White-tailed eagle breeds in a closed piece of nature near Groningen

#Whitetailed #eagle #breeds #closed #piece #nature #Groningen
Erik MenkveldThe sea eagles in Friescheveen

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RTV Drenthe

NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 12:05

Now that people are no longer allowed to come, the Friescheveen nature reserve in the northern tip of Drenthe is flourishing. Forest ranger Bart Zwiers will find beavers, otters and pine martens there. There has also been a pair of sea eagles there for three months, which is now breeding.

“The fact that they are now sitting on the eggs is in fact the culmination of the work. When I count the species like this, I certainly believe that it is very good for nature that we have turned the Friescheveen into a rest area,” says the forester RTV Drenthe.

The Friescheveen is a low peat area with swamp forest, reeds and open water, created in the early 19th century by peat extraction. There is a pond with several ‘work islands’: the fields where the peat used to dry. Now alders, ferns, blackberries and honeysuckle grow in those fields.

Boats away

Until a few years ago it was possible to rent a boat from a restaurant on the edge of Friescheveen and row into the area. But the restaurant closed a few years ago and the boats are gone.

“They won’t come back either,” said ranger Zwiers. “The area needs peace and quiet. That is not possible in combination with recreational boating, no matter how limited and quiet.”

Toads and snakes

It was a logical step to completely close off the area for recreation, Zwiers believes. Yet this is probably unique in the Netherlands: it sometimes happens that breeding areas are closed off at this time of year, but that is temporary. Roads and roads through a nature reserve are also sometimes closed to allow toads or snakes to cross.

But it is special that there are ‘no access’ signs around an entire nature reserve. “I have never experienced it before in the 25 years that I have been a forest ranger,” says Zwiers. “Not here in Groningen and Drenthe where I work now. But also not in the ten years that I was a ranger in the Naardermeer.”

RTV DrentheAccess ban at Friescheveen

Zwiers says he realizes that more and more people want to recreate in nature, especially since corona. “We also have to find a solution for that,” he says. “For example, by seeing whether we can open agricultural land for recreation in consultation with farmers.”

Now that the closure has been a success, Friescheveen will remain closed for recreation, especially because the sea eagles are breeding. “The female is about four years old and comes from the Lepelaarsplassen near Almere. We know this because she is ringed,” says Zwiers. The origin of the male is less clear.

Nature is happy

“The next success would be that the eggs also hatch,” said the forest ranger. Anything can still go wrong. But if the birds are not disturbed by someone who ignores the access ban, the first sea eagle born in Friescheveen could soon be welcomed.

“Am I happy? It’s not about whether a forester is happy, it’s about whether nature here is happy. And that is the case, I think.”