Zwanenwater
Zwanenwater is a protected dune landscape in North Holland. Pronounced as a swamp area, it is home to many rare animal and plant species.
Geography and history
The varied dune landscape Zwanenwater (in German "Schwanenwasser") is located south of the former island and the current town of Callantsoog in the municipality of Schagen , North Holland , ( Netherlands ). The area measures a total of 580 hectares and has been owned by the "Natural Monuments" association since 1973.
Flora and fauna
In the dune area there are many animals, some of them rare. The goshawk is found in wooded areas and circles around here, while the bluethroat is found in reed and swamp areas. You can also see great crested grebes on the large bodies of water.
A very special phenomenon is the spoonbill , which is rarely seen and feels at home here on the island of the second lake and breeds there.
Parts of the area are mowed (hay meadows) and thus offer space for orchids , for example . To prevent the marshland from silting up, certain parts of the Zwanenwaters are freed from wild growth. Other parts of the area are left to their own devices, so that small birch forests develop here.
tourism
Since the Zwanenwater was declared an internationally important marshland in 1988, this area has been given special protection. The area is accessible all day for nature-loving tourists (April 1 to August 1, 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, otherwise from sunrise to sunset). Non-members of the Natural Monuments Association are required to pay a fee (3 euros day ticket). One has u. a. the possibility of observing the animals of the first lake from two observation huts.
During the hikes on the circular hiking trails (2 or 4.5 km) you will encounter a wide variety of landscapes. You walk through the “typical” sandy dunes covered with dune grasses, you will find some grotesque forest stands and dead tree stumps, everything is in bloom. Then, in turn, you approach the water surface with reeds and swamp, you come to small tropical-looking forests, in which you encounter a little frog and a lot of "mosquitoes". The nightingale and the cuckoo can be heard, blah bangs fight in the pools.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 49 ′ 7 " N , 4 ° 41 ′ 42" E