Bird news from Rottumerplaat desert island

This video says about itself:

Wadden Sea on UNESCO World Heritage list

28 June 2009

Wadden Sea National Park is an excellent example of a coastal wetland between Den Helder in the Netherlands and Esbjerg in Denmark. It is the largest unbroken stretch of intertidal mudflats in the world, and the perfect example of a coastal wetland with high biological, hydrological and ecological importance, shared between three countries: Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

The area is of international importance being a nursery of marine life, a resting, moulting and feeding area for several millions of migratory birds, and a habitat for thousands of birds, seals and many other species.

The Wadden Sea, an estuary of the North Sea, has a total area of about 8000 square km. It is the world’s biggest coherent habitat of its kind and one of the last unspoiled estuaries in Europe. There are many varied and extensive habitats in the Wadden Sea. This important estuary includes the salt marshes along the coast line as well as the islands and dunes.

The mud flats consist of the areas which get flooded twice a day and then fall dry again, and of the channel system of tideways, channels and shipping channels between the islands, which are responsible for the flooding and for the draining.

The mud flats are known for their very low inclination which is usually less than 1 meter of difference in altitude on a 1000 meter long stretch.

About fifty islands and islets protect the shallow Wadden Sea.

Bart and Doortje Ebbinge-Dallmeijer, wardens of Rottumerplaat desert island in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands, report on 29 July 2013 (translated from Dutch; the autumn bird migration has begun):

In our previous blog post we already noted the growing numbers of curlews and black-headed gulls, and that process has been extended in the past week. Now, already 7500 curlews stay here, and also dunlins, red knots and bar-tailed godwits are present again. Even the first dozen black-bellied plovers and a single sanderling have found Rottumerplaat again. Most are still in summer plumage.

Oystercatchers

Oystercatchers, which do not have to travel as far, proliferate as well. Two weeks ago, on July 13, we counted 1,100 during a high water count, and yesterday (July 25) 3,700 already. They also nest on Rottumerplaat, and they are even after lesser black-backed gulls, herring gulls and eider ducks, the most numerous breeding species on this island. We estimate between 210 and 270 breeding pairs.

Bart and Doortje Ebbinge-Dallmeijer report good Rottumerplaat spoonbill news for this year as well. 34 nests, high enough to prevent flooding, many chicks fledged.

Six young marsh harriers fledged this year.

Some ringed plovers nested on the island in 2013 as well.

Bird book reviews: here.

Related articles

• Texel island wildlife update (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Sunday travel anthology (summitcountyvoice.com)
• Wärtsilä to retrofit German ferry with LNG dual-fuel engines to reduce environmental footprint on sensitive sea area (greencarcongress.com)
• Sodasan is now a member of the Friends of the Seal Sanctuary north dike. (sodasanblog.wordpress.com)
• To the North Sea (sethandvicki.wordpress.com)
• Rottumeroog island birds and flowers (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• AWI’s New Research Ship Launched (Germany) (worldmaritimenews.com)
• Birds of Terschelling island, the Netherlands (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Svalbard phalaropes, snow buntings, and king eiders (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)