Oerd and Hôn
Nature reserve Het Oerd is an old overgrown dune area with several high dunes and moisty dune valleys. From the high dunes you have a beautiful view over the vegetated mudflats close by, where thousands of birds rest at high tide.
In the eastern old dunes of Het Oerd the herring gull is strongly represented. There is a colony of over 3.300 couples. The surroundings are ideal for the blue and brown harrier. Other common breeding birds are eider, shelduck, curluw, pied avocet, tern, wheatear and grasshopper warbler.
Nature reserve De Hon is constantly changing. New dunes begin to form and the vegetated mudflats extend slowly. The pride of nature reserve De Hon is the colony of spoonbills. There have been regular inhabitants of nature reserve De Hon since 1994. Also the short-eared owl breeds there and at the end of summer there is plenty of sea-lavender. The plant puts large parts of the area in a purple haze.
Outside the breeding season a lot of birds try to seek salvation on the Mudflats. If they return after looking for food, because of high tide, they rest on Het Oerd and De Hon. Especially in autumn ten thousands of birds are involved, for example oystercatcher, black-tailed godwit, curlew, redshank and dunlin. In spring thousands of brant gooses migrate. They come to East Ameland, on their way to their breeding grounds in the Pole area.
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland
Oerd and Hôn on Ameland