It is a coming and going of people walking the dog. And from cormorants, magpies, bumblebees and, around May, also nightingales. The Zuidduinen has a lot to offer and is exceptionally rich in nature. If you are lucky you can even spot fallow deer!
There is water in a deep hole, actually more like a dune valley. “That used to be a small dune field,” explains forester Gerard Scholten. “You used to have them everywhere, dozens of them. People fertilized the poor soil with rotten fish from the sea. The potatoes that were grown there were a delicacy and were known as dune pipit. Indeed, just like the bird.”
Gerard is a forest ranger for Waternet, the organization that manages the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes. And also the Zuidduinen, which start right next to the buildings of Zandvoort. Familiar territory for Gerard. “I live three blocks away and walk here often. Even more often when I had a dog.” The proof is provided every five minutes when someone kindly greets Gerard. They all know him.
More than a dog walking area
Gerard reacts hurt to the suggestion that the Zuidduinen is more like a dog walking area than a nature reserve. “You’re seeing that wrong. For example, if I want to boost my knowledge of plants, I come here. Rare plants are more common here than in the Waterleidingduinen.” Gerard refers to the many fallow deer that have grazed many of the rare plants in the AW dunes. Reason why the deer are currently being hunted.
“Look here is a dune far, for example. And that is sand cabbage, actually a wild rocket. There are rosettes from which evening primroses will soon grow and those over there, those are emperor candles. You can hardly see them on the other side of the fence. If a leaf rises above the ground, it will be gnawed off.”
We are standing next to the fence that should keep the deer within the AW dunes. You can see how the ground is covered by a very thin layer of moss, with some blades of grass here and there. But when we suddenly see a big deer, we become happy again. “They are beautiful animals.”