Dutch treats
A wide variety of birds can be seen and enjoyed in the eastern Netherlands, an area also steeped in wonderful history
The three provinces that make up the eastern Netherlands – Flevoland, Overijssel and Gelderland – are home to a string of lovely country towns, whose long and often troubled history is recalled by a slew of handsome old buildings. Among them, Zwolle, Deventer and Zutphen are perhaps the pick, but there are intriguing former Zuider Zee ports as well, most memorably Kampen and Elburg.
An hour’s drive east of Amsterdam, the renowned Oostvaardersplassen is an extensive area of shallow lakes, pools, reedbeds, Salix woodland and grassland, which has developed on a polder (Zuidelijk Flevoland, reclaimed in 1968), having been spared from cultivation. It’s situated south of the city of Lelystad and adjoins the Markermeer in the north. The site is the main roost for Anser geese from feeding areas in Flevoland and is the most important moulting area for Greylag Goose in north-west Europe.
Key species include wintering Barnacle and White-fronted Geese, Whooper Swan and Smew, breeding Spoonbill, Bittern, Cormorant, Marsh Harrier, White-tailed Eagle, Spotted Crake and Bluethroat, as well as passage Black Tern. Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail, Teal, Avocet and Blacktailed Godwit are also found, while Goshawk, Rough-legged Buzzard and Bearded Tit are also possible.
In 1997, the area was reconnected with the Lepelaarplassen to its west by a 250m wide stretch of marshland. This reserve is a smaller version of its famous neighbour, located to the west of the city of Almere, though the buffer zone that separates it from the latter is under pressure from urban development. Key species include Tufted Duck and wintering Smew, as well as breeding Spoonbill, Cormorant and Bluethroat. Cuckoos are abundant, almost to the point of becoming blasé.
East of the Markermeer, the Ijsselmeer, previously called the Zuider Zee, is now a vast ast shallow freshwater lake, having been cut off from the Wadden Sea by the Afsluitdijk in 1932, and with almost half of its extent having been reclaimed. The engineering legacy of the Dutch is remarkable. The original IJsselmeer was then bisected by a dyke in 1975, which separated it from the southern part, now called Markermeer.
Lots to enjoy
The lake receives Rhine water through the Ijssel River via Lake Ketelmeer and has been locally deepened to over 25 metres by sand extraction. This is the main moulting area for subadult Mute Swan in the Netherlands, and the main feeding area for Cormorant from the Oostvaardersplassen. Wigeon, Scaup, Smew and Goosander winter, while Black Terns are found on passage. Gadwall, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Coot and Little Gull also feature.
To the east, the Zwarte Meer is a freshwater lake with extensive reedbeds, bounded in the north by the dyke of Noordoostpolder (reclaimed in 1942); and in the south by the mainland province of Overijssel. The Zwarte Water river flows into the lake in the north-east corner and the site is adjacent to Lake Ketelmeer in the west (Ramspol). This is an important roost for Anser geese from surrounding feeding areas. Spoonbills are found on passage, while Purple Herons breed.
Close to Zwarte Meer’s north-eastern border, De Wieden is an area of shallow lakes and canals (former peat workings) with fens, reedbeds, swampy woodland and wet meadows, located to the north of the city of Zwolle and adjacent to De Weerribben. The IBA is a roost for Anser geese from surrounding feeding areas, while Cormorant, Spotted Crake and Black Tern breed. De Weerribben, located to the west of the city of Steenwijk, is identical to its neighbour (together they constitute a national park) and holds breeding Bittern and Spotted Crake. The area puts one in mind of our very own Norfolk Broads.
An hour’s drive south-east, the Engbertsdijksvenen is one of the last remaining raised bogs in the Netherlands, around 25 acres of which has not been cut for peat. The site is located to the north of the city of Almelo and is surrounded by arable land. The site is a good one for Crane on passage. Half an hour’s drive to the south-west, the Sallandse Heuvelrug is located between the villages of Nijverdal and Holten.
An area of forestry plantations and dry heathland consisting of deciduous/mixed woodlands and conifer plantations of various ages, and under varying management regimes, the site holds the only population of Black Grouse in the
country. Blocks of conifer plantations have been felled in order to increase the area of heathland. However, despite all the efforts to save the Black Grouse, the population continues to decline. Black Woodpecker breed, too.
Stretching west of the River IJssel, Gelderland’s Veluwe (literally ‘bad land’ and a common origin with the English word ‘fallow’) is an extensive expanse of forestry plantations, heathland, fen and sand drifts that lies sandwiched between Apeldoorn in the east, Amersfoort to the west, Arnhem in the south and the Veluwemeer waterway to the north.
For centuries, these infertile lands lay pretty much deserted, but today they make up the country’s busiest holiday centre, dotted with a profusion of campsites, bungalow parks and second homes. The only part of the Veluwe to have survived aesthetically intact is the wonderful Nationaal Park de Hoge Veluwe – an expanse of sandy heaths, lakes, dunes and woodland, criss-crossed by cycle trails, with several hides from which you can observe its varied fauna.
Forest stands consist mainly of conifers but with some deciduous/mixed woodland and are of various ages and under various forestry regimes. The area holds breeding Honey Buzzard, Nightjar, Kingfisher, Black Woodpecker, Red-backed Shrike, Wood Lark and Tawny Pipit, as well as Crested Tit and Short-toed Treecreeper. Goshawk, Tawny Owl, Firecrest and Hawfinch are also possible. A pair of Short-toed Eagle have also bred in recent years.
To the south, the Gelderse Poort is a 12-mile long section of the River Rhine between Tolkamer and Arnhem and a seven-mile section of the River Waal between the branch of the Rhine and Nijmegen. It includes the riverbed, floodplain, clay pits and the inland Oude Rijnstrangen and Ooijpolder. Elsewhere the site is bounded by winter dykes.
There are large roosts of wintering White-fronted Geese, from German and Dutch feeding areas (with a maximum of 100,000 birds). Bean Goose, Bewick’s and Whooper’s Swans, as well as Smew also winter. Bittern, Little Bittern, Corn Crake and Black Tern breed, while non-breeding Shoveler is also found. It’s a rewarding area to bird in at any time of year.