Zuid-Kennemerland National Park

National Park · Netherlands

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Photo © Eric de Redelijkheid from Utrecht, Netherlands

Photo © Eric de Redelijkheid from Utrecht, Netherlands — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where coastal dunes give way to pine woodland and freshwater marshes, Zuid-Kennemerland National Park unfolds across the North Holland landscape as a rare mosaic of transitional habitats shaped by ocean wind and temperate moisture. The park's gentle terrain—anchored by the small community of Overveen to its south—represents a living archive of how sand, water and soil interact beneath a Cfb oceanic climate that brings steady precipitation year-round and mild winters that never truly silence the landscape. Gnarled pine stands frame open heath and acidic grasslands where low-growing shrubs cling to sandy soils, while hidden behind the primary dune ridge lies a complex of shallow pools, reed beds and seepage wetlands that remain perpetually fed by percolating groundwater and regular rainfall. This interplay of dry and wet zones creates sanctuary for woodland songbirds and small forest mammals in the pines, while wading birds and waterfowl congregate wherever standing water collects—a pattern of habitat abundance that has made the park one of the Netherlands' most ecologically significant coastal preserves.

For those who come to observe migrating birds and wetland specialists, Zuid-Kennemerland rewards both patience and timing. Autumn and spring bring pulses of movement through the park's corridors of scrub and open water, when passage migrants refuel before continuing their journeys across the North Sea; the mild, wet winters mean that water bodies rarely freeze completely, sustaining resident and wintering waterbirds throughout the season. The park's proximity to Overveen and modest elevation offer photographers ideal light during the low-angle hours of morning and afternoon, when the interplay of dune shadow and marsh reflection transforms even ordinary corners into scenes of subtle drama. Boardwalk access through the most delicate wetland areas allows visitors to penetrate deep into reed and open water without disturbing the very communities they have come to witness—an arrangement that has made the park beloved among serious birders and nature photographers seeking an authentic slice of Dutch coastal ecology without the crowds that descend on more famous reserves.

Website np-zuidkennemerland.nl

Black-tailed Godwit

Eurasian Spoonbill

Platalea leucorodia

White-tailed Eagle

Haliaeetus albicilla

Recurvirostra avosetta

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegus

Branta canadensis

Pink-footed Goose

Anser brachyrhynchus

Alopochen aegyptiaca

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadorna

Tadorna ferruginea

Spatula querquedula

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Mareca strepera

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Red-crested Pochard

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Aythya fuligula

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Mergellus albellus

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Cuculus canorus

Common Wood Pigeon

Columba palumbus

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Gallinula chloropus

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegena

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

Podiceps auritus

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Northern Lapwing

Vanellus vanellus

Eurasian Woodcock

Scolopax rusticola

Gallinago gallinago

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Common Redshank

Calidris alpina

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Larus cachinnans

European Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Great Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Ciconia ciconia

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Egretta garzetta

European Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Circaetus gallicus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisus

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Falco tinnunculus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Great Grey Shrike

Lanius excubitor

Garrulus glandarius

Eurasian Magpie

Western Jackdaw

Coloeus monedula

Lophophanes cristatus

Poecile palustris

Eurasian Blue Tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

Lullula arborea

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Riparia riparia

Hirundo rustica

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Long-tailed Tit

Aegithalos caudatus

Phylloscopus trochilus

Common Chiffchaff

Phylloscopus collybita

Common Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Eurasian Blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

Common Whitethroat

Curruca communis

Common Firecrest

Regulus ignicapilla

Regulus regulus

Troglodytes troglodytes

Eurasian Nuthatch

Short-toed Treecreeper

Certhia brachydactyla

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Turdus philomelos

Common Blackbird

Turdus torquatus

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Erithacus rubecula

Common Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

Luscinia svecica

Common Redstart

Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Saxicola rubetra

European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Passer domesticus

Prunella modularis

Western Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flava

Motacilla cinerea

Anthus pratensis

Anthus trivialis

Eurasian Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs

Fringilla montifringilla

Eurasian Bullfinch

Pyrrhula pyrrhula

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Linaria cannabina

European Goldfinch

Carduelis carduelis

Common Reed Bunting

Emberiza schoeniclus

Branta bernicla

Branta leucopsis

Branta hutchinsii

Tundra Bean Goose

Anser serrirostris

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Aix galericulata

Ferruginous Duck

Somateria mollissima

Melanitta fusca

Melanitta nigra

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

Rallus aquaticus

Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Pluvialis squatarola

White-tailed Lapwing

Vanellus leucurus

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponica

Lymnocryptes minimus

Phalaropus fulicarius

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Tringa glareola

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Calidris canutus

Calidris pugnax

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Temminck's Stint

Calidris temminckii

Purple Sandpiper

Calidris maritima

Calidris minuta

Hydroprogne caspia

Chlidonias niger

Sterna paradisaea

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Larus glaucoides

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Stercorarius skua

Red-throated Loon

Black-throated Loon

Northern Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialis

Sooty Shearwater

Northern Gannet

Gulosus aristotelis

Eurasian Bittern

Botaurus stellaris

Pandion haliaetus

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Short-eared Owl

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

Eurasian Wryneck

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Dryobates minor

Black Woodpecker

Dryocopus martius

European Green Woodpecker

Falco columbarius

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Psittacula krameri

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolus

Woodchat Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Lanius collurio

Corvus frugilegus

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Bearded Reedling

Panurus biarmicus

Eremophila alpestris

Greater Short-toed Lark

Calandrella brachydactyla

Cetti's Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Phylloscopus inornatus

Phylloscopus fuscatus

Aquatic Warbler

Acrocephalus paludicola

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

Acrocephalus palustris

Icterine Warbler

Hippolais icterina

Locustella fluviatilis

Locustella luscinioides

Common Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Curruca nisoria

Turdus viscivorus

Thrush Nightingale

Luscinia luscinia

Red-breasted Flycatcher

European Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleuca

Phoenicurus ochruros

Siberian Stonechat

Saxicola maurus

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanus

Richard's Pipit

Anthus richardi

Red-throated Pipit

Anthus cervinus

Anthus spinoletta

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Common Rosefinch

Carpodacus erythrinus

Linaria flavirostris

Acanthis flammea

Parrot Crossbill

Loxia pytyopsittacus

Loxia curvirostra

Serinus serinus

Eurasian Siskin

Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

Plectrophenax nivalis

Emberiza citrinella

Ortolan Bunting

Emberiza hortulana

Emberiza rustica

Cygnus columbianus

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Coturnix coturnix

European Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Porzana porzana

Baillon's Crake

Zapornia pusilla

Eurasian Dotterel

Eudromias morinellus

Anarhynchus alexandrinus

Larus hyperboreus

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Atlantic Puffin

Fratercula arctica

Leach's Storm Petrel

Hydrobates leucorhous

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

Plegadis falcinellus

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

Bearded Vulture

Gypaetus barbatus

Griffon Vulture

Hieraaetus pennatus

Circus macrourus

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

Rough-legged Buzzard

Red-footed Falcon

Falco vespertinus

Nymphicus hollandicus

Alexandrine Parakeet

Psittacula eupatria

Poecile montanus

Eurasian Penduline Tit

Remiz pendulinus

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Phylloscopus bonelli

Hume's Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus humei

Pallas's Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus proregulus

Radde's Warbler

Phylloscopus schwarzi

Greenish Warbler

Phylloscopus trochiloides

Great Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus arundinaceus

Blyth's Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus dumetorum

Melodious Warbler

Hippolais polyglotta

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler

Helopsaltes certhiola

Red-billed Leiothrix

Leiothrix lutea

Isabelline Wheatear

Oenanthe isabellina

Desert Wheatear

Oenanthe deserti

Anthus campestris

Olive-backed Pipit

Anthus hodgsoni

Atlantic Canary

Serinus canaria

Emberiza pusilla

Cairina moschata

Lepus europaeus

European Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

West European Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

Harbor Porpoise

Phocoena phocoena

Western Roe Deer

Capreolus capreolus

Common Fallow Deer

Eurasian Water Vole

Arvicola amphibius

Microtus arvalis

Clethrionomys glareolus

Ondatra zibethicus

Long-tailed Field Mouse

Apodemus sylvaticus

Eurasian Harvest Mouse

Micromys minutus

Rattus norvegicus

Greater White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura russula

Eurasian Pygmy Shrew

Myotis dasycneme

Daubenton's Myotis

Myotis daubentonii

Natterer's Myotis

Myotis nattereri

Nyctalus noctula

Nathusius's Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus nathusii

Common Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus pipistrellus

Brown Long-eared Bat

Plecotus auritus

European Pine Marten

Mustela nivalis

European Polecat

Mustela putorius

Halichoerus grypus

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