Description
Tour guide Henk de Lange
After working in ICT for over 25 years, I decided in 2020 to fully follow my passion in guiding excursions and trips in nature with special interest in birds. I successfully completed the training for tour guide.
I grew up in Hoogeveen and at a young age often went into nature with my father. The Dwingelderveld was my favorite, where I still experienced the last grouse.
At Landschapsbeheer Drenthe, I helped protect meadow birds in that province as an IVN volunteer.
At the end of the last century I moved to the city of Groningen where I enjoy living with my family. In 2000 I became a member of Avifauna Groningen and before that I created and managed the website until 2015 as chief administrator. For that I am still active in the background and have received honorary membership.
At the same time I also volunteered at the Groninger Landschap in the first years of 2000 and helped to establish the Leekstermeer team. Here I gained the necessary experience in guiding excursions.
Nowadays I stroll through nature a lot and also like to take pictures to remember the nice trips.
I would like to share my enthusiasm for nature and birds with you by taking you on excursions in areas I know well in the northern provinces.
I would like to invite you to join me on a trip to the area of your choice to watch and enjoy the birds we will discover together. There is always plenty to see, and experience the excitement of seeing a rarity or another beautiful or appealing bird, it is all possible here!
Daniel and Gethin (verified owner) –
My son and I booked a one-day tour around Lauwersmeer with Birds4You on 6 December, 2024. The whole booking process was very easy and friendly and Andrea generously offered us some very useful advice about where we should stay to make the most of our time birdwatching in Lauwersmeer.
Our tour was led by Henk de Lange. Henk was a wonderful guide from start to finish. The weather conditions at the beginning of the day were dreadful – very high winds and rain – and we had to postpone the start of our tour by two hours while we waited for the weather to improve a little. Henk calmly and professionally dealt with what could have been a difficult situation and managed to ensure that, despite the late start, we didn’t miss out on any of the birds we were hoping to see during the day.
We were picked up from our accommodation and Henk drove us to a wide variety of habitats – from farmland, to reedbeds and marshes and the coast. The very windy weather persisted throughout the day, but Henk’s knowledge of where to go to target which species and where to view them from to avoid the worst of the weather, was invaluable.
Lauwersmeer is a wonderful place for winter birding. The sheer numbers of geese, ducks, swans and waders was breathtaking. They were present in much higher numbers than we see in the UK. Also seeing birds like White-tailed Sea Eagles, Hen Harriers and flocks of Little Gulls, Twite and Snow Buntings as well as a fly-over Black-throated Diver made for a very memorable day. Thank you, Henk!
I would heartily recommend booking a tour with Birds4you.
Daniel and Gethin
Stefan (verified owner) –
I booked a birding tour at Birds4you.nl. for the Lauwersmeer National Park with Henk as my guide. The booking was easy und uncomplicated. My focus was bird photography. As Henk is as well a passionate bird photographer, that was perfect. He showed me all the birding hotspots around Lauwersmeer plus the one and other which you cannot find from internet research. We saw lots of shore- and reedbirds. The service was great and included the ride by car and coffee. Henk is a very friendly and very knowledgeable guy who can identify and show all birds in this area with a sharp eye for even the smallest birds. Thanks to him I could shoot a wheatear which I did not expected to capture. That was great. Time flew by really fast and I had a great day, shooting nice photos and with all my expectations fully met. After the trip I received a report summarizing all species we saw that day, in Dutch, German and English names, including some photos from me while taking pictures. I can really recommend to make a birding tour with Henk.
Stefan