Urban animal: Wet Wet Wet

There is a long tradition of presenting the city and the country as being opposed to each other, with the moral influence of nature rated higher and therefore to be preferred. This distinction resulted in the urban environment being presented as cultural (manmade) and the countryside as natural (untouched, pure, fundamental, etc). Now that the city has expanded into an urban landscape of varying densities with a certain degree of open water and greenery, and with rationalisation in agriculture on the other side, this situation has changed fundamentally. The urban environment is now often the preferred habitat of wild species of plants or animals, or serves as a refuge.

In most Dutch cities there is some form of open water available. This can be a river, a brook, a pond or a canal. Water within the urban environment always results in specific species -as long as the water is not too polluted. Some species that were rare have benefitted from the post WW2 urban expansion and can be seen along the waterside in many cities and towns.

The wild duck -there are several species- can be found everywhere where there is water. They have become especially populous in water rich housing developments. The Mallard shows a clear distinction between the sexes (left) the male the more colourful birds, whilst the female is a variation on brown. In some parks these birds can be found in great numbers on the water but also on land napping. The park birds are most often "soup ducks", i.e. hybrids of wild and domesticated animals. The Grey Heron had become rare, but urban expansion has proven the saviour of this species as the imposing birds prefer shallow clear water with lots of fish and frogs. Many can be seen along canals, on the edge of park ponds and along other urban surface water.

The Coot is a related to Rails and can be found in a band across Eurasia and parts of North Africa. There is also a subspecies from Australia. These black water birds with the white frontal shield can be found along most open water. In the Netherlands they remain year-round. The nest is a mount of grasses and sedges on the edge of the water, but in places with many dogs often in the middle of a canal or pond. The omnivorous birds feed both on land and under water. The males defend the nest by speedboating across the water (right). They are one of the most common birds in Dutch cities.

There are many species of Duck. On the left an artificial lake with Mallard -a type of dabbling duck- and the Red-crested Pochard - a species of diving duck. The males of this last species are even more showy than the Mallard with their red heads, pinks bill and black chest (middle).This artificial lake is also used by an angling club so many large Carp can be seen in the water. Near the cycle bridge they come up begging for bread...

The majestic Mute Swan can be found in the middle of the city gliding across the water. Ducks tend to avoid their big cousins (swans and geese), except in parks where they are fed by the public. Wild ducks can even be seen in canals. As the are dabblers the will eat what is on the water surface, directly under water or along the banks. Some will even graze in parks, although this is more common for geese.