Rare plant and birds on Dutch artificial island

Translated from Dutch conservationists ARK, about the “Zandmotor” [Sand Engine], an articial sandy island to the west of the Westland coast in the Netherlands, built to stop floods because climate change causes sea levels to rise:

Two large sandbanks have already arisen in the mouth of the bay of the Sand Engine. Next year may see the first plants grow there, such as European searocket; these will capture more sand again. On the old beach dunes have been created after the beach widening of early 2010. Not only searocket is flourishing here, but also the first European beachgrass and the very rare frosted orache have been observed. In the lee of the bay also some mud is settling which will in the future attract waders. Sometime this fall, the Zandmotor will be open to the public for the first time.

According to a longer ARK report, published here:

The first ringed plovers, oystercatchers, redshanks and spotted redshanks have already been seen.

Update October 2011: here.

England: Experts at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank turned their hand to propagating an array of native flowers yesterday to help restore vanishing habitat such as meadows: here.