The Province of Friesland is the only place in Europe where peewit (aka lapwing) eggs can be collected on cultural-historical grounds. As of today, 1 March 2011 and until 9 April 2011, people in Friesland can go egg hunting, but have to ask permission from the provincial council by phone text message before taking each egg they find. Despite objections from bird protection groups, a total of 5,939 eggs can be collected. Twittering them would be a lot cooler, but hey.
In the province of Friesland, it is a tradition to be the first one to find the year’s first peewit egg (‘kievitsei’, in Dutch). Unlike other birds who lay their eggs in nests, the peewit (aka Northern Lapwing) lays its eggs in the ground. Friesland has tons of open fields where people go ‘egg hunting’. The finding of the first egg is a symbol of spring and is always news.
(Link: dutchnews.nl, Photo of eggs by wiccked, some rights reserved)
* Several provinces have instated hunting bans for a variety of animals because of the cold weather. Zeeland, Drenthe, Noord Holland and Limburg have ordered a general hunting ban, while others have limited their bans to a selection of animals. The Party for the Animals (PvdD) has called for a nationwide ban, 
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