A Few Belgian Birds

Not sure who this guy is.  (got it...Stonechat)

Blue Tit

Maybe a Chiffchaff??

Wood Pigeon

Stork

Jackdaw

Juvenile Blue Tits

Here are a few of the birds I saw at Het Zwin.  I haven't figured out all of the id's so if you know your European birds please help.

Het Zwin

There is a lot more to Het Zwin then I was able to explore in 3 hours, especially on foot.  But what I did see was very beautiful, full of birds I'm still working on identifying, and makes me want to go back for more.

(I love the internet.  After posting I got curious about what that first sign means and used Google Translate to get:  "Cyclists Dismount")

Storks!

Our first order of business after flying from NYC to Brussels was to drive out to Het Zwin, a nature preserve near the town of Knokke-Heist not too far from Brugges.  This was a last minute addition to our trip because I found out they have storks.  So after no sleep on the plane, Matt drove our rental car (diesel, stick shift car in the pouring rain) to Het Zwin (about an hour from the airport) so that I could look for storks and other birds.  It was like hitting the jackpot.  The birds were everywhere.  I spent two hours walking through the reserve while Matt and Olivia slept in the car.  When the storks came close to the car (seems like someone threw them bread) I tried to rouse Olivia and Matt (to no avail.)  The storks made a great CLACKing sound when they snapped their beaks together.  Totally awesome.  So I let the sleeping beauties rest for another hour before I pushed them both out of the car to look at the storks.