On a bright sunny April day 26 of us went to the Zwin, a visitor-friendly provincial nature park near Knokke. Its 150 hectares consist of dunes, mudflats and estuaries where birds can live in relatively security . Thank you, Veronique, for putting this outing together. Thanks to Veronique and Craig for the photographs and Jane for commentary input.
Jan, our guide, explained how and why so many white storks nest there, balancing on top of truly massive nests. The storks have an impressive 2 meter wingspan, yet weigh only 3 kgs. How wonderful to see them flying to and from their nests and doing a lot of bill clacking, a courtship behaviour in which they rattle the two halves of their bills together repeatedly and loudly. Het Zwin is an important staging post for migratory birds, struggling to keep the water table sufficiently high to ensure good ground cover for nesting and food. Plans are afoot both to extend the surface area and to increase the water intake from the sea.
From a good look-out spot we could see Shell ducks, Oystercatchers, Cormorants, Avocets, Common Sandpipers, Redshanks, Turnstones and Mallards. A kestrel hunted in the distance and larks were singing away as they climbed high in the sky.
At first glance the lie of the land appears flat and uninteresting but Jan explained how minuscule plants can be indicators of the land drying out. Here are some of the low-lying plants he pointed out: Glasswort (Salicornia sp.), Biting Stonecrop , Sea Purslane, and Sand Sedge.
Later in the year the place is purple with Thrift, Sea Lavender and Sea Aster.
After the tour we all took refreshments at the Zwin café.
A Buzzard was hunting over our heads as we wended our way to a good Belgian beer. You can see the Noordzee Hotel in the distance - it is in Holland - and good "Appelbollen" can be eaten there!
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