Belgium Special Protection Area for birds
Vallée de la Holzwarche
112 bird species recorded; the most in May and in July.
Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium · CC BY 2.0
This month here
34 species in January.32 species in February.70 species in March.69 species in April.87 species in May.68 species in June.83 species in July.59 species in August.28 species in September.37 species in October.47 species in November.42 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
VU
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
112 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 112Speciesrecorded more than once
- 58Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,988Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 584 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 14Raptors
- 6Owls
- 4Waders
- 6Ducks & geese
- 2Herons, ibises & grebes
- 2Storks & cranes
- 65Songbirds
- 13Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 112 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red KiteMilvus milvus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Eurasian GoshawkAccipiter gentilis
- European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
- European HobbyFalco subbuteo
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- Rough-legged BuzzardButeo lagopus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Owls6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern Eagle OwlBubo bubo
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Tengmalm's OwlAegolius funereus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Eurasian Pygmy-OwlGlaucidium passerinum
- Tawny OwlStrix aluco
Waders4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
Ducks & geese6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Black swanCygnus atratus
- Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii
- Mandarin DuckAix galericulata
Herons, ibises & grebes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Great White EgretArdea alba
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common CraneGrus grus
- Black storkCiconia nigra
Songbirds65 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Great titParus major
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
- FieldfareTurdus pilaris
- Carrion CrowCorvus corone
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Willow TitPoecile montanus
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
- European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
- Marsh TitPoecile palustris
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- Wood WarblerPhylloscopus sibillatrix
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- BramblingFringilla montifringilla
- Garden WarblerSylvia borin
- European SerinSerinus serinus
- RedwingTurdus iliacus
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- WoodlarkLullula arborea
- Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
- Northern NutcrackerNucifraga caryocatactes
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
- White-throated DipperCinclus cinclus
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
- Marsh warblerAcrocephalus palustris
Other birds13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
- Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martius
- European SwiftApus apus
- European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- WryneckJynx torquilla
- Black GrouseLyrurus tetrix
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minor
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in May and in July.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan2°/-2°86 mm
- Feb3°/-2°76 mm
- Mar7°/0°72 mm
- Apr12°/3°53 mm
- May16°/7°77 mm
- Jun20°/10°79 mm
- Jul22°/12°84 mm
- Aug22°/12°90 mm
- Sep18°/8°66 mm
- Oct13°/5°70 mm
- Nov7°/2°78 mm
- Dec3°/-1°90 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Vallée de la Holzwarche.
Natura 2000 site in Belgium
Vallée de la Holzwarche is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Belgium, 584 m above the sea.
112 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,988 open records.
The most recorded are the Red Kite, the Lanius excubitor and the Eurasian Blackbird.
37 species come for the summer, 21 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including European Turtle Dove.
The most species are recorded in May and in July.
Get there and watch
- Europa-Wohnmobilhafencampsite · 4.0 km · 12 within 10 km
- Triangle d'Orplace to stay · 2.1 km · 88 within 10 km
- Rocherathnearest town · 2.3 km in a straight line
- Liège Airport (LGG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 66 km in a straight lineCar hire at LGG airport (Grâce-Hollogne)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 2observation towers within 6 kmSkyTower, City Tower
- 74marked trails within 4 kmNarzissenroute Rot / Hollerath (Eifel), Narzissenroute Gelb / Hollerath (Eifel), GR 56 Variante Warche and 71 more
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmTourismusbüro Büllingen
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmCity Tower
- 19car parks within 3 km
- 1restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 12campsites within 10 kmEuropa-Wohnmobilhafen, 600 über Normalnull, La Hêtraie and 9 more
- 88places to stay within 10 kmTriangle d'Or, Heuboden, B&B The Place 2 Beer and 85 more
- bird hides within 6 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Vallée de la Holzwarche.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas198 mountains within 25 kmWeißer Stein693 m · 3.6 km↗Eigart566 m · 14 kmArdennes massif652 m · 18 kmSignal de Botrange694 m · 19 km↗Schwarzer Mann698 m · 19 kmSteling658 m · 19 kmHeidenköpfe595 m · 19 kmBaraque Michel674 m · 21 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmLake Bütgenbach0.9 km² · 7.6 kmLake Robertville0.3 km² · 14 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Vallée de la Holzwarche
Belgium
- 54Birdyas Score
- 112Species
- 58Migrants
- 1Threatened
Vogelschutzgebiet Drover Heide
Germany · 38 km
- 70Birdyas Score
- 168Species
- 92Migrants
- 4Threatened
Vogelschutzgebiet Kottenforst-Waldville
Germany · 61 km
- 72Birdyas Score
- 197Species
- 85Migrants
- 5Threatened
Vogelschutzgebiet Buntsandsteinfelsen im Rurtal
Germany · 34 km
- 60Birdyas Score
- 143Species
- 71Migrants
- 2Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q21546410) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,988 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas, Darkskyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit