The Wadden Islands, alternating natural scenery according to Hanne Tersmette

Anyone who follows Hanne Tersmette through her popular vlogs for Natuurmonumenten or has seen her in action as a member of the jury in the program Boswachter Gezocht, knows that she is a passionate lady with content. Someone who pursues her dreams and has even changed course by exchanging the busy and fast-paced advertising world for a no-nonsense job as a forester (communication & nature experience) around the Naardermeer. She has been working for Natuurmonumenten for five years now and recently presented her book debut #GAAN, de hort op met de leukste boswachter van Nederland. As a child she was already with her sisters and parents regularly in forest and heathlands to find and made walks of many kilometers. That early contact with and interest in nature has shaped her. In the book Hanne shows the way and takes her readers outdoors to her favourite places in the Netherlands. An accessible, written and above all personal book, full of beautiful photos divided into fifteen areas. We zoomed in on chapter 10, the Wadden. And Hanne is eager to tell us about it.

The credo of your book is to spot the most beautiful places in Dutch nature. When we highlight the Wadden Islands, what are your favourite spots and why?

I am a big fan of Schiermonnikoog.It is the furthest island and I like the small scale. Especially in winter it is deserted. You get the feeling that you are alone in the world in nature with all those migrating birds. I am also fascinated by the Wasserman bunker, which dates from the Second World War and stands on the highest dune. Also because of the history. That evokes a strange atmosphere.

I have been visiting Texel all my life. It’s closer to my home-work area. When I was a little girl, I’d loved to go there for a week at a nature camp, a collaboration between the Dutch Forestry Commission and Ecomare. We went fishing for shrimp, walking on the mud flats, cycling through the woods and searching for tracks. I also love the bird boulevard. Utopia is the name of the project An incredible number of large terns breed here, mainly from the uninhabited island of Griend. But nature has been developed on the inner dike, bordering on a low polder-like piece of land, where shellfish has been deposited. This is where the birds like to breed, and they can be admired in large numbers from May onwards with their hatchlings. That is a beautiful sight from the bike with the binoculars in hand. In the direction of August, September, the terns leave again.

Finally, I find Terschelling a very nice and quiet island outside the high season. Also there I always wonder about so many different species of birds. During a bird weekend I spent hours staring at all those little beachwalkers. If for example a bird of prey flies by then you see that there is panic and when the threat decreases they will continue to scavenge. Very special, all that activity.”

Many people may not know that the total Wadden area runs from Den Helder to Esbjerg in Denmark and therefore with 10,000 km2 a large area. And how important the game of the tides are, especially for the nutrients of flora and fauna. Your book clearly explains the role of the tides in relation to salt marshes (overgrown areas of land that lie directly on the sea), ditches (small valleys that are flooded with water at high tide) and plates and mud flats (plates are small islands). The mudflats are more towards the salt marshes and are formed by silt). Background information that gives the reader a completely different picture of how the tide works. A book full of lighters, too, isn’t it?!

“I’ve written a lot on feeling, and sometimes I wanted to explain a bit more elements. I had finished the Wadden chapter and after reading it back I asked myself if people have an idea of what a salt marsh or mud is. In order to understand nature, it is good to learn to read the landscape, which is good to do when you have an idea of how the Netherlands works. With the ridge, the sandy soil in the middle, around Noord-Holland the peatlands…. If you understand what kind of soil you are on and if you observe closely, you will recognize more and more. I hope that I will stimulate people and make them aware of what they are looking at.”

The Wadden can be described as a roadside restaurant for migratory birds, because of the diverse vegetation of beach, water, dunes, forest and meadows and the strong dynamics of tides. How big is your love for birds?

“I find migratory birds fascinating, like the canoe sandpiper, that ieniemienie small bird of 25 cm that travels about 5000 kilometers without eating. That such a creature is in top shape and thanks to its strong muscles allows its intestines to shrink in order to carry as little weight as possible. It only lives on its fat reserves. As soon as it reaches the Wadden Sea, it slurps in shells of all kinds and simply poops out the grit again. An athlete. Migratory birds are very hard workers and I like how they find each other, how they navigate. I also love big game, but when it comes to birds I like to contemplate what they’ve been through along the way. Have they had a storm or a lot of rain? Have they suffered from hunger? It triggers my imagination.”

Griend is the small uninhabited island, where thousands of birds breed, such as black-headed gulls and big terns. What makes this island even more attractive for birds to make their stopover?

“You’ve already said it: it’s uninhabited and therefore incredibly quiet. Close to the island there is a mud flats where you can find a lot of food. At high tide the birds rest on Griend and at low tide they fly to the plate. In addition, there are no predators. There is only one willow, so even birds of prey do not bother the birds much. During the breeding season there are two bird watchers who monitor visitors and send them away if necessary. You can pass them at an appropriate distance. In short, a Utopia for birds.”