The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

The "aaisykje" (regional Frisian language), the search and collection of lapwing eggs (late February, early March) are a very old tradition. Collecting the eggs has been banned in the province of Friesland since 2015. However, parts of the tradition have remained, adapted to the times. Searching is still done, but now with a different purpose: to protect nests and birds. The eggs and chicks of meadow birds are protected and counted by 3,500 volunteers in Friesland. We call this aftercare and the practitioners aftercarers. The finders of the first eggs are still honored by the King's Commissioner or the mayor.

Being able to tell from the lapwing's behavior where the nest is located is an art. Aaisykje mainly consists of looking closely, crouching on the side of the ditch. Watching the behavior of a male turning dimples in the ground ("dobke Draaie" in Frisian) or a female “throwing” straws. A good "aisykjer" can tell not only from the behavior of the lapwing pair ("spantsje" in Frisian) whether and where there is a nest, but also whether there are eggs in it. The field knowledge acquired was (and is) passed on from generation to generation.

Protecting the lapwing and its fellow meadow birds requires a lot of time, commitment and energy from the volunteers. They put their heart and soul into it every spring, out of their love and passion for “the field”, nature in general and birds in particular. Losing eggs and/or chicks is a matter of concern for these nature people. If, on the other hand, their efforts are rewarded by (meadow) bird chicks that fledge fit and well, this in turn is sufficient motivation to surround the birds with their care the next breeding season too.

Community

Every spring, enthusiastic field people search for the first lapwing eggs in the Netherlands, Friesland and the Frisian municipalities. In Friesland, these are the Bond Friese VogelWachten (BFVW) (Union of Frisian Bird Watchers) and its more than 100 affiliated local Birdwatches. The Birdwatches are independent associations with members. The joint Birdwatches cover all of Friesland (a total of 130,000 hectares). Each Birdwatch therefore has a number of bird watchers. Across Friesland, these are about 3,500 voluntary meadow bird protectors. They are also the holders of a follow-up pass. A follow-up pass is the permit that is issued annually by the BFVW to the bird watchers. Without this permit, bird watchers are not allowed to enter the farmland.

Others involved are the bodies that use the figures generated by the volunteers: the seven Frisian agricultural collectives, the government (province and municipalities) and various research institutes. These are not commercial clients, but they are users of our data for management, policy and research purposes.

History

For centuries, the eggs of all kinds of meadow birds were collected to supplement the meagre diet in those days. In the 1930s and in WWII, this became so widespread that the bird population was endangered. After the war, local initiatives arose in Friesland to ban egg collecting after a certain period and protect the nests. These local initiatives linked up in 1947 to form the Bond van Friese Vogelwachten (BFVW).

During the 1970s, there social opposition to egg collecting increased. The period of egg collection was shortened several times and finally, in 2015, Faunabescherming, supported by Vogelbescherming Nederland, filed a lawsuit to have the exemption, which the province of Friesland granted every year, declared invalid. They won the lawsuit, and thus, egg collecting was banned altogether from 2015. However, most of the original egg gatherers continued to protect and monitor the birds. With this, a network of volunteer meadow bird protectors still exists today that is unique in the world.

In recent decades, we have seen a sharp decline in the number of meadow birds for various reasons. By giving farmers subsidies for a less intensive way of farming through the ANLb system (Agraran Nature and Landscape Management), attempts are being made to counter this, with some success. The BFVW has a cooperation agreement with seven Frisian agricultural collectives in which it has been agreed that the BFVW will provide them with the necessary data concerning the birds, to base the issue of subsidies on. Thus, although the follow-up work is still voluntary, it is no longer without obligation.

The aaisykje is also developing in a technical sense. We now have drones at our disposal to track nests and chicks; these drones support our aftercare workers. Furthermore, a lot of research is being done on ways to reduce predation.

Safeguarding

2022-2025

  • Get youth more involved by organizing all kinds of activities and running courses. Make teaching kits available for education.
  • Collaborate with IVN and It Fryske Gea to streamline the curriculum for primary schools.
  • Consult regularly with the Provincial Executive, agricultural organizations and FUMO (Frisian Ecology and Environment Implementing Agency) to manage matters relating to the duty of care for animals and to maintain the agreement framework.
  • Maintain website, FaceBook and other media by posting positive messages around birds and volunteering.
  • Seek cooperation with various research institutes for a research set-up in which BFVW deploys the volunteers and the institutes provide the scientific knowledge.
  • Properly map existing collaborations and fill any gaps.
  • Support local guards in building/maintaining local partnerships (eg with municipalities) if needed.
  • Publicize volunteering and the beauty of the "free field of Friesland" through publicity and offering courses.
  • Together with other interested organizations, lobby with the province and the state for sufficient attention to an available and suitable habitat for birds and protection against predators.

Contact

Bond Friese VogelWachten (BFVW)
Labadistendyk 2
8637VJ
Wiuwert
Fryslân
Website