A morning at the beach in Zandvoort & birding in Haarlem – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 12

This is the final post of a long running series documenting my family’s vacation to the beautiful countries of Belgium & Netherlands in the Spring of 2023. We had started off the trip with a memorable 4 days in and around the pretty Belgian town of Bruges ( Bruges at Dawn & Dusk – A tranquil beauty – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 2 ) doing day trips to Ghent (A Day trip to Ghent – Belgium & Netherlands Part 4 ) and Antwerp ( A Day trip to Antwerp – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 6 ). We had then shifted base to the equally beautiful Dutch town of Haarlem for the next 4 days (Walking around Haarlem & the St Bavo’s Cathedral – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 8 ) and visited the beautiful spring gardens at Keukenhof ( Keukenhof Gardens – Buds, birds and crowds galore! – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 10 ) and a not so great visit to the famed city of Amsterdam (Day trip to Amsterdam on a wet , dreary day – Belgium and Netherlands , Part 11 ). 

On the last morning of our trip we had the options of returning to Amsterdam for some more time there or going to the beach in the nearby town of Zaandvoort. After the not so positive impression left by the city of Amsterdam on all of the family members we chose to go to the beach at Zaandvoort and enjoy some time by the sea. 

Before I describe our visit to Zaandvoort I would like to share some photos of my time doing some urban birding in the Old town of Haarlem. As readers of my blog know by now I tend to seek and find birds everywhere I go including European cities. My trusty light weight 300mm PF Nikkor lens makes it possible for me to carry it around even on non wildlife trips without giving it a second thought. I had a great time birding in the canals and parks of Bruges in my early morning wanderings there. ( A Canal ride, the Town Hall and birding in Bruges – Belgium & Netherlands, Part 7 ) Haarlem proved to be no different as I got some pretty decent bird photos in my early morning walk around the pretty canals of this Dutch town.

I used to start out with my ultra wide lens on the camera till I reached the canals. It was fun taking photos of the reflections on a sunny, quiet day or the colours of a rising sun through the cloudy skies as I enjoyed the variations of weather in our short stay there.

Perfect reflections on a sunny quiet morning in Haarlem

Colours of the sky on cloudy mornings in Haarlem 

The canals had the usual quota of Common coots swimming around acting like they owned the canal. The contrast of their brilliant white beaks and bright red eyes with their black feathered body always makes for great photos.

Common coots rule the canals of Haarlem 

There were the omnipresent Sea gulls or the crows of the ocean as I like to call them. I got some good fly by at eye level and got good photos on a sunny morning.

A sea gull gives a fly by over a canal 

Then there were the scavengers of the city the Eurasian Jackdaw and Eurasian Magpies cleaning up whatever food scraps they could find on the streets and walking paths. These are much more skittish than the Common Crow back home in Mumbai and didn’t pose readily for the camera.

A Eurasian Jackdaw enjoys leftover chips on the roadside 

A Eurasian Magpie foraging for breakfast 

I had to find my favourite European Bird here too – The Great Crested Grebe. I have a long running fascination for this bird and even spent more time in Lausanne ( Lausanne’s Ouchy waterfront – A relaxing evening with the Crested Grebes – Swiss Sojourn, Part 2 ) and Montreux (Montreux & Chateau de Chillon, a great end to a fabulous vacation – Swiss Sojourn, Part 11 ) in  Switzerland taking photos of this bird than the landscape itself. Even here in Haarlem a couple of hours were spent walking with and taking photos of a resident couple of Great Crested Grebe. Taking photos of the couple swimming around, foraging the canal for crustaceans, close ups from almost touching distance and a memorable burst of shots capturing some PDA by the couple that may just be my best memory of this trip.

A close up of the Great Crested Grebe in Haarlem 

Near perfect reflection on a cold grey morning 

Foraging the canal  for crustaceans  

A selection of my most memorable burst of shots in Haarlem 

The couple swims by on the canals of Haarlem 

The most fearless great crested grebe I have seen till now 

Then there were the small birds flitting around high in the trees. The great tits which are similar looking to the green backed tits found in the Himalayas. These never came down to eye level but serenaded me hidden in the foliage high up in the trees.

A great tit serenades me from its high perch 

The more interesting small bird to me was the Eurasian Blue tit – A brilliantly colourful bird that I hadn’t yet seen.  I found one on my first morning walk and as luck would have it, I didn’t have the 300 mm on! That mistake wouldn’t happen again on the remaining 3 mornings. I would wait patiently at that cluster of trees by the canal where I saw the Blue tit on the first morning every day with no luck except for a fleeting visit by the bird with a worm in it’s beak on one morning. But patience is usually rewarded in birding and on my final morning walk I got the bird in full view this time with a small fly in it’s beak making all my efforts from the previous days seem worthwhile.

Full view of the Eurasian Blue Tit on my final morning walk in Haarlem

After my final morning walk with the blue tit photos in my SD card and a smile on my face I returned to the hotel where we checked out and kept our luggage in the hotel’s luggage storage before having our last breakfast in the grand breakfast room of the ML.

Enjoying our last breakfast at the ML

We then walked to the station and took the next available train to Zaandvoort. It was a sunny but windy morning so we had made sure that we were all layered up as I was sure the winds would be even more at the beach.

An empty Haarlem station on a windy morning 

We reached Zaandvoort and walked the short distance to the beach. I had expected a big beach but this was far bigger than what I had expected. A wide sandy beach extended on either side of the main walkway to the beach as far as the eye could see.

Zaandvoort beach on a sunny but cold & windy spring morning

It was not ideal beach weather but at least it was sunny. We descended the stairs onto the beach and walked to the edge of the waters. I’m not a big beach person myself but even the better half who is one thought better than venturing into the cold waters. We walked along the shore for some distance while the parents chose to rest their legs on a sea side bench after walking on the beach for some time.

The better half all bundled up on a cold morning in Zaandvoort 

The parents pose on the beach at Zaandvoort

The better half on the shores of the North Sea at a beach at Zaandvoort 

 The better half added to her shell collection from the plentiful shells on this beautiful beach. We even left some temporary graffiti on the sands of the beach as we always do on the beaches we visit together. 

Plentiful deposits of shells at the beach in Zaandvoort 

Leaving temporary graffiti on the sands of Zaandvoort 

It had proved to be a good decision to visit the beach and after a good couple of hours enjoying the sun and the winds we ended the beach visit by visiting the Fried fish stall that seemed very popular judging by the number of people at it. I bought the local speciality of Fried Herring called Kibbeling while the vegetarians had to be satisfied with a huge portion of French Fries. We enjoyed our snack on a bench by the sea being careful not to be dive bombed by the gulls overhead.

The parents enjoy their fries watchful of the gulls overhead

 Delicious Kibbeling / Fried Herring pieces on the beach at Zaandvoort

An interesting sculpture of a man on a broken bench watching the seas at Zaandvoort 

A mural felicitating the F1 champion Max Verstappen at Zandvoort 

We then returned to the station to take the next train back to Haarlem where I had reserved a table at our favourite restaurant “Zuidam”. So we walked straight from the station to the Windmill and by now the cold morning had given way to a pleasant sunny afternoon. 

Walking to the Windmill and restaurant Zuidam from the station 

De Adriaan’s Windmill on a beautiful afternoon in Haarlem 

We had been regulars at Zuidam and the staff welcomed us with a smile. It was a perfect sunny day for a lunch by the canals and we enjoyed the great food one last time.

Enjoying lunch at the Zuidam on our last day in Haarlem 

It was a great end to what had been a memorable vacation. It had been delayed 3 years by the pandemic but I am grateful that I was able to do this trip with the parents. Everything had gone as smoothly as possible and we went back to the ML to collect our luggage and take the bus to Schiphol airport for our uneventful flight back home.

Happy family after a great trip

We would return back home to our cats who had been tended to lovingly by the better half’s parents and my cousin & neighbours. I hopefully get to take the parents on another vacation soon and hopefully it is at least as great as this one was. 

That completes the series a full 5 months after we returned to Mumbai. I hope it has been as fun for you reading about our travels as it has been writing about it for me. Till my next series / post from a new destination, hopefully some time soon!

Till then,

Bye.