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Mastenbos

Antwerpen  >  Belgium

The Mastenbos is a forest with some open areas with heather. The birding community is a mixture of some heather en mostly forest species.

Added* by Bram Vogels
Most recent update 3 May 2022

Description

The forest is a nice places for some species, although they occur more widely in the region. Thanks to a lot of nest boxes Pied Flycatcher is a very common breeding bird and on the open heather Eurasian Nightjar is present in spring and summer. Along the canal Common Kingfisher is present, but this canal can become dry in very dry periods.

Concerning breeding forest species the more relevant are Black Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Goshawk, Pied Flycatcher, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Crossbill (in invasion years), ... in the more open areas Eurasian Nightjar is present but also some pairs of Wood Lark, Tree Pipit, etc...

Thanks to the vicinity of bigger heathlands like the Kalmthoutse heide and due to the connection with other bigger forest tracts, most species of the neighbouring areas can be found in this area although for the heather species definitly in smaller numbers.

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Nederlands: Het Mastenbos is een bos met enkele open plekken met heide. De vogels zijn een mix van heide- en vooral bossoorten. Dankzij veel nestkasten is Pied Flycatcher een veel voorkomende broedvogel. Op de open heide is de Eurasian Nightjar in het voorjaar en de zomer aanwezig. Langs het kanaal is de Common Kingfisher vaak aanwezig, maar dit kanaal kan in zeer droge periodes droog komen te staan. Bosvogels die in het gebied broeden zijn Black Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Goshawk, Pied Flycatcher, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Crossbill (in invasie jaar). In de meer open gebieden is de Eurasian Nightjar aanwezig maar ook enkele paren Wood Lark, Tree Pipit, etc.

Door de nabijheid van grotere heidevelden zoals de Kalmthoutse heide en door de verbinding met andere grotere bosgebieden, zijn de meeste soorten van de aangrenzende gebieden in dit gebied te vinden, zij het voor de heidesoorten zeker in kleinere aantallen.

Details

Access

You can park at the entrance of the forest. The forest itself can be explored by foot and by bike, but by foot is by far the best way. The walk that is shown on the map is about 5 km.

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Nederlands: Je kunt parkeren bij de ingang van het bos. Het bos zelf kan te voet en per fiets worden verkend, maar te voet is verreweg de beste manier. De wandeling die op de kaart staat is ongeveer 5 km.

Terrain and Habitat

Forest , Moors/heathland

Conditions

Flat , Sandy

Circular trail

Yes

Is a telescope useful?

No

Good birding season

Spring , Summer

Best time to visit

Spring , Summer

Route

Unpaved road

Difficulty walking trail

Easy

Accessible by

Foot , Bicycle

Birdwatching hide / platform

No

Links

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

Map

Top 5 birds

Other birds you can see here

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