Spectacled Eider, Somateria fischeri, Brileider, Texel, NH, the Netherlands, 9 Febr 2025

This bird was found on 13 January 2025 and constitutes the first record for the Netherlands, the most southerly record in Europe and perhaps the sixth record for the Western Palearctic. I was in Bangladesh at the time of discovery, having to travel no less than four more weeks before I finally was able to head my way up to Texel and see this beauty for myself. Because this bird breeds in primarily inaccessible parts of Alaska and Siberia and winters even more inaccessible, in the far north Pacific, it was a lifer not only for most Dutch birders, including me, but also for many hundreds of birders from all over the world, most from neighboring countries like Great Britain, Belgium and Germany but also from farther away in Europe (Spain, France) and even from outside of Europe. I intend to head back to Texel to check if I can make footage with the bird closer to shore as it occasionally and unpredictably does ...