Arjan Dwarshuis loves the godwit. That’s not really surprising, because Dwarshuis loves all birds. That much was clear in the InsideOutspecial ‘Netherlands, Waterland, Birdland: winter’ (KRO-NCRV), in which Dwarshuis pointed out some of his favorites from a distance in nature reserves. A group of little swans in a lake: “One of the most beautiful birds we have in the Netherlands.” A bearded man on a reed: “A really bizarrely beautiful bird.” Two sea eagles in a high nest: “The king of all birds here.” In the extensive descriptions he gave of the animals, the words “bizarre”, “beautiful” and “crazy” appeared frequently.
It’s not easy for the birds: nature is under great pressure in the Netherlands, as nature guide and bird expert Dwarshuis knew all too well. Yet the Freek Vonk of the bird kingdom liked to focus on the success stories. Such as that of the Biesbosch: a previously diked agricultural polder had turned into a reed swamp in recent years. Much to the delight of birds such as the bittern and the mustache, which could now thrive in the area. “That shows that nature is very resilient,” said Dwarshuis. “I think it’s a super hopeful story.”
With the godwit it was a bit more complicated. On the Landje van Geijsel (‘a puddle-marshy area close to Amsterdam’) a group of the protected sandpipers had gathered before Dwarshuis’ eyes; just returned from their wintering grounds in West Africa. “To me it feels like a good friend who has been away for a year has returned home in one piece after a long, dangerous journey,” said Dwarshuis. “It always makes me a bit melancholic, because of course there are fewer every year.”
It has been known for some time that things are not going well for our national bird. Good morning Netherlands (WNL) paid attention to the animal two weeks ago for the third time this year. For presenter Welmoed Sijtsma, that seemed to be just one time too many. “I really don’t want to be a dick,” she said. „I love the godwit. But I also think: why does so much money have to be spent on one bird? Or am I now very much a… a… a barbarian?”
Green
Extinct bird species are simply not a pleasant theme for a cheerful right-wing morning show. Also not pleasant: the “hunt” from “mainly the left side” for Member of Parliament Bente Becker. Colleague Claire Martens explained Good morning Netherlandsbroadcast on Wednesday morning stated that the “buzz” about Becker’s motion was unjustified, because Becker just wanted to “look at the numbers”. So it was not surprising that she had submitted a motion to keep data on cultural and religious norms and values of Dutch people with a migration background.
Frits Barend was then allowed to explain that he may indeed have given “a little push” to a pro-Palestine activist during the opening evening of IDFA, but that the whole incident was “completely exaggerated”. “And even if I had given him a push…” Fellow guest René Mioch started to shift back and forth a bit uncomfortably, but the presenters wanted to move on to something more fun. Movies. Mioch shed some light on the blockbuster Wickeda film “about two witches”. “One witch discovers that she is green,” Mioch analyzed. “She had never noticed that before.”
Based on that analysis, I dare to doubt whether Mioch has actually seen the film. Fortunately, Dwarshuis knew exactly what he was talking about, and he even had something positive to say about the godwit: “The number of godwits decreases every year, but the number of bird watchers increases every year.” Who knows, he may have increased that number even further on Wednesday evening with his passionate story.