Birdwatcher Janneke Vorst is bursting with ideas
The first mini course in recognizing garden birds has already taken place. It was the first time in years that ‘t Fûgelhûs in Piaam opened again to interested parties.
Piaam could very well become a bird village again, says Janneke Vorst, who came to live there with her girlfriend at the end of last year. Coming from Amsterdam and Ede, they wanted to live outside, but also in a beautiful bird area. That is Piaam, with the Makkumerwaard, the Warkumerwaard and the IJsselmeer around the corner.
Vorst is an enthusiastic bird lover. She gives bird lessons to children, is behind the Amsterdam initiative ‘Happy Birds Westerpark’ and is a member of the Amsterdam bird working group. When she came across the closed Natural History Museum ‘t Fûgelhûs in Piaam, she thought: “I have to do something with this.”
Neatly cared for
The building in Piaam is owned by Rinze Joustra. The bird collection is owned by the Aldfaers Erfroute, of which the museum used to be part. This stopped in 2010, but the Aldfaers Erfroute sought a solution for preservation. That’s why the museum is still there. The dioramas are divided into birds of the Wadden and birds in the meadow landscape.
Activities will take place again in the bird museum ‘t Fûgelhûs in Piaam, which has been closed for many years.
“It has been very well taken care of,” says Vorst about the collection. Some of the stuffed birds are so old that some restoration is needed and Vorst would like to inventory the entire collection. “I have already seen that this is fun for bird lovers from all over the Netherlands. That is why I want to organize excursions that start and end in the museum.” The doors will open again for groups on Saturdays from April 1 to July 1.
Blue tit and house sparrow
Vorst especially hopes to appeal to beginners and make them enthusiastic about the bird world. That is why she took the initiative to hold a mini course in identifying garden birds around the National Garden Bird Count. Originally for the residents of Piaam, but because the IVN (Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability) paid attention to it, it had more than twenty interested parties. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated. The blue tit is also nice.”
For example, she made it clear what the difference is between the house sparrow and the tree sparrow. “It’s just fun to tell some facts.”
Activities will take place again in the bird museum ‘t Fûgelhûs in Piaam, which has been closed for many years. Activities will take place again in the bird museum ‘t Fûgelhûs in Piaam, which has been closed for many years. Photo: Own photo
The new resident of Piaam, who has recently started taking Frisian lessons, first wants to see how the activities are going before making more plans for the bird museum. “It is no longer the same as it used to be when coaches full of tourists were dropped off here.”
In the meantime, she is not sitting still. “Last weekend we moved a kestrel nest box and I heard that the three farms here in the village used to have barn owls. It would be nice if we could get that back. Then there must be more mice.”