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Mens en Milieu

Coastal protection   Drift dikes   Regulations   Grazing   Cattle   Sheep   Cutting sods   
Binnen Muy, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

The Muy

The Muy is a dune complex lying between De Koog and the Slufter. Its formation began when sand dikes were built almost four centuries ago to connect Texel with Eierland. There used to be pastures in these dunes but they have now been converted into nature areas. In the southern part of the Muy lies the Nederlanden. There too were pastures that have now been reverted to nature. In the Muy, you find the oldest spoonbill colony in the entire wadden region. Unusual plants are found growing in the dune slack known as the Buitenmuy ('outer Muy'), which is situated between two sand dikes close to the sea dike. Cattle graze in parts of the Muy as a form of nature management.

  • Extensive valleys in a landscape designed by man
    Muy, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
    Muy, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

    For a long time, the Anegat (Ane channel) separated Texel from Eierland. At the end of the Middle Ages, the channel began to fill up with sand. Eventually, the opening closed entirely making it easy to construct a drift dike. The first sand dike was finished in 1630.

    In the 18th century, small dunes formed on the wide beach north of De Koog. A marsh also formed behind the dunes, called the Nieuw Nederland. The area was closed off from the sea on the northern side with a small dike in 1859, creating a polder. The Muy valley  north of this polder was connected with the sea for a long time due to a break in the beach ridge, similar to the situation now found in the Slufter. The area was dammed in 1871 by building a second large sand dike on the North Sea side and a dike bordering the Slufter. The Muy pond is a remnant of the old channel. The Buitenmuy formed in 1888 when a new sand dike was built.

  • Nature restoration
    Nederlanden after the works, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

    In 2009, the pastures in the Nederlanden underwent a facelift. The State Forestry received funding to remove large areas of grassland and dune vegetation. The goal was to allow the original unusual vegetation in the area to return. The fertile humus layer in the pastures was removed. The ditches were widened, made shallower and more meandering, which has helped to dampen the terrain. Animals profit from the operation, such as the British toad and the root vole.

  • Spoonbills in an unusual dune lake

    The Muy used to be famous for its spoonbill colony, being the first in the entire wadden region. The spoonbills nest in low trees along the edge. They brood together with a small colony of grey herons and an ever-growing colony of cormorants: from 25 in 1999 to 750 in 2006!
    Some of the young spoonbills in the Muy have been ringed with a combination of colored rings. In this way, the individual birds can be recognized from a distance. They have been seen in Southwestern Europe and long the African west coast. In 1942, exceptional movies and photographs were made by the film-maker Nol Binsbergen.

  • Dune pastures between the Nederlanden and the Slufter dike
    Bushes in De Muy, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

    The fields in the Muy and Nederlanden are rich with birds. Lapwings, redshanks and black-tailed godwits are found here. In the wilder parts of the Nederlanden, between the fields where creeping willow and heather dominate the vegetation, hen harriers, grasshopper warblers and sometimes a short-eared owl breed. In the bushes, various nightingales, common whitethroats, willow warblers and several long-eared owls have their nests. Since 2009, the rough-haired galloway cattle graze here the entire year.

  • Buiten Muy (Outer Muy)
    felwort, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

    The Buiten Muy is a young dune slack. It formed when a section of beach was cut off when the sand dike was built in 1888. In 1992, the State Forestry removed 25 centimeters of surface area in the Buiten Muy to combat the overgrowth. Nowadays, you find plants growing here which have grown rare in other places, such as the autumn gentian. During a vegetation mapping of the area in 1998, the extremely rare divided sedge, Carex divisa, was found.

  • Gulls
    Herring gull, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

    One of the herring gull colonies on Texel is located in the Muy. The birds forage at sea and in the nearby Slufter. A few smaller common gull colonies are found in particular on the most outer row of dunes.