Woods Giersbergen NL 190329_1326.ogg

One hour forest in the Netherlands. Despite the noise of the people, choppers and planes, it might be nice to sit here with me in the forest. Please enjoy.

A calm weekday in National Park De Loonse En Drunense Duinen in North Brabant in the Netherlands. Because it is only ten o'clock in the morning, it is quiet here. Now and then there is a plane or a helicopter, but when they have left it is quiet. As I continue to write this story, October 2020, significantly fewer planes can be heard due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For sound hunters like me a blessing to the ear.
This nature reserve is one of my favorite places to record sound. I can see the dunes on the right through the trees. It is also a forest area. I'm on a low hill top of maybe 20 meters. That is already quite high here In Brabant. Our province, like most parts of our Dutch delta, is flat as a pancake. Finches sing that it is a delight. Two Buzzards in love fly high above me. You can hear them shout every now and then. People here let their dog out, walk or row their all-terrain bikes. Two young ladies with a dog walk past me chatting. They don't see me. In the meantime, the bird continues to chant in the spring. When the spotted woodpeckers start hammering and the wood pigeon calls to his friends, I am the happiest man in the northern hemisphere.

More recordings here: https://freesound.org/browse/geotags/?c_lat=51.65158222174958&c_lon=5.162111902180641&z=15.049821675426958
About the area, national park Loonse en Drunense Duinen

(Text by Irma de Potter,Ranger of this area) Dutch website: https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/nationaal-park-loonse-en-drunense-duinen

In the Loonse en Drunense Duinen you will find forest, heathland and especially a lot of sand. It is one of the largest shifting sand areas in Western Europe. The wind can blow undisturbed in many places, resulting in an ever-changing landscape. By purchasing it in 1921, it has been protected for 100 years and we can still enjoy this Brabant Sahara today.

You can roam freely on the sand plain. So there is plenty of room to explore extensively. Marvel at the submerged trees, enjoy the chirping field crickets and quench your thirst at one of the many cafes or restaurants on the edge of this nature reserve. Walking, cycling or on horseback: it's all possible here. With the wind in your hair and the sand in your shoes. You may even come across the sheep herd. The sheep keep the heath short and eat away saplings. This is how they keep the area open.

The Loonse en Drunense Duinen still has 270 hectares of shifting sand. That sand creates rather extreme conditions: the soil is dry and nutrient-poor. The difference in temperature between day and night can be as much as 50 degrees Celsius. This ensures a unique flora and fauna. The animals and plants have adapted or feel at home in drought, aridity and temperature fluctuations. Sand sedge and various lichens, for example. And the viviparous lizard, sandpit beetles and sand bees. All species that love sand.

In the last Ice Age, the polar winds blew sand from the north to Brabant, where it remained in thick packages. For a long time this sandy plain was covered with primeval forests. Until the fourteenth century the trees were felled by people. They used the wood as fuel. The bare plain was filled with heather, where the farmers grazed their cattle. This intensive grazing and the sod cutting of the soil depleted the soil. This gave the sand free play. For a long time, the sand was a major problem for the residents. Villages and fields threatened to disappear under it. Trees were planted to stop the advancing sand. You can still see the traces of this today: find the submerged trees that only peak above the sand hills with their crowns.

Date/time: March 29th 2019, start 10.04 am

Weather: 13c, sunny, wind ENE 2bft with gusts to 12 km/h, 1032 hPa, humidity 61%, sun 506 W/m2.

Location; Giersbergen, Loonse en Drunense Duinen, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands (Holland), Europe, geo 51.65216 5.15646

Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS (direction East), in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Sound Devices 302 >Tascam dr-100 Mk2. Decoded Mid-side to STEREO

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