Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Nature
pink pelican
sparrow hawk
Wemeldinge
wild bird
Zealand
Saturday, 8 February 2014 - 04:31
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Pink pelican spotted in Zealand

A rare pink pelican was spotted in the village Wemeldinge in Zealand, Friday morning. The last time a pink pelican was spotted in the Netherlands was in 2006 in Den Helder, according to forester Ted Sluijter of "Natuurmonumenten." The feathers of the pelican are intact, it's withdrawn, and it isn't ringed, leading the forester to think the bird is indeed wild.

Birds from a zoo are always ringed and used to people, and their feathers are not usually intact. A committee of independent spotters went down to Wemeldinge to establish whether the pelican is indeed wild. The pelican is not alone. Three pink pelicans were spotted Thursday over Gent in Belgium, a few hours later two more were spotted over Neeltje Jans, at the mouth of the Oosterschelde. Presumably the pelicans are just passing by on their way to warmer regions. In November, last year, a sparrow hawk caused hundreds of spotters to travel to Zwolle, to spot the bird that has only been seen three times in the Netherlands in the past 100 years.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Drought uncovering 10,000-year-old tree stumps in Friesland lake
  • Video: American truck dealership torched in Brabant; Extinction Rebellion denounces act
  • Three Dutch universities in top 100 world ranking; Leiden drops to top 150
  • MH17 court ruling set for 17 Nov. as Russia reportedly detains MH17 defendant
  • Another passenger arrested for sharing pic of crashed plane, this time at Schiphol
  • Orientation periods start at many Dutch universities

Top stories

  • Young homeless people often can't find room in shelters
  • Netherlands lagging behind in purchase of coronavirus pill
  • Asylum seekers clash in Ter Apel; "A nasty situation," State Secretary says
  • Officially warmest August 14 since measurements began
  • NS on track for record year of delays, malfunctions; Plans underway for faster Airport Sprinter
  • Dutch publisher to reprint Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses'

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content