Nationaal park Nieuw Land

This time I take you to the newest piece of the Netherlands; the Marker Wadden and further to the Oostvaardersplassen.

History

Both the Marker Wadden (mudflats) and Oostvaardersplassen are located in the National Park Nieuw Land (New Land). This is the Netherlands' youngest national park and the largest man-made nature reserve in the world. Man-made because the area lies in the middle of the former Zuiderzee. This was an inland sea until 1932 but after it was closed off by the Afsluitdijk, the Zuiderzee was split into two parts; the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer (the closed part). After the closure, large parts were reclaimed. First the Noordoostpolder (1942) then eastern Flevoland (1957) and southern Flevoland (1967) and lastly the Enkhuizen-Lelystad dyke was constructed, creating the Markermeer. In this man-made land, some beautiful nature reserves were also created with the Marker Wadden being the latest addition. A raised group of islands aimed at bringing back the dynamics in the Markermeer and a paradise for birds.

The Marker Wadden

The boat is the only way to get to the Marker Wadden. It departs from Lelystad (tickets can be bought via natuurmonumenten.nl) and takes about half an hour. Such a boat trip always gives me a holiday feeling and I am also very curious about what is to come. There are several hiking trails on the island and we choose the longest one of about 7 kilometres.

The first stretch goes along the beach towards the first observation tower. What a great view this tower gives. You also get a good overview of the area. All around you hear and see birds and those birds are also the main reason for this hike. The path continues with open water on one side and dense reeds on the other. Suddenly there is the whistle of a Bearded Grebe but we don't see it yet. After much searching with the binoculars, there they are, a male and female, the cries of joy temporarily drowning out the whistling around us. This species was high on the list and seeing it is really cool. And what a beautiful little bird it is. The male has a slightly reddish-brown tail, pinkish-brown body and a grey head with a black stripe down next to his beak, kind of like a beard/moustache. The female is a bit browner overall.

According to a Natuurmonumenten employee, there are many more a little further on, so on with the walk. This one goes along wooden decking paths over the water, past grass fields, ditches and reeds, and you hear and see birds everywhere. Indeed still many Bearded Warblers but also a few Flamingos, many geese, swans and gulls and many more. Unfortunately, I don't have a telephoto lens so few birds in the picture, hopefully in the future. Because of the breeding season, part of the original route is closed so we decide to devise our own. This goes partly over the beach and along the open water. What a beautiful and varied area this is. And to think that not so long ago this was open water. Fulfilled and full of impressions, we return to the boat.

Oostvaardersplassen

Since you are only allowed to stay at the Marker Wadden for 4 hours, we still have a few hours before it gets dark and we decide to check out the Oostvaardersplassen. At the visitor centre (Kitsweg 1 8218 AA Lelystad), we are tipped to drive a little way into the area to a place where you can look over a railway line into the wild area. Besides wild cattle, deer and many birds we saw from that point, the White-tailed Eagle suddenly flew there. We knew there were a couple of pairs breeding in the area but to see this one so fast and close was really super. What a beautiful and large animal it is. With a wingspan of over 2.30 metres, it is one of the largest birds, at least in the Netherlands.
After this, continued with the short walk towards a bird watching hut where many small birds could be spotted.

I had dropped out of bird watching and threw myself into the many small critters in the wet grass. Especially many species of snails and a brown frog. The picture shows a Shrub snail (with the big round shell) and a Great Clausilia. The latter has a nice pointed shell but was only 7mm high despite its name.

Satisfied

This was a beautiful day and what special parts of the Netherlands these are. Especially when you realise that 60 years ago there was only water and no land here. I hope to come back here again and then with a nice telephoto lens to capture the birds as well.

I try to write a blog every other week about hiking, photography and especially nature. If you don't want to miss anything you can subscribe to my newsletter and get an email as soon as there is a new blog. There is a Dutch and English version available, choose which you prefer to receive.

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