wind riverside Meuse Netherlands 736 pm 250409_1070

Wind in trees and bushes on April day at the river Maas near Bokhoven in the south of the Netherlands.

About the picture
The photo shows the microphone stand and stone groyne that juts out into the river and prevents the river from washing away more and more sand from the banks. On this groyne stands a hybrid poplar tree that was once planted as a ‘bakenboom’ (beacon tree) to prevent ships from running aground at high tide. On the other side of the river, there are also trees along the water's edge. On the left, across the river, are the first houses of the village of Amerzoden. The blue sky shows that it is a beautiful spring day.

Birds detected by Merlin Bird ID app (ver. 3.7.2 (256 – 2025)
#5:23 #7:17 #7:22 Eurasian Oystercatcher
#1:44 #5:16 #5:52 Eurasian Coot
#0:03 #0:08 #5:54White Wagtail
#0:53 #1:00 Greylag Goose
#3:35 Common Pheasant
#0:08 #1:30 #2:22 Common Chaffinch

Date/time: Wednesday , April 09 2025, start 7:36 pm

Weather: Temp 10 – 6 c, sun 90 – 82 %, wind N 19 - 40 km/h, humidity 70 - 80%, dew pont 4°c, 1026 – 1027 hPa, visibility 40 km

Location; River Maas, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands (Holland), Europe GPS 51.74062 5.23052

Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS, in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Tascam dr-100 Mk2. Decoded Mid-side to STEREO, blimp EQ-correction and limiter -3 dB

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

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ABOUT THE ‘BAKENBOMEN’ (BEACON TREES) ALONG THE RIVER

Beacon trees were planted along the banks of the canalized Meuse River in the 1930s to mark the boundary between land and water and indicate the channel for shipping. Especially during high water, when regular beacons and markings sometimes disappear under water, these trees provided a visual reference point for skippers. Due to their height and regular placement - usually every 100 to 110 meters - they formed a clearly recognizable line in the landscape, visible from both the water and the land. The trees were mainly used in bends, near groynes, and at other critical points where the channel required additional marking.
With the advent of modern navigation techniques such as radar, GPS, and electronic beacons, the primary function of beacon trees as navigation markers has largely become obsolete. Nevertheless, they are still important in certain circumstances, such as in fog or extremely high water, when electronic systems can fail or be less reliable. Nowadays, the emphasis is mainly on the cultural-historical, scenic, and ecological value of the beacon trees. They have become symbols of the Meuse landscape and form an unmistakable part of the regional identity.
The beacon trees near Bokhoven are mainly found on the southern bank of the Meuse, in the area known as the Bokhovense Waard, where the photo was taken. The trees are clearly visible from the river dikes along the river. It is wonderful cycling here.
The beacon tree structure stretches for approximately 100 kilometers along the Meuse, from Boxmeer to Geertruidenberg. Bokhoven is located roughly in the middle of this route and is part of the so-called “dikeed Meuse” area, where the beacon trees are most prominent. In total, there are thousands of beacon trees along both banks of the Meuse, forming the longest avenue in the Netherlands.
The original beacon trees are almost all Canada poplars (Populus canadensis), a hybrid of the American poplar (Populus deltoides) and the European black poplar (Populus nigra). These trees were chosen for their rapid growth, straight trunk, and great height - under favorable conditions, they can grow to over 30 meters tall. In recent plantings, the native European black poplar (Populus nigra) is increasingly being chosen, as it is more ecologically valuable and better suited to the river landscape.