What a fabulous sight the Dutch bulbfields are in spring, a panoramic tapestry of the most intense shades of scarlet, orange, yellow and mauve. From a botanical feast, to a gastronomic spread, laid out by the Hardersluis Hotel, where we spent three nights enjoying superb meals and first class service. Stars of the bird show included Black-tailed Godwit, resplendent in bright red breeding plumage, Tree Pipit, performing a parachuting song flight with numerous encores, the exhilarating hawking flight of two Hobbies, a spectacular flock of 10,000 plus Barnacle Geese, a male Garganey on the same pond as a smart Spotted Redshank, a Savi's Warbler, taking a break from its strange insect-style reeling song to dash out of dense reeds and pose for us all in a nearby bush, a cocky Crested Tit calling at close range, and a lovely male Bluethroat, which gives grand exposure in various profiles for all to admire. With 99 species in the bag, who say's it's flat in Holland?

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