The oostvaardersplassen are a birdparadise. There are many birds of prey, rare spieces of duck, waders and reed inhabitants. It is an important breeding area for the spoonbill and the big and small egret. Since 2006 the bald eagle returned as breeding bird to the Netherlands. And since 2010 the raven has been using the oostvaardersplassen as a breeding spot.

Grey Goose
The development of the Oostvaardersplassen started when 10.000 grey goose arrived to the area directly after the area got reclaimed. The goose grazed of the reeds, preventing the swamp from growing shut. Due to this, the Oostvaardersplassen are now a varied area with space for many kinds of species of both plants and animals.

ganzen met pulletjes in de Oostvaardersplassen

Birds of passage and winterguests

The Oostvaarderplassen are of international importance for birds of passage. Tens of thousands silver plovers, gold plovers, starlings, lapwings, and many kinds of waders visit the area on their annual trip between their breeding area and wintering area. Many thousands of geese also use the Oostvaardersplassen as their wintering area. For the moulting gray goose it is one of the most important areas in northwestern-Europe.

Decrease in breeding birds

In the borderzones of the area the amount of species breeding birds has been decreasing of the past years. This is due to the fact that the area is becoming more open. There are fewer reeds and thickets of which some of these birds are dependent on.  However, the amount of birds that do like open grasslands has been increasing.