river Waal Netherlands 210 pm 250715_1166

River de Waal in the Netherlands in the summer.

What most people usually do not know is that the river Waal is one of the busiest waterways in western Europe. So too on this day, one ship after another sails by.
The gulls and common terns do not care about all this human activity. #2:55 Sometimes a speedbot rushes across the water, but mostly it is professional shipping you see here.
#3:37 I enjoy the sound of the clattering valve on the exhaust.
#5:09 Occasionally the wind briefly blows into the microphones and the waves come rolling up the sandy beach.
#6:22 Hear the Black-headed Gulls squawking at each other.
Yet every ship sounds different. Somehow that machine sound and those thumping ship body’s have a nice sound. At least the variation in sound surprises me every time. Noise can sometimes be beautiful.
#15:42 All of a sudden there is a low flying military transport plane. I can adjust the volume just in time. #17:04 The calling Eurasian Oystercatcher immediately changes the ambience.
#35:00 Mother and 6 yo boy come and enjoy being st the river-side.

Birds detected by Merlin Bird ID app (ver. 3.6.1 (220 – 2024);
Birds detected by BirdNET-Analyser (GUI ver. 2.1.0 Model ver. V2.4);
#5:15 #21:03 #33:51 #34:39 #35:24 #36:03 #57:12 #58:45 #59:18 Black-headed Gull
#17:21 #22:41 #23:59 Eurasian Oystercatcher
#2:15 #3:21 #6:43 #10:23 Pied Wagtail / White Wagtail
#7:27 #54:34 Barn swallow
#20:22 #20:45 Common Tern

All tracks here today / More tracks along the Waal river

Date/time: July 15 2025, 2:10 pm

Weather: 19-21 ºc, sun and 90% clouds, wind W 26-44 km/h, 1018 hPa, humidity 54%, visibility 43 km, dew point 10 ºc, cloud ceiling 10.400 km

Location; embankment / floodplain, Waal river, Waaldijk, Rossum, Gelderland, Netherlands (Holland), Europe. GPS 51.80599 5.33527

Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS with pointed NE, in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Sound Devices 302 >Tascam dr-100 Mk2. Noise floor 50 dBA, Decoded Mid-side to STEREO.

Original MS-track 96/24 available for motivated pro's and artists.

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