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Nature
bird watchers
IJsselallee
sparrow-hawk owl
Zwolle
Monday, 25 November 2013 - 19:04

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Excitement about sparrow-hawk in Zwolle

Over a hundred bird watchers traveled to Zwolle, because a very rare hawk owl was spotted Sunday evening. People came all the way from New Zealand to catch a glimpse of the bird.The approximately 40 centimeters large hawk was spotted at a gas station on the IJsselallee in Zwolle. The native species was only seen three time in the last hundred years. The first time, in 1920, he was found dead. The second time, in 1995 in Limburg, and the third time, in 2005 in Drenthe, he was photographed. Sperweruil
Sander van der Wel
Wikimedia commons The rumors started earlier this month. A train driver saw a bird "size wood pigeon" sitting on the wire for a while, when he stopped between Zwolle and Leeuwarden. The owl breeds in the vast, remote forests of northern Europe, Asia and North America. Researchers have no idea how many there are. Therefore, the hawk remains somewhat mystical for birdwatchers. Even if one is spotted in Scandinavia some Dutch birdwatchers will jump in their cars to catch a glimpse of the black-brown owl with white cross marks. For those who want to see the hawk with his own eyes: the bird has not yet left. For now pictures and posts keep pouring in on Waarneming.nl and Twitter..

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