Oostvaardersplassen: the first travel of the year

Oostvaardersplassen is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, covering about 5,600 hectares (56 km2), located between the youngest city of the country, Almere [the first house was finished in 1976] and Lelystad, the capital of Flevoland, the central province of the Netherlands, established on the 1st January 1986, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the country.

From Oostvaarders Plassen

We went there last Sunday and I took some photos along the Markermeer, a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland and the IJsselmeer, its larger sibling.
The lake is named after the small former island, now peninsula, of Marken that lies within it.

From Oostvaardersplassen

Oostvaardersplassen has been awarded with the European Nature Conservation Diploma.

From Oostvaardersplassen

The Council of Europe awarded, in this way, the international significance of this nature reserve.

From Oostvaardersplassen

Oostvaardersplassen was the third Dutch nature reserve to receive this Diploma.

From Oostvaardersplassen

As a consequence of the growing numbers of rare and unusual birds for which it provides a habitat, Oostvaardersplassen is compared with the Camarge in France and the Coto Donana in Spain.

From Oostvaarders Plassen

We went to a little cottage to watch some of the birds of this nature reserve...

From Oostvaarders Plassen

Here we can find the Great Cormorant, the Common Spoonbill, the Great Egret, the White-tailed Eagle and the Eurasian Bittern, among many others.

From Oostvaarders Plassen

Walking on the paths which surrounded the cottage, I remembered of some photos Patricia had taken in Patagonia...

From Oostvaarders Plassen

After the stroll in the wet area, we went to the dry area, De Praambult.

From Oostvaarders Plassen

Here we can watch Konik horses, the red deer and Heck cattle. These large grazing animals are kept out in the open all year round without supplemental feeding, and are allowed to behave as wild animals (without, for example, castrating males).

From Oostvaarders Plassen

We finished our stroll where we had begun, along the Markermeer...:-)

From Oostvaarders Plassen

Oostvaardersplassen, now isolated in the polder of Flevoland, will be connected to other nature reserves by a corridor to be created nearby, in Horsterwold. In 2015, the new network of "Oostvaardersland" will be part of the European-wide habitat network Natura 2000.

From Oostvaarders Plassen

I hope you have enjoyed our first travel of the year, so close to our home...

From Oostvaarders Plassen

What are the main beauties of your surroundings? What do you advise to visit?