Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information The open water and sandbanks are used as a roost by large numbers of geese Anser from the surrounding arable and grassland polders (no counts are available). The grassland bordering the Haringvliet is important as a feeding site for Branta leucopsis and as a breeding area for waders and marsh species. The area holds two breeding colonies of Sterna hirundo (one also in use by Sterna albifrons). The mean total of waterbirds in January exceeds 20,000.

Site description Together with the adjoining Hollands Diep (025), this is one of the former estuaries of the Rhine/Maas river system, closed from the sea in 1970. Essentially a 27-km long stagnant freshwater lake, bordered by reedbeds, willow Salix scrub and wet meadows. The water-level varies, depending on the river supply. The site is separated at the west end from the Hollands Diep by a bridge and from Lake Volkerak (026) by a dam. This site, together with site 025, formed part of a single, larger site (former site NL047) in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989).

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
's Lands bekade Gorzen	Natural Monument	130	protected area contained by site	130
Beninger Slikken	Natural Monument	380	protected area contained by site	380
Beningerslikken	Nature Reserve	377	protected area contained by site	377
Blanke Slikken	Natural Monument	200	protected area contained by site	200
Blanke Slikken	Nature Reserve	275	protected area contained by site	275
Gorzen Oosterse Laagjes	Natural Monument	55	protected area contained by site	55
Grasgorzen Griendweipolder	Natural Monument	18	protected area contained by site	18
Grasgorzen Haringvliet	Nature Reserve	322	protected area contained by site	322
Grasgorzen Stad a/h Haringvliet-Den Bomm	Natural Monument	60	protected area contained by site	60
Grasgorzen tussen Den Bommel en de Hellegatsdam	Natural Monument	70	protected area contained by site	70
Haringvliet	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	10,800	protected area overlaps with site	10,800
Haringvliet - NL1000015	Habitats Directive	11,108	protected area contains site	10,900
Haringvliet - NL9802018	Birds Directive	10,796	is identical to site	10,791
Kleiput in de Tiendgorzen	Natural Monument	13	protected area contained by site	13
Korendijkse Slikken	Natural Monument	400	protected area contained by site	400
Korendijkse Slikken	Nature Reserve	461	protected area contained by site	461
Leenheren Buitengorzen	Natural Monument	14	protected area contained by site	14
Oosterse Laagjes	Natural Monument	30	protected area contained by site	30
Quackgors	Nature Reserve	26	protected area contained by site	26
Quackgors I	Natural Monument	24	protected area contained by site	24
Riet- en grasgorzen II Quackgors	Natural Monument	45	protected area contained by site	45
Riet- en grasgorzen II Westerse Laagjes	Natural Monument	5	protected area contained by site	5
Rietgorzen Oosterse Laagjes	Natural Monument	5	protected area contained by site	5
Rietgorzen Stad a/h Haringvliet-Den Bommel	Natural Monument	60	protected area contained by site	60
Scheelhoek	Natural Monument	380	protected area contained by site	380
Scheelhoek	Nature Reserve	30	protected area contained by site	30
Slijkplaat	Natural Monument	190	protected area contained by site	190
Ventjagersplaten ten noorden van de Hellegatsdam	Natural Monument	900	protected area contained by site	900
Voornes Duin - NL9803077	Habitats Directive	1,421	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Westerse Laagjes	Natural Monument	60	protected area contained by site	60
Westplaat buitengronden en Meneersche Plaat	Natural Monument	70	protected area contained by site	70

Habitats

Land use

Management considerations The main problems are heavily polluted sediments and nutrient pollution (`Other' threat, above).

Protection status National Partial International None190 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Slijkplaat, 190 ha). 900 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Ventjagersplaten ten noorden van de Hellegatsdam, 900 ha). 60 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Westerse Laagjes, 60 ha). 70 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Westplaat buitengronden en Meneersche Plaat, 70 ha). 24 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Quackgors I, 24 ha). 45 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Riet-en grasgorzen II Quackgors, 45 ha). 10 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Riet- en grasgorzen II Quackgors, 10 ha). 5 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Riet- en grasgorzen II Westerse Laagjes, 5 ha). 5 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Rietgorzen Oosterse Laagjes, 5 ha). 60 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Rietgorzen Stad a/h Haringvliet-Den Bommel, 60 ha). 380 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Scheelhoek, 380 ha). 130 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (`s Lands bekade Gorzen, 130 ha). 380 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Beninger Slikken, 380 ha). 20 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Beninger Slikken, 20 ha). 54 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Blanke Slikken, 54 ha). 200 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Blanke Slikken, 200 ha). 55 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Gorzen Oosterse Laagjes, 55 ha). 18 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Grasgorzen Griendweipolder, 18 ha). 60 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Grasgorzen Stad a/h Haringvliet-Den Bomm, 60 ha). 70 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Grasgorzen tussen Den Bommel en de Hellegatsdam, 70 ha). 13 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Kleiput in de Tiendgorzen, 13 ha). 400 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Korendijkse Slikken, 400 ha). 14 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Leenheren Buitengorzen, 14 ha). 30 ha of IBA covered by Natural Monument (Oosterse Laagjes, 30 ha). 461 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Korendijkse Slikken, 461 ha). 322 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Grasgorzen Haringvliet, 322 ha). 275 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Blanke Slikken, 275 ha). 377 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Beningerslikken, 377 ha). 26 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Quackgors, 26 ha). 30 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Scheelhoek, 30 ha).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Haringvliet. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/05/2013

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