The salt marshes of Holwerd are famous for their vastness. On both sides of the pier you can look miles away over this salt marsh landscape in clear weather. The closer you get to the Wadden Sea, the younger the salt marshes become. On the higher, older parts of the salt marsh graze cattle, sheep and horses. The pier forms a perfect cross-section of the salt marsh. You come from the past into the present. At the bottom, near the parking lot of the ferry is the youngest salt marsh. Open water with tufts of glasswort here and there dominates the landscape. Also beautiful and very striking here are the still active salt marsh works.
This technique dates back to a distant (medieval) past and is still used here. Dams of poles and willow branches with soil were used, between which the sludge from the Wadden Sea could settle. As soon as the salt marsh was high enough, a dike was laid around it, so that the land could be put into use. First as pasture land and later as a field. This technique is still used to prevent the loss of existing salt marshes.
Logistics: Everyone who drives to the ferry from Ameland knows the fantastic view that stretches behind the dike at Holwerd. However, hardly anyone takes the time to enjoy it again. Take the boat an hour later and visit the bird watch cabin and walk along the dike.
Best time: A very beautiful area in all seasons but August and September are the very best months (as in other salt marsh areas). Then the glasswort turns red and the sea aster blooms. Clouds of stiltwalkers as colourful beach walkers, curlew and especially the plover of fur migrate over the area and sometimes fall down very close to the pier. Also striking, all year round there is a peregrine falcon around the poles of the departure hall. A little later in the autumn you can see the rough-legged buzzard and the short-eared owl here. Also worth a visit in the spring, from the birdwatching-hut you can hear the singing of the skylark at various places.
Photography: For the birds you need a long telephoto lens (> 300 mm), for the landscapes a good wide-angle lens. Especially shooting the structures of the clay after a dry period is worthwhile.
Catering: There is a restaurant at the departure hall of Wagenborg. Nearby: A very nice cycle route runs over the wadijk, along which you can easily look for Wadden birds. Further east, the salt marshes of Noard-Fryslan Bûtendyks of Fryske Gea stretch out. The Noarderleech salt marsh centre is also located here; a great place to get information about this beautiful wadden region.
Fauna: The salt marshes of Holwerd are rich in shelduck, oystercatcher, marsh harrier, avocet, peregrine falcon and in winter you see the short-eared owl and the rough-legged buzzard. Please note, at extremely high tide (due to a combination of mainly a strong (>Bft 7) West or North-West wind with a spring tide) the pier is sometimes underwater and only then can you see how many mice live in the salt marshes. The seagulls and birds of prey know this.
Flora: Beautiful marsh vegetation of glasswort and sea aster. (source: www.wadtodo.nl)