Griend with swarms of birds

Griend is a small, uninhabited, Dutch island in the Wadden Sea, lying around 20 kilometres south of Terschelling. It is one of the West Frisian Islands, and belongs to the municipality of Terschelling. The island currently has an area of around 0.1 km². The Wadden Sea (Wattenmeer in German, Waddenzee in Dutch, Waadsee in Frisian, Wattensee in Low Saxon, Vadehavet in Danish) is the name for a body of water and its associated coastal wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the North Sea. ... Terschelling (Frisian: Skylge) is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. ... The West Frisian Islands (Dutch: Waddeneilanden) are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast. ...

History

In the Middle Ages, the island was inhabited, and on it a walled settlement and a monastery could be found. As a result of the continuous erosion of the coast, Griend became smaller over time. In 1287, the settlement was abandoned, and from that time until the eightteenth century, Griend was inhabited by a few farmers, who built their houses on artificial hills. Around 1800, Griend still had an area of 0.25 km², but the island was moving to the southeast at a speed of 7 metres a year. By this time, all of its inhabitants had abandoned the island, and from then on was it used by inhabitants of Terschelling as a grazing area for sheep, and for the making of hay. Also, on the island the eggs of gulls and terns were gathered for consumption. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Tikse monastery in Ladakh, India A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... For broader historical context, see 1280s and 13th century. ... Seagull redirects here. ... Genera Sterna (Gelochelidon) (Hydroprogne) (Thalasseus) Chlidonias Phaetusa Anous Procelsterna Gygis Larosterna Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily Sterninae of the gull family Laridae. ...

In 1916, the right to mow grass on the island was bought by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, a union devoted to the protection of nature, which also tried to prevent the gathering for eggs by guarding the bird colonies. After the Afsluitdijk was completed in 1933, the rate of erosion increased even further. Despite that, the island still exists up to this day, even though it is smaller than before, and its current location is to the southeast of its location in the Middle Ages. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Afsluitdijk The Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich (mun. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Griend now

Nowadays, the island is uninhabited with the exception of a cabin, which in summer is being used by bird watchers and biologists. Griend is not accessible to the general public.

Because Griend is unprotected by dikes, the island is slowly moving eastward. To provent the island from vanishing altogether, some measures have been made to protect it: along its southern edge, a few dams were built, and around 1990 the island was strengthened by building a low sand dike along the north side. Since then, the process of erosion has changed into a process of gradual growth. Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ... This article is about the year. ...

Nature

On Griend, the largest colony of the sandwich tern in Western Europe can be found: every year, around 10.000 pairs of this species breed on the island. Besides that, also the common tern, the arctic tern, the common eider, the common shelduck, the eurasian oystercatcher, the common redshank, and occasionally the short-eared owl breed on the island. During the building of the sand dike, the island also was colonized by the wood mouse. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Somateria mollissima Linnaeus, 1758 Green: breeding Blue: winter/feeding The Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) is a large sea duck, which is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. ... Binomial name Tadorna tadorna (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds which are part of the bird family Anatidae, which also includes the swans, geese and ducks. ... Binomial name Haematopus ostralegus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. ... Binomial name Tringa totanus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Redshank or Redshank (Tringa totanus) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. ... Binomial name Asio flammeus (Pontopiddan, 1763) The Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus is a species of owl which breed in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galapagos. ... Binomial name Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) or Long-tailed Field Mouse is a common rodent, closely related to the Yellow-necked Mouse, which was only being recognised as a distinct species in 1894. ...

Up to today, Griend is managed by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten.