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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 Перепелятник, Канюк, Тетеревятник, Серая неясыть and formerly Чеглок all breeding in this urban nature reserve. They are most easily seen in Vliegenbos and Rietland. There's a very good chance of finding Обыкновенный зимородок anywhere there's water . In addition to the ubiquitous Индийский кольчатый попугай the area also has a lot of Александров кольчатый попугай, keep an ear out for their distinctive calls as they fly over.
Vliegenbos sometimes harbours birds like Обыкновенный дубонос and Обыкновенный поползень among the more common forest birds and is the best place to find Клинтух. The Зелёный дятел 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 Горихвостка-чернушка.
Rietland and Schellingwouderpark have some more open areas of scattered trees and scrub that can be good for Серая славка, Славка-мельничек, Садовая славка, Пеночка-весничка and occasionally Обыкновенная кукушка or Южный соловей . There are some small reedbeds in Rietland and Schellingwouderbreek that sometimes have Камышевка-барсучок, Тростниковая камышевка and Тростниковая овсянка. The meadows in Schellingwouderpark often have Белый аист, Кулик-сорока and Brown Hares in the early morning before people arrive. During migration there's a chance of Белозобый дрозд here.
In harsh winters, birds that normally reside outside of the city enter these city parks, and then you can see Широконоска, Свиязь, Красноголовый нырок, Большой крохаль, Большая белая цапля, Большая выпь, Водяной пастушок, Вальдшнеп, Бекас, Рябинник and Чибис. In the much more common icefree winters you can still find Белобровик, Чиж, Желтоголовый королёк, Красноголовый королёк and Юрок.
Keep an eye out for Кваква and overflying Орлан-белохвост, 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 Серая цапля and Белощекая казарка, 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 Болотная камышевка and Соловьиная широкохвостка and a reasonable chance of Обыкновенная кукушка and Южный соловей .
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).