Last week thousands of nests on the Dutch Wadden islands were washed away. A combination of strong winds and rain caused dikes to flood and drown the nests.
Most of the nests of the 10,000 breeding pairs of birds on Ameland were washed away. At least 5000 seagull nests were lost. Many tern chicks were preparing for fledging but as the nests were washed away they lost their parents and may not be able to find them again.
The damage to nests on the islands Schiermonnikoog and Terschelling was also significant.
