Dutch polder Gelderse Waarden Noord-Brabant Netherlands 2 pm 250320_1061

60 Minutes Polder farmland ambiance in the Netherlands early spring.
Birds with in the background, the low tones, or more the hum of distant shipping, high altitude planes, people chatting on bikes and local traffic and tractors.

Here in the Gelderse Waarden, a vast polder near Hedikhuizen, peace prevails. The chiffchaff and the green woodpecker, the stock dove and the crow, and many other birds make themselves heard. The airplanes and the man on the bicycle are free extras in this recording. He’s calling and waving at me. Occasionally, some traffic passes through the polder. A farmer drives his tractor. Other than that, not much happens. It’s wonderfully quiet here.

Birds detected by BirdNET-Analyser (GUI ver. 2.3.0 Model ver. V2.4)
#19:39 #33:03
#26:00 #26:18 #27:03 Common Buzzard
#5:42 #8:12 #10:01 Common Chiffchaff (all the time)
#51:00 #51:45 #52:18 Common Kingfisher
#4:39 Common Wood=pigeon
#51:09 Dunnock
#15:12 #40:36 #44:33 Common Blue Tit
#38:45 Eurasian Coot
#6:15 #12:30 #20:18 Eurasian Green Woodpecker
#28:48 #29:09 #55:39 Eurasian Jay
#3:39 #4:18 #4:27 Eurasian Wren
#47:42 #50:03 #51:03 European Robin
#11:30 #38:43 #39:00 Fieldfare
#42:57 #47:33 #48:42 Great Tit
#26:24 #33:57 #34:06 Long-tailed Tit
#0:30 #1:00 #1:53 Mallard
#1:39 #9:18 #9:38 Redwing
#36:39 #36:24 #56:33 Short-toed Tree-creeper

More today / More recordings here trough the year

Date/time: March 20 2025, 2 pm

Weather: 19c, sun, clouds 1%, windSSW7 km/h with gusts to 14 km/h, 1020 hPa, humidity 41%, dew point 5c, visibility 31 KM.

Location;polder Gelderse Waarden, Hoge Maasdijk - Brugkamp Haarsteeg / Hedikhuizen, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands (Holland), Europe. GPS 51.71588 5.19204

Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS pointed ESE, in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Sound Devices 302 >Tascam dr-100 Mk2. Decoded Mid-side to STEREO. Noise-floor 36 dBA. Rycote cyclone correction High. Compressor and Limiter -3dB.

Original 65 minute MS-track 96/24 bit available for motivated pro's and artists.

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About the history of the Gelderse Waarden Polder, the Dutch fighting the waters and creating (new) nature for the future
The Gelderse Waarden were created as a result of the dynamics of the River Meuse. Until the 15th century, the Meuse made a sharp bend between Well in the province Gelderland and Hedikhuizen in Brabant. This meander, known as the Hedikhuizense Maas, formed a natural border and was of great importance for local water management and shipping.
In the winter of 1474-1475, this bend was dug through to facilitate shipping and limit flooding. This shifted the main flow of the Meuse to the north, placing the Gelderland lands south of the Meuse.
After this intervention, the old Meuse arm gradually began to silt up. The Hedikhuizense Meuse changed from a wide river into a long, narrow waterway, partly even a ditch. The Hoge Maasdijk (on the left in the photo, where the trees are), which protects the area from high water, became an essential part of the landscape.

Until 1958, the Gelderse Waarden belonged to the province of Gelderland. This made the area a U-shaped enclave of Gelderland in North Brabant. As part of the border corrections of 1958, the Gelderse Waarden were transferred to the province of North Brabant and the municipality of Heusden.

From the year 1000 onwards, dykes were constructed to protect the land from flooding. The Hoge Maasdijk and the dyke along the old Meuse arm formed a closed dyke ring around the Land van Heusden en Altena. In the 18th and 19th centuries, spillways such as the Bokhoven and Baardwijk spillways were constructed to allow controlled flooding during extreme high water levels, thereby reducing the pressure on the dykes.
The construction of the Bergsche Maas in 1904 and the Drongelens Canal in the same period marked the end of the natural flood dynamics. The river was canalised, weirs and groynes were constructed, and the landscape took on its current form.

The Gelderse Waarden are part of the river area and contain valuable remnants of the former polder and river landscape. The area includes open water, marshes, wet hay meadows, copses and a dense network of ditches and trenches.
The ecological value of the area is enhanced by the presence of wet nature reserves, such as De Sompen and Zooislagen, and its location near Natura 2000 protected nature. The area provides habitat for marsh birds, amphibians, bats and numerous insect and plant species.

Various nature restoration projects are being carried out in the surrounding river area, aimed at restoring wet nature, improving water quality and increasing biodiversity.

The Hoge Maasdijk (high water dike) protects the Gelderse Waarden against flooding from the Meuse. The dyke body is part of the regional flood defence system. The dyke has been reinforced in the past and adapted to the latest safety standards.
The inundation system, with the inundation sluice at Fort Hedikhuizen, made it possible to let water in in a controlled manner when there was a threat, thereby inundating the hinterland to defend the fortress of Heusden. This system is of great historical importance and forms a cultural-historical element in the landscape.
So you can see that we in the Netherlands are very busy with water management and nature development.