Rottumerplaat
Encyclopedia
Rottumerplaat is one of the three islands that make up Rottum
in the West Frisian Islands
. The island is located in the North Sea
off the Dutch
coast. Access to the island is prohibited since Rottemerplaat is a resting and forage area for numerous bird species. Rijkswaterstaat
, Staatsbosbeheer
and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality are responsible for the administration of the island. Twice a year marine debris
is cleaned from the island.
Sediment deposition has caused the island to become significantly larger in recent years.
Rottumerplaat is the northernmost point in the Netherlands (see Extreme points of the Netherlands
).
, Dunlin
and Kentish Plover
s. Common Eider
, Common Shelduck
, Arctic Tern
, Common Tern
, Little Tern
, Kentish Plover
and Ringed Plover
nest on the island. From 1996 the Sandwich Tern nested on Rottumerplaat, but has since stopped doing so.
Rottum (island group)
Rottum is the name of a protected natural monument in the Wadden Sea in The Netherlands. It consists of the three West Frisian Islands Rottumerplaat, Rottumeroog, and Zuiderduintjes. As a protected nature reserve , admission to the islands is restricted...
in the West Frisian Islands
West Frisian Islands
The West Frisian Islands are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea. They continue further east as the German East Frisian Islands and are part of the Frisian Islands....
. The island is located in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
off the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
coast. Access to the island is prohibited since Rottemerplaat is a resting and forage area for numerous bird species. Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the Bureau voor den Waterstaat, is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the former Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management...
, Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer is a Dutch organization founded in 1899 to control and conserve Dutch nature reserves.Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250.000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public for recreational purposes, but restrictions often apply...
and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality are responsible for the administration of the island. Twice a year marine debris
Debris
Debris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris...
is cleaned from the island.
Sediment deposition has caused the island to become significantly larger in recent years.
Rottumerplaat is the northernmost point in the Netherlands (see Extreme points of the Netherlands
Extreme points of the Netherlands
This is a list of the extreme points of the Netherlands, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.-European part of the Netherlands:*Northernmost Point — Rottumerplaat...
).
Fauna
Rottumerplaat is a resting and forage area for SanderlingSanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
, Dunlin
Dunlin
The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
and Kentish Plover
Kentish Plover
The Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. Despite its name, this species no longer breeds in Kent, or even Great Britain...
s. Common Eider
Common Eider
The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...
, Common Shelduck
Common Shelduck
The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
, Arctic Tern
Arctic Tern
The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...
, Common Tern
Common Tern
The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
, Little Tern
Little Tern
The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
, Kentish Plover
Kentish Plover
The Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. Despite its name, this species no longer breeds in Kent, or even Great Britain...
and Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...
nest on the island. From 1996 the Sandwich Tern nested on Rottumerplaat, but has since stopped doing so.