9th November 1988 - Westschouwen

For a change of scenery and birds we head for a forest nature reserve on the island of Schouwen. The Boswachterij Westschouwen consists of Cors­ican pine plantation on sand dunes which are mountains com­pared to anything we've seen in the Netherlands so far. Offshore westerly winds have blown up an almost continuous line of dunes, up to five kilo­metres wide, from the northernmost part of the French coast, through Belgium and Holland, ending in the Friesland Isles that stretch along the coast of West Germany to Denmark.

In the Boswachterij (tree 'factory') West­schouwen there are a number of way‑marked paths through the plantation, as well as bridleways and a paved wheel­chair track. We know from a big map in the car park that we can wander around at will but follow­ing blue or yellow markers will bring us back to the van when we have finished.

In some places we note a very sweet orangey smell which we trace to over-ripe sea buckthorn fruit. There are plenty of rosehips, privet and honeysuckle berries too. Fungi include lots of small earth‑ball types and various little brownish jobs.

From the car park we walk through a grazed area, then scrub, then plantation. Most common (British) woodland birds were present, and there are heron, mallard, coot etc. on the few small lakes. Frequent drizzle tried to spoil the day somewhat but it is nice to get out and stretch our legs.

About Dutch dunes

Dutch dunes as a whole are considered to be among the best developed and best preserved dune systems in the world. A natural function of the dunes is protection of the hinterland from flooding, and with about 25% of the Netherlands lying below sea level, protection of the dune system is as important as the maintenance of the ditches and dykes that keep the land surface drained. In the 14th century laws were introduced to reverse the degradation that had been caused by clearance of the natural forest in the 12th century and the overgrazing by rabbits following their introduction in the previous century.

Nowadays most dunes are managed for a variety of purpose including their scientific interest, bio­logical resources, and landscape recreation. A few hundred hectares are main­tained as strict nature reserves with access limited to scientific purposes only, and many reserves on the Friesland Islands are closed to the public during the bird breeding season. Access to the other 90% of the system is usually either free or very cheap. Recreation includes walking, hunting, plant and bird‑watching, riding, cycling etc, with the provision of paths, tracks, car parks. picnic areas etc.

The fruits of various shrubs, especially sea buckthorn, are collected commercially, and maritime pine has been planted for timber. However the plant­ations also stop soil erosion and are usually managed for recreation. Sea buckthorn, privet and hawthorn make up the most obvious scrub vegetation, while the grassland which covers the inner parts of the system contain a large variety of plant commun­ities and species. These grasslands are said to resemble scottish machair. The flora and fauna of the dunes is generally rich, with some 1100 species of plant ‑ some 80% of Dutch plant species occur in the coastal dunes, as do about 80% of the total breeding species of bird. (ref Maarel 1979)