river-village farmland shipping ballon birds 856 am 251012_0049

An early, windless Sunday morning in the Nieuwe Zwaluwsche Polder, on the northern edge of Lage Zwaluwe in the Netherlands.

A hot-air balloon slowly approaches over the polder. During the track, you can hear the throttle opening more and more clearly.
A ship on the river disappears from the audio image.
Geese and crows have gained the upper hand, but there are many more birds.
#2:21 The church clock strikes nine and the hot-air balloon comes closer and closer.
Behind the dyke house where the microphone is located, a car occasionally drives over the cobbled road.
Sometimes you can hear the #5:14 flapping of the wings of the geese flying overhead.

Description of the photo of the Nieuwe Zwaluwsche Polder: The photo shows a vast polder landscape beneath a heavily overcast sky. The fields are a fresh green and subtly vary in color. In the distance, rows of trees line the edge of the river Amer, and scattered throughout are a few farms and rural homes.
The sky is mostly grey and closed, but on the horizon there's a small break in the cloud cover, where a soft glow of sunlight shines through. That light gives the landscape a serene, almost motionless atmosphere.

Birds detected by Merlin Bird ID app ver. 3.7.5 - 261 – 2025
#9:02 #9:22 #9:40 #9:52 Common Kestrel
#7:57 #8:09 #8:18 #8:30 #8:54 Eurasian Curlew
#8:45 #8:51 #8:58 #9:06 #9:45 Green Sandpiper
#0:45 #0:54 #1:15 #1:42 #1:57 #5:51 #7:15 #7:54 #8:27 Greylag Goose
#0:00 #0:21 #0:39 #2:21 #4:03 Carrion Crow
#0:08 #0:13 #8:22 Hooded Crow
#8:01 Canada Goose
#6:57 Greater White-fronted Goose
#3:34 #7:18 Common Magpie
#0:51 #0:57 #1:06 #6:26 #6:33 #6:49 Common Reed Bunting
#0:24 #0:37 #0:52 #3:11 #4:19 #4:38 #5:47 #5:56 #6:06 Common Chaffinch
#5:37 Common Snipe
#4:52 #5:02 European Goldfinch
#4:48 #4:52 Black-headed Gull
#1:51 Great Black-headed Gull
#3:39 Meadow Pipit
#2:51 #3:01 #3:09 White Wagtail
#2:38 Common Linnet
#2:30 Eurasian Blue Tit
#1:33 House Sparrow
#0:15 Eurasian Jackdaw

Recordings today / More in this polder during the years

Date/time: October 12, 2025 15, 2025, 8:56 am

Weather: 13 ºc, clouds 97%, wind W 2-6 km/h, 1031 hPa, humidity 86%, visibility 7 km, dew point 11 ºc, cloud ceiling 700m,

Location; Nieuwe Zwaluwsche Polder, kerkstraat, Lage Zwaluwe, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands (Holland), Europe. GPS 51.71046 5.70545

Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS with pointed NNW 29º, in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Tascam FR-AV2. Noise floor ~45 dB, Post editing: Decoded Mid-side to STEREO. EQ correction for the blimp and limiter on -3 dB when necessary.

Original 66 minute MS-track 48/32 bit-float available for motivated pro's and artists.

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About the Nieuwe Zwaluwsche Polder
The history of this begins in the mid-17th century, during a period when, following the St. Elizabeth flood of 1421, large areas of land were lost to the sea and only centuries later reclaimed and developed. It is a historic polder that was established around 1650. It lies within a region that is part of a system of polders and creeks formed after flooding events and subsequently reclaimed and managed. The polder is one of the smaller ones in this area and was created to obtain fertile agricultural land.
The long dikes of the polder were initially difficult to protect against the sea, and over time, measures were taken to adapt the water system and improve its defenses. The area involved plays an important role in both agriculture and nature development, with a mix of natural habitats such as reed marshes and flower-rich grasslands alongside farmland.
The polder is a historic and recognizable landscape in the Netherlands, with a rich legacy of land reclamation, water management, and agricultural development.