, the North Holland dunes or Flevoland, Schiphol
Dutch guides sell this as a product because Schiphol is a hub and the good ground is close. Half a day reaches the dunes or the polder and gets you back to the gate.
4 days
Amsterdam, the North Holland dunes, Texel
The shortest trip that reaches tidal flats. Two nights on Texel puts the roosts and the spoonbill colony within a morning. This is a Dutch weekend rather than an operator product, so plan it yourself.
8 days
Amsterdam, the Zeeland delta, the great rivers, the Veluwe, Flevoland
Winter is a different country here and the operators route it differently: the delta first for geese and diving duck, then inland.
11 days
Amsterdam, the Veluwe, Flevoland, the Wieden, Drenthe, Lauwersmeer, North Holland, Texel
The shape the one operator selling a full spring tour here actually uses, anticlockwise from Amsterdam through wood and heath to the tidal flats. Eleven days is what it takes to reach the north and still give Texel a couple of unhurried days at the end.
14 days
Amsterdam, the dunes, Zeeland, the Biesbosch, Limburg, the Veluwe, the Wieden, the north, Texel
The delta and the southern hills as well as the north, which no shorter trip manages.
Dune, saltmarsh and tidal flat, two to three hours from Amsterdam plus a ferry
Five inhabited islands sit along the top of the country, each reached by its own ferry. Texel is the easiest first visit and the others get quieter as you go east. The tide sets the day here, and high water pushes waders onto roosts you can watch from a hide.
Look for: Eurasian Spoonbill, Pied Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot
National parks: Dunes of Texel National Park, Schiermonnikoog National Park
Stops: , a shallow roadside pool on the east coast of Texel, watched from the car on the dike road. Terns and waders at close range , a reserve built for waders beside the Wagejot, with a hide over its pools and islands. Free to enter , wet grassland and brackish pools inland of the same dike road, viewed from the roadside , a valley where the sea breaks through the dunes, creating salt marsh, walked on marked paths from the car park , the undeveloped eastern third of Terschelling, salt marsh and beach plain, reached by bike or on foot , a freshwater lake with a hide, a short walk from the village on an island where visitors leave cars on the mainland , a chain of shallow lakes behind the dunes, on a marked cycle route from the village
Visitor centres: Ecomare, Texel
Also covers: De Cocksdorp Texel, de Koog, den Burg, Midsland, Oosterend, Schiermonnikoog, Terschelling, Vlieland
Also watch for: Harbour and grey seals haul out on the sandbanks and are visible from the boat trips that run from every island. Harbour seal pups arrive in June and July, grey seal pups from November into January.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
Set on the UNESCO recognised Wadden Sea island of Texel, this design hotel offers beach walks, seal watching and birdwatching alongside farm to table cuisine grown in its own backyard garden.
Birding lodge
Birding offered, charged separately
Located on the Wadden Sea UNESCO site of Texel island, this farm to table gastro hotel pairs island walks and birdwatching with organic and foraged ingredients from Dutch island farming.
Birding lodge
Birding offered, charged separately
A dune campsite at De Koog on Texel, pitched between the beach and the village.
A hotel on Terschelling run as a sustainable house, with the island's dunes and the Wadden Sea on either side.
A dune campsite on Vlieland, a short walk from the beach and the island's dune valleys.
A villa park at De Koog on Texel, with walking and cycling into De Slufter and along the salt marshes and dunes.
Beach apartments on Schiermonnikoog beside the national park, with the dunes and the Wadden Sea around them.
A holiday park on Vlieland, close to the dunes and the beach on an island in the Wadden Sea.
Beach apartments at West-Terschelling, a walk from the village and beside the Noordsvaarder dune reserve.
A sustainable hotel villa near Den Burg on Texel, with a natural swimming pond and the island's reserves close by.
Dedicated wellness hotel with comprehensive spa and treatment offerings; located in Midsland
Apartments on Vlieland, a base for walking the island's dunes and the Wadden shore.
Holiday houses and hotel rooms at Oosterend, at the quiet eastern end of Terschelling near the dunes and the beach.
Aparthotel offering spacious self-catering accommodation with hotel services; located in West-Terschelling
A hotel by the harbour at West-Terschelling, with the island's dunes, salt marshes and Wadden shore beyond.
Freshwater lake, reedbed and open coast, two hours from Amsterdam
Lauwersmeer was cut off from the sea in 1969 and became a national park of reed, open water and rough grazing. The reedbed singers are on territory from the middle of April, and the surrounding coast is where the mudflat birds go once the tide covers the flats.
Look for: Bluethroat, Montagu's Harrier, Common Crane, Eurasian Spoonbill
Parks and reserves: Lauwersmeer National Park, Waddenzee (Natura 2000 site and World Heritage)
Stops: , two viewpoints over mud and shallow water at the south end of Lauwersmeer, free and open. The best wader watching in the north , a free hide over grazed marsh on the Groningen side of Lauwersmeer, a short walk from the parking , wet grassland inside the Wadden dike near Lauwersoog, viewed from the road and the dike , outer salt marsh west of Holwerd, walked out along the dike. A high tide roost when the flats cover
Also covers: Harlingen, Lauwersoog
Also watch for: Konik horses and Highland cattle graze the reserve and keep the grassland open, and roe deer are regular at the edges. Otter has returned to the waterways and is occasionally seen at first light.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A campsite and B&B tucked behind the sea dike at Harlingen, five hundred metres from the beach. Walk up the dike and the Wadden Sea is in front of you, which is the whole reason to stay here.
Inside Waddenzee
A holiday village inside Lauwersmeer National Park with water on three sides, so the reserve starts at the door and the Wadden coast is ten minutes away.
Inside Lauwersmeer National Park
Heath, bog and old woodland, two hours from Amsterdam
The two northern provinces hold the country's driest heath and its oldest peat bog at Dwingelderveld. Old pine and oak carry the woodpeckers, the open heath churrs after dusk from late May, and the heather is at its best from late July into September.
Look for: Black Woodpecker, Woodlark, European Nightjar, Red-backed Shrike
National parks: Drentsche Aa National Park, Dwingelderveld National Park, Drents-Friese Wold National Park
Stops: , a raised bog straddling Friesland and Drenthe with a viewing tower, free to enter. The cranes that recolonised the Netherlands nest here , a national park of wet heath and pools with marked walks from several car parks. Nightjar in June, Black Woodpecker in the pines , a flooded peat basin south of Groningen with cycle paths and hides, free and open. Bittern and marsh harrier , lake edge and reedbed with a hide, reached from the village of Zuidlaren
Also covers: Assen, Dwingeloo
Also watch for: Red deer, badger and roe deer live across the heath and old woodland, and adders bask on the sandy tracks at Dwingelderveld from April to September. Sheep flocks still graze the heather by arrangement.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
Independently owned hotel within Best Western network; each property reflects local character and ownership; located in Groningen
Upper-midscale Best Western with enhanced amenities and services; independently owned with local character; located in Groningen
A campsite at Dwingeloo in Drenthe, close to the heath and woodland of the Dwingelderveld.
A hotel in the centre of Assen with its own restaurant, within easy reach of the Drenthe heaths.
A hotel on the market squares in the centre of Groningen, a base for the Wadden coast and the Drenthe reserves.
Wet grassland and shallow lakes, ninety minutes from Amsterdam
Friesland holds the largest share of the country's breeding Black-tailed Godwit, a bird the Netherlands carries much of the world population of. The wet meadows are managed for them, and April and May are when the display flights are constant.
Look for: Black-tailed Godwit, Northern Lapwing, Ruff, Eurasian Oystercatcher
National park: De Alde Feanen National Park
Stops: , two small reserves near Wommels managed specifically for breeding godwit and Ruff, with a viewpoint on each , wet grassland on the IJsselmeer shore south of Workum, viewed from the dike , shallow shore and reed on the same coast, with a hide reached on foot , a national park of fen, reed and open water, reached by boat or from the visitor centre at Earnewald
Also covers: Akkrum, Leeuwarden
Also watch for: Otter has recovered across the Frisian waterways since reintroduction, and brown hares box in the open fields through March and April. Roe deer work the ditches between the wet meadows.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A hotel in the centre of Leeuwarden two minutes from the station, a base for the Frisian meadow-bird country.
A recently renovated hotel near the centre of Leeuwarden with large rooms and free parking, which matters when you are leaving for the meadows before breakfast.
A waterside holiday park at Akkrum, in the heart of the Frisian lakes.
Lowland peat marsh and dry heath ridge, ninety minutes from Amsterdam
Northwest Overijssel holds the largest lowland peat marsh in northwest Europe, cut through by canals and reached by boat from Giethoorn or Ossenzijl. Reed and open water carry the marsh birds from mid April. An hour east the land rises into the Salland ridge, dry heath and pine, which holds the last Black Grouse in the Netherlands on a lek that is watched rather than approached.
Look for: Purple Heron, Savi's Warbler, Bearded Reedling, Black Tern, Common Crane, Western Marsh Harrier, Black Grouse, European Nightjar
National parks: Weerribben-Wieden National Park, Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park
Stops: , a national park of peat cuttings, reed and open water near Ossenzijl, with marked walks and canoe routes , the lake and reedbed half of the same park, entered near Giethoorn. Purple Heron and Black Tern over the water , a heath ridge national park near Nijverdal, with a marked viewpoint for the last Dutch Black Grouse
Also watch for: Otter was reintroduced to the Weerribben in 2002 and is now resident across the reserve, most often seen from a boat at first light. The Salland heath carries roe deer and adder, and the heather is at its best in August.
Freshwater sea and dyke, one hour from Amsterdam
The Zuiderzee became a freshwater lake when the Afsluitdijk closed in 1932, and it is now the country's largest body of fresh water. Winter brings diving duck in numbers, and the dyke itself is a straight thirty two kilometre watchpoint.
Look for: Smew, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Tern
Parks and reserves: IJsselmeer (Natura 2000 site), Markermeer and IJmeer (Natura 2000 site)
Stops: , the eastern end of the Afsluitdijk, where the outflow draws diving duck and gulls. Parking and a walkway , the western sluices of the same dike, and a passage watchpoint in autumn , a group of islands built for wildlife in the Markermeer, reached by a seasonal ferry from Lelystad. Hides and a lookout tower
Also covers: Bovenkarspel, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Medemblik
Also watch for: The lake carries a large eel population and the fish passage at the Afsluitdijk was built for it. Harbour porpoise turn up on the seaward side of the dyke, most often in winter.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A holiday park on the IJsselmeer shore at Enkhuizen with open water in front of it and the old harbour town a walk away.
Inside IJsselmeer
A holiday park at Bovenkarspel looking out over reclaimed polder and the Markermeer, in the old land north of Hoorn.
Inside Markermeer and IJmeer
A waterside holiday park at Medemblik where the gardens face the water and many have their own jetty, on the quiet north corner of the IJsselmeer.
Inside IJsselmeer
A hundred and fifty-eight rooms beside the A7 at Hoorn, with a pool and sauna on the fourteenth floor looking out over the Markermeer.
Reclaimed polder, reedbed and new islands, forty minutes from Amsterdam
Oostvaardersplassen grew on land drained in 1968 and became one of the most watched wetlands in Europe. White-tailed Eagle first bred here in 2006. Marker Wadden, the built archipelago a short boat ride north, adds bare sand and shell for terns and waders.
Look for: White-tailed Eagle, Great Egret, Eurasian Bittern, Bearded Reedling
Parks and reserves: Nieuw Land National Park, Veluwerandmeren (Natura 2000 site)
Stops: , the two marked lookouts over the Oostvaardersplassen marsh, free and reached on foot from the car parks , spoonbill and heron ground on the Almere side, with a visitor centre and hides , the northeast corner of the polder, a migration watchpoint over open farmland
Visitor centres: Bezoekerscentrum Oostvaardersplassen
Also covers: Biddinghuizen, Zeewolde
Also watch for: Konik horses, red deer and Heck cattle graze the reserve as large herbivores, which is what keeps the reedbed and grassland in balance. The red deer rut runs through September and October.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A naturist campsite in the woods at Zeewolde, in Flevoland between the Veluwerandmeren and the Oostvaardersplassen.
A waterside park on the Veluwemeer with a marina and a beach, and the Harderbos woods to walk into from the edge of the site.
Inside Veluwerandmeren
A campsite, holiday park and marina tucked behind the reed fringe of the Veluwemeer at Biddinghuizen, directly across the water from Harderwijk.
Inside Veluwerandmeren
A bungalow park and campsite on the Veluwemeer at Zeewolde, half an hour by road from the Oostvaardersplassen.
Inside Veluwerandmeren
Heath, drift sand and pine and oak forest, one hour from Amsterdam
The largest area of continuous woodland and heath in the country, and the easiest place to work through the woodpeckers. Middle Spotted Woodpecker has spread here since the 1990s. Early mornings from April are when the forest is loudest.
Look for: Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Woodlark, Common Redstart
National parks: Hoge Veluwe National Park, Veluwezoom National Park
Stops: , unfenced old woodland and heath between Arnhem and Apeldoorn, quiet and free to walk , heath and drift sand with marked walks from the car park on the Ede road. Woodlark and nightjar , a national park with sit-in wildlife hides on the heath, and the one park here that charges admission at the gate , the largest area of drift sand in western Europe, walked from the Kootwijk car park
Also covers: Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Beekbergen, Elspeet, Garderen, Hoenderloo, Lunteren, Oosterbeek, Otterlo, Putten
Also watch for: Red deer, wild boar, roe deer and mouflon all live here, and the reserve runs marked wildlife viewing points for them. The red deer rut in September and October is the loudest time of the year.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A wellness hotel in the woods at Garderen, in the middle of the Veluwe.
A woodland campsite at Hoenderloo, inside the Veluwe and beside the Hoge Veluwe National Park.
A family hotel standing in the Speulderbos, among the oldest woodland on the Veluwe.
A hotel in Apeldoorn beside the grounds of Paleis Het Loo, at the eastern edge of the Veluwe.
A holiday park in the Gelderland woods at Ede, on the southwestern Veluwe.
Adults-only boutique 450m from Hoge Veluwe National Park entrance; indoor pool, Finnish sauna and wellness in Otterlo countryside
A hotel in the Bilderberg woods at Oosterbeek, on the Veluwe edge near Arnhem.
A hotel and conference house at Lunteren, standing in woodland on the southern Veluwe.
A hotel on the national sports centre grounds in the Veluwe woods, at the edge of Arnhem.
A holiday park in the woods at Beekbergen, on the Veluwe south of Apeldoorn.
A hotel on the Mennorode estate at Elspeet, standing in the woods and heath of the central Veluwe.
A wooded holiday park at Beekbergen on the Veluwe, near Apeldoorn.
A holiday park in the woods at Ede on the Veluwe, trading now as Resort Bosvallei.
A hotel on the Veluwe edge at Arnhem, with the woods and the national parks to the north.
A nature hotel at Epe on the Veluwe, run as a base for walking and cycling the woods and heath around it.
A small boutique hotel in an art nouveau villa in Apeldoorn, between the city and the Veluwe woods.
Dune, scrub and dune lake, thirty minutes from Amsterdam
A continuous dune belt runs north from Haarlem, close enough to the city for a morning before a flight. Scrub and dune slack hold breeding warblers and Common Redstart, and the coast is a migration line for anything moving along the North Sea.
Look for: Northern Wheatear, Common Redstart, European Stonechat, Eurasian Skylark
National park: Zuid-Kennemerland National Park
Stops: , a long stone pier at the harbour mouth, walked out from the car park. The classic Dutch seawatch in a northwesterly gale , dune lakes north of Callantsoog with hides, entered for a small fee. Spoonbill colony and bittern , a bird ringing station in the dunes, open to visitors on set mornings. Migration in the hand , new dune and lagoon built on a rebuilt sea defence, with paths along the top
Also covers: Bergen aan Zee, Callantsoog, Castricum, Egmond aan den Hoef, Julianadorp, Overveen, Schoorl
Also watch for: European bison graze the Kraansvlak enclosure at Zuid-Kennemerland, one of the few free-ranging herds in western Europe, alongside fallow deer and Konik horses. Rabbits keep the dune grassland short.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A campsite and holiday park at Callantsoog, among the dunes behind the North Holland sea front.
A campsite inside the North Holland dune reserve at Bakkum, with the Castricum dunes and beach alongside.
A dune campsite at De Lakens near Overveen, inside the Zuid-Kennemerland dune belt.
A holiday park at Egmond aan den Hoef, behind the North Sea coast and the North Holland dune reserve.
A holiday park at Schoorl, beside the Schoorlse Duinen on the North Holland coast.
A family resort on the coast at Julianadorp, with the dunes and the North Sea beach alongside.
A Nivon nature friends house at Bergen aan Zee, standing inside the North Holland dune reserve.
A hotel on the Schoorl dunes a hundred metres from the beach, with rooms looking over the dunes or the polder.
Dune, wooded valley and estate, forty minutes from Amsterdam
Meijendel and the Wassenaar estates hold older, wetter dune woodland than the north, which brings a different list within reach of The Hague. Terns pass offshore all summer, and the wooded parts are worth walking slowly in May.
Look for: Sandwich Tern, Common Hoopoe, Common Redstart, Icterine Warbler
National park: Hollandse Duinen National Park
Stops: , dune valleys and water channels behind Wassenaar, free and open, with a visitor centre and marked walks , older, quieter dune between Katwijk and Wassenaar. Nightingale in May , a sandy spit at the Haringvliet mouth, walked from the Ouddorp side. Terns and waders , the dam between Goeree and Schouwen, scanned from the pull-ins for divers, grebes and sea duck in winter
Also covers: Katwijk aan Zee, Noordwijk, Rockanje, Sassenheim, Wassenaar
Also watch for: Fallow deer and roe deer are common through Meijendel and the Wassenaar estates, and foxes hunt the dune slacks in daylight. The dune ponds hold a strong amphibian list in spring.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A campsite in the dunes at Katwijk aan Zee, on the South Holland coast.
A holiday park at Noordwijk among the South Holland dunes, close to the beach.
A campsite and holiday park at Rockanje on Voorne, close to the dunes and the beach.
A campsite and holiday park at Rockanje with woodland and a fishing lake, near the Voorne dunes.
Historic heritage property with period architecture and grand character; located in Noordwijk aan zee
A hotel at Wassenaar between The Hague and the beach, close to the Meijendel dunes.
A hotel at Sassenheim between Leiden and the bulb fields, within reach of the South Holland dunes.
Tidal freshwater willow forest and river floodplain, one hour from Amsterdam
The Biesbosch is one of the last tidal freshwater wetlands in Europe, best seen from a boat among the willow. Water levels still rise and fall twice a day. East along the Rhine and Waal, reclaimed floodplain has brought herons and storks back to the river bends.
Look for: White-tailed Eagle, Purple Heron, Common Kingfisher, Great Egret
National park: De Biesbosch National Park
Stops: , quiet electric boats into the creeks of the Biesbosch, leaving from Drimmelen. The only way to see the interior , shallow water and willow scrub near Drimmelen, walked from the car park. White-tailed Eagle territory , tidal freshwater edge along the main channel, birded from the dike path , floodplain further up the Waal with wild grazing and marked walks, free and open
Also covers: Wageningen
Also watch for: Beaver was reintroduced here in 1988 and the lodges and gnawed willow are easy to find from a boat. Otter and roe deer both use the same creeks, and dusk is when the beavers move.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A hotel in Wageningen run as a training house by hospitality students, with its restaurant, bar and rooms all under one roof.
Tidal inlet, saltmarsh and shell bank, two hours from Amsterdam
The delta works left a chain of inlets, some tidal and some closed, each with its own birds. The Oosterschelde still fills and empties twice a day and holds waders through the winter. Bare shell banks carry the scarcest of the breeding plovers.
Look for: Kentish Plover, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Curlew, Dunlin
National park: Oosterschelde National Park
Stops: , flooded fields inland from the Oosterschelde, viewed from the road. The best wader field in Zeeland , dune and pine at the island tip near Burgh-Haamstede, with a migration watchpoint , old salt marsh relief grazed by geese, walked on marked paths , a new tidal reserve at Breskens with hides over the lagoon, free and open
Also covers: Domburg, GOES, Haamstede, Kamperland, Ouddorp
Also watch for: Harbour and grey seals rest on the banks inside the Oosterschelde and are visible from the shore at low water. Harbour porpoise are regular in the tidal channels through the winter.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
Apartments at Burgh-Haamstede on the Zeeland coast, close to the beach and the dunes of Schouwen.
A seafront hotel at Domburg on the Zeeland coast, with the Manteling woods and the dunes of Walcheren on the doorstep.
Eco-certified retreat in Goes, Zeeland; part of Kloeg Collection of characterful Dutch boutique hotels
A holiday park at Burgh-Haamstede on Schouwen-Duiveland, beside the Zeepeduinen and two and a half kilometres from the beach.
A family resort at Burgh-Haamstede on Schouwen-Duiveland, with the beach, the dunes and the Zeeland reserves within reach.
A resort standing in the dunes at Ouddorp, directly behind the beach on the delta coast.
A villa park at Burgh-Haamstede on Schouwen-Duiveland, within reach of the beach and the dune reserves.
A holiday park at Kamperland on Noord-Beveland, between the Veerse Meer and the Zeeland coast.
A bungalow park and campsite at Ouddorp behind the North Sea beach, on the outer edge of the delta.
Chalk grassland, hedgerow and beech wood, two hours from Amsterdam
The far south rises into chalk country that belongs more to the Ardennes than to the rest of the Netherlands. Hedged fields and beech wood hold birds found nowhere else in the country, and the walking is the only hill walking there is here.
Look for: Red-backed Shrike, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Common Redstart, Eurasian Skylark
National parks: De Maasduinen National Park, De Groote Peel National Park, Meinweg National Park
Stops: , a national park of raised bog on the Brabant border, with marked walks and a crane roost in autumn , a national park of heath and terrace woodland on the German border. Nightjar, and adders on the paths , stream valleys in the south hills with public footpaths through old oak. Middle Spotted Woodpecker , a former marl quarry now open as a nature area, with eagle-owls nesting on its faces
Also covers: Maastricht, Roermond, Slenaken, Vaals, Valkenburg, Venlo
Also watch for: Badger and roe deer work the hedged fields, and wildcat has returned to the woods along the Belgian and German border. Fire salamanders emerge on wet nights from April to October.
Every place to stay here is either Green Key certified or sits inside a protected area. Few Dutch hotels specialise in birding, so think of these as comfortable bases close to the birds. What each certification actually means
A hotel among woods and water on the edge of Venlo, looking out over the forests of northern Limburg.
A country house hotel on a historic estate in the hills of South Limburg, close to where three countries meet.
A country estate on the edge of Maastricht, with parkland and ponds around the house.
Holiday houses ten minutes from the centre of Maastricht, in the Limburg river country.
A family hotel above the Gulp valley at Slenaken, with a panorama over the South Limburg hills.
A holiday park on the hills above Vaals, looking over the South Limburg countryside.
Apartments on the Cauberg above Valkenburg aan de Geul, five minutes from the town and among the South Limburg hills.
A hotel in the former prison of Roermond, in the town centre near the Maasplassen.
A hotel and theatre in the centre of Roermond, close to the Maasplassen lakes.
Dutch birders are well organised and welcoming. These are the national bodies to know, and the local clubs run walks and counts that visitors are welcome to join. Find a birding organisation near you in our worldwide directory
Alongside the national bodies above, the Netherlands has 26 local bird clubs across 12 regions. They run the walks and the counts, and most of them welcome visitors. See every Dutch club by region.
April and May for breeding birds and full song, September and October for wader passage through the Wadden Sea, and December to February for geese in six figures.
No, and the Netherlands is one of the few countries where that is genuinely true. Every region on this page is reachable by train, and OV-fiets rents a bike at over 300 stations for EUR 4.80 a day, which is how most Dutch birders get from the platform to the reserve. 9292 plans train, bus and ferry together, and the island ferries connect to island buses. A car is still faster if you want to work several sites in one morning, or reach the quieter parts of the Veluwe, Drenthe and Zeeland, where buses are thin outside peak hours. Many island and dune properties lend or rent bikes, which is worth asking when you book.
Accommodation is the largest line. Rate bands on this page run from about $100 a night in the mid range to $500 and above at the top, and winter is consistently the cheapest season.
As a foot passenger, no. With a car in summer or at a weekend, yes, and well ahead for Texel. Three operators run the five islands: TESO to Texel, Rederij Doeksen to Vlieland and Terschelling, and Wagenborg to Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Schiermonnikoog is car free for visitors, so you park on the mainland at Lauwersoog whatever you arrive in.
Most are open and free to walk, and that includes the national parks and the Natura 2000 sites this page is built around. Some hides and boat trips are ticketed, a few breeding areas are closed in season, which is marked on the ground, and De Hoge Veluwe is the one park here that charges admission at the gate.
On the right day it is the best birding in the country. A northwesterly gale in October pushes seabirds close inshore and the piers turn into grandstands: Northern Gannet and Black-legged Kittiwake in numbers, Great Skua and Pomarine Jaeger chasing terns, Sooty Shearwater and Northern Fulmar passing offshore, and Little Gull and Common Scoter moving in streams. The Zuidpier at IJmuiden in The North Holland Dunes is the classic stand, with Camperduin further north and the Brouwersdam in The Zeeland Delta covering the southwest.
Wind decides everything. A westerly or northwesterly force six and above puts birds within range, and a calm day off the same pier is quiet, so watch the forecast rather than the calendar. Counts posted on Trektellen tell you what moved past each station that morning, which is the fastest way to know whether it is worth the drive. Dress for standing still in cold spray, and this is the one Dutch birding day where a scope on a solid tripod is doing all the work.
For four birds, yes. European Nightjar churrs over the heath from late May into July, on the The Veluwe sands and the Drenthe heaths in Groningen and Drenthe, and the half hour after sunset is the whole show. Eurasian Bittern booms from the reedbeds at dusk in The Weerribben-Wieden and the Salland Ridge and Flevoland and the Oostvaardersplassen from March. Tawny Owl calls through the wooded estates from January, Long-eared Owl gathers in winter roosts that local clubs know the location of, and Eurasian Woodcock roding over the woods at dusk in spring is a Veluwe speciality.
Many Dutch reserves close at sunset and the rule is posted at the entrance, so the practical approach is to stand on a public track or a dike at the edge and let the sound come to you. The clubs listed in the community section run evening excursions in nightjar season and they know which heath is holding birds this year.
A telescope, if you can borrow or afford one. Dutch birding is tidal flats, goose fields and open water, and much of what you are looking at sits a long way off, so a scope on a tripod turns a distant grey smudge into a bird. Binoculars are the thing you actually need though, and 8x42 is the usual all-round choice. Then dress for wind: there is nothing between the North Sea and you, so layers and a waterproof shell work better than one thick coat, and gloves are welcome from October.
The field guide most Dutch birders carry is the Collins Bird Guide, by Svensson, Mullarney and Zetterstrom, sold here as the ANWB Vogelgids van Europa. Vogelbescherming keeps free identification material online in Dutch and English. Walking boots are enough for the dikes and dune paths, and wellingtons are worth having if you plan on the meadow reserves after rain.
It decides the day. Birds feed spread out across the flats at low water and gather on roosts as the tide covers them, so the hour before and after high water is when you see numbers in one place. Check the table for the station nearest your hide on Rijkswaterstaat Waterinfo, which is the official Dutch tide service.
Updated August 2026. Spotted an error, or run a Netherlands operation that belongs here? Tell us.
