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Description
The Schellingwouderscheg includes five city parks (marked on the map). From west to east: Vliegenbos (forest), Rietland (scrub, reedbeds, small lake, young forest), Schellingwouderbreek (lake with natural shores), Schellingwouderpark (meadows and hedgerows, plus the shores of the Y canal) and the Schellingwouder Ecozone (reedbeds, scrub, overgrown woods).
This area is very good for birds of prey with Uliu păsărar, Șorecar comun, Uliu porumbar, Huhurez mic and formerly Șoimul rândunelelor all breeding in this urban nature reserve. They are most easily seen in Vliegenbos and Rietland. There's a very good chance of finding Pescăraș albastru anywhere there's water . In addition to the ubiquitous Papagal Micul Alexandru the area also has a lot of Papagal Marele Alexandru, keep an ear out for their distinctive calls as they fly over.
Vliegenbos sometimes harbours birds like Botgros and Țiclean among the more common forest birds and is the best place to find Porumbel de scorbură. The Ghionoaie verde seems to have mostly disappeared since the football fields in the park were converted to tennis courts, but they are still seen every now and then. The industrial area just to the south of Vliegenbos has breeding Codroș de munte.
Rietland and Schellingwouderpark have some more open areas of scattered trees and scrub that can be good for Silvie de câmp, Silvie mică, Silvie de zăvoi, Pitulice fluierătoare and occasionally Cuc or Privighetoare roșcată . There are some small reedbeds in Rietland and Schellingwouderbreek that sometimes have Lăcar mic, Lăcar de stuf and Presură de stuf. The meadows in Schellingwouderpark often have Barză albă, Scoicar and Brown Hares in the early morning before people arrive. During migration there's a chance of Mierlă gulerată here.
In harsh winters, birds that normally reside outside of the city enter these city parks, and then you can see Rață lingurar, Rață fluierătoare, Rață cu cap castaniu, Ferestraș mare, Egretă mare, Buhai de baltă, Cârstel de baltă, Sitar de pădure, Becațină comună, Cocoșar and Nagâț. In the much more common icefree winters you can still find Sturzul viilor, Scatiu, Aușel cu cap galben, Aușel sprâncenat and Cinteză de iarnă.
Keep an eye out for Stârc de noapte and overflying Codalb, both are very occasionally seen here. Other interesting animals include Grass Snake and Red Fox. Just to the north of this area are breeding colonies of Stârc cenușiu and Gâscă călugăriță, both are marked on the map.
Just to the east of this route is the Schellingwouder Ecozone (marked on the map). Another small but wonderfully wild area with Lăcar de mlaștină and Stufărică and a reasonable chance of Cuc and Privighetoare roșcată .
The Schellingwouderscheg is constantly under threat from development: there are plans to build houses, infrastructure and turn the parks from wild city nature reserves to boring run of the mill urban parks. Already it can be very busy with people and dogs.
Details
Access
The best way to explore the area is by bike, but you can walk as well. The car isn't very practical here, as there is little (parking) space and it isn't very convenient getting from one of the parks to the other by car.
If you walked or cycled from Vliegenbos to Schellingwouderpark and don't want to go the same way back, you can take a northern route from Schellingwouderbreek, through the Baanakkerspark (marked on the map).