""The silence of nature knows many sounds" Henriette Roland Holst(1869-1952)" "The light brings on a new spring." "Underwater, the cycle of life begins anew" "In the land that we have conquered from the sea... we forgot a small piece:" "the Oostvaarderplassen (Netherlands)" "Here only the laws of nature rule." "This is about the rights of the strongest, about cooperation and vitality... about living and to let live." "In this context we are shown the unprecedented power of nature." "For four seasons we stand eye to eye with the animals that are our neighbours." "This is our land as we have never seen it." "THE NEW WILDERNESS" "Here in the grasslands the wild horses reign supreme." "Almost a thousand Queen's horses form hundreds of families." "A black mare has been born." "That seldom happens." "Foals are usually white as is her cousin." "The black foal is a little shy." "She is hiding behind her mother... and wants to spend the whole day drinking her warm milk." "Her cousin is curious and playfull." "During the winter the Queen's horses loose a lot of weight." "Now that the grass is tender and nutritious everyone must graze... to put on weight and strength." "One stallion is the leader." "He protects the family... while the leading mare has the "brains"." "She know exactly where to find the tastiest grass." "The world of the Queen's horses is a world of scents and smells." "Now that it is spring and the mares are fertile... they smell stronger than normal." "The young stallions are becoming terribly excited... by all the seductive fragrances." "They want to break the head stallion's might." "They have to constantly keep an eye on their rivals." "In the first 20 minutes after the birth... the two foals have two huge challenges:" "walking and drinking." "The herd will not wait and there is no room for weak animals." "They will be left behind." "The legs are as long as those of his mother." "Instinct know faultlessly what has to happen... although it is easier said than done." "From the moment you arrive on this world you have to fight to survive." "Your brother, already a year old, wants to snack off mother." "You want to as well, but how do you do it?" "All you know is that you have to be by a dark place... somewhere about eye level." "In the swamp, building is in full swing." "The birds fly to and from their nests with building materials" "Design and implementation, material choices and construction... are processed with great precision." "But the most important question for spring is... who will be your new partner." "This choice is not random." "Some birds swap partners every year... others live their whole lives together." "The cormorants and grebes get to know each other with their mating dance." "Such courtship shows the strength and beauty of the future parents... and is carried out with great care." "The act of mating affirms the partnership." "And the beginning of a new adventure." "There are thousands of grey goslings born and they need to graze." "They want to get to the grasslands as quickly as possible" "That is a journey full of danger" "The Mute Swan doesn't appreciate those dumb geese with their young... barging straight through his territory." "Two large geese hold the swan busy while the group escapes." "The geese play a major role in the management of the swamp area" "By eating the reeds the geese give variation to the swamp." "which allows many other bird species to flourish" "Under the ground, spring has also started" "After months of darkness the colletes bee awakens." "On the first warm spring day, exactly a half day after the males... the females come out of the ground en masse." "all together as if a giant alarm clock has sounded" "The feast of light is once more enhanced... by all the males flying in joyful anticipation of the females" "All day the bees are very busy with each other." "The eggs are laid in little underground holes... and need until the next spring to grow into bees." "No where in Europe do so many Queen's horses live together in the wild." "This makes the special social structure of the herd easily visible." "The families work together... they use a complicated language of sounds." "Body postures, gestures and odours." "It is warm on this spring day and the horses are seeking to cool down." "For the mares this is an ideal moment to let the foals get used to the water." "But the water is cold and one foal has lost its enthusiasm" "It has become too cold" "The breeze has picked up and it is rapidly becoming colder." "The mares are beginning to worry." "The foal is lying down too long." "It must get moving quickly." "otherwise it will die from hypothermia." "Family council." "Only the reddy-brown, childless mare is only too happy to help." "The head stallion soon lets it be known that unrequested help is frowned upon." "Mother's love is big, but permits no weakness." "The foal is severely dealt with, it must get up and walk to survive." "Life is demanding and this foal is fragile... but it looks like it might survive." "In a peaceful corner of the swampland by a toppled willow tree..." "Kingfishers." "The Kingfisher male waits patiently until the female has finished... with the inspection of the nesting hole." "The root bulb seems to him an exquisite place to nest." "The question is if she also agrees with this." "Males have a black lower beak, females an orange one." "To remove her last doubt, he has a present for her." "That fish was a good idea." "The goslings need a lot of healthy grass." "Preferable, for safety sake, they should be close to the water." "But there isn't enough grass." "There is no other choice than to take a risk." "The parents are on their utmost gaurd." "They know danger looms not far from the water's edge" "The fox has more prisoners than he can eat today." "He doesn't kill for pleasure." "What he has in excess, he buries for later." "Nothing is wasted." "It is an honorable burial." "Young foxes also need to eat." "To sharpen their reflexes and to learn to deal out their cache fairly... the young spend all day at loggerheads." "They must, because the strongest hunter will survive." "They do not yet need to hunt, that will come later." "Mother supplies the food, but they must prepare it themselves." "Today we are eating geese, the same as yesterday and presumably tomorrow." "Tasty, but you do get a dry mouth from all those feathers." "Spring is already coming to an end for the bees." "They are quickly gathering the last of the food inside." "The Earth Bumblebee has only just begun." "The workers comb a large area for food... and find the path to the nest again... by memorising many points in the landscape." "The nest is now full of working females." "Everything revolves around the queen." "She is elected by her hive and thereafter heavily fed." "She gets fertilized once and she survives just one winter." "The queen must now live up to the task of producing masses of eggs... so that next year there will be new queens... that will supply new hive members." "The kingfisher has the beaver as the closest neighbour." "In the spring they immediately begin the repair of winter's damage... to their nests." "The marriage that started with a fish has in the meantime produced young birds." "The male must wait a while with his shopping... because there is faeces in the way." "That's what you get with kids!" "He know well what he has started, he has to work his butt off." "At least 40 times a day he flies to and fro with fish." "After the cleaning the female takes a bath and makes herself pretty." "That at least shows the male why he is doing all this." "Almost no-one knows that this is a nightingale." "It sings, of course, mostly overnight." "Full-on spring!" "In the swamp the new day is being welcomed... by the symphony of the cormorant... reed bunting..." "Bluethroat..." "Sedge warbler... and Savi's warbler." "and breakfast... comes along by itself." "In the grasslands the stallions begin a special showdown." "The horses fight with self-control." "It is about the ritual, about the order of the group." "Scents are as important to these horses as words are to us." "The dung tells the stallions about the position that they occupy in the herd." "The rank order constantly changes ." "Ambition or the lack thereof, strength, masculinity... it appears to be all written in the waste products." "Everyone profits from each other." "In the dung of the queen's horses a new world is created..." "That of the dung flies" "The males fight about the best spots." "This dung heap is great for mating and laying eggs." "As soon as a female comes past... they jump en masse into the air to grab her." "They are over the moon about it." "They themselves are so busy they almost forget the females." "All that buzzing and flying attracts yellow wagtails" "In this bursting fly-in restaurant they enjoy a welcome snack... on their migration to the north." "When the dungfly male has taken the female... he protects her until she lays the eggs." "The eggs are equipped with a sort of armband... so that they don't sink too deep into the dung." "Flies, horses and birds." "Three different worlds... but inextricably joined to each other." "In the cormorant colony the young are growing like cabbage." "They always want to eat more." "The coming of a strong north-westerly wind makes it difficult for the parents" "They must sometimes fly for tens of kilometers to find the best fish." "Not only does the strong wind cost more time, but also much more energy." "With this bad weather the young need more food to keep warm." "The cormorants store their catch in their crop." "They fly as long as possible to take advantage of the air cushion... that because of their wing beat exist just above the water." "Just like cyclists they fly in formation to save energy." "After a long arduous flight, landing in this strong wind is a tricky art." "Having gone to so much trouble, their crop is nearly empty." "The food that was intended for the young... was food that the fisher itself needed for fuel." "There is no other choice:" "They need to immediately resume fishing even though they are so tired." "Something is in the air" "There is bad weather is on the way." "Cold and warm air layers collide" "The recipe for a perfect summer storm" "When you experience your first thunder and lightning storm it's very frightening." "Even Queen's horses know not to shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm." "The whole herd escape to the safe boundaries of the area." "Some animals are happy with the thunderstorm." "So, during the night, the lust of the Natterjack toads awakens" "Due to the heavy shower the pools wherein they have propagated... have filled with fresh rain water" "With loud raised voices the males roar to their females." "the vocal lure can be heard for kilometers." "The whole region profits from the rainwater." "Now millions of tadpoles appear." "And even more waterfleas." "Thus, because so much food is available... there appears a patient enemy, the Rod bug." "With one hefty storm the whole system has come into motion." "Seldom does he let himself be seen:" "the Bittern" "Here he has found a place where he feels safe." "That doesn't count for the brown frog." "He's on the bittern's menu." "Because of the high water level and temperature... the Carp have become active." "The carp must spawn in shallow water." "The long journey makes them vulnerable, foxes also eat fish." "The males scour their flanks along the belly of the females... to stimulate the release of the spawn." "During this process the carp have not noticed that the water has again dropped." "It is now too shallow." "The wind has dropped." "But not in time for the cormorants." "For far too long it has blown fiercely... and in all that time they have not been able provide enough fish." "The young are hungry and are begging their distraught parents." "They try to regurgitate something, but their crop is empty." "The youth wants to really fish himself, but he can't fly yet." "And when mother returns from her last fishing trip, the chick has died." "In good years, the cormorants bring up two young per nest." "This is an exceptionally bad year." "On average less than one young per nest grows up to be an adult." "Nothing is for nothing." "Everyone carries their burden, fights for their kind... and feels instinctively that they cannot do without the others, in life and in death." "The carp marriage ends in a sad tone, but the wedding feast is for the brown rat." "The blowflies lay their eggs in the dead fish." "They become maggots and attract other guests to come ." "The sadly beached carp are exactly what this waterway needs." "With this she can give her chicks a good start to life." "The young get cleanly rinsed maggots." "It is high summer." "The wheel of life is turning at full speed." "There is food in surplus." "In the rough vegetation the field thistles are being sucked dry... by masses of aphids." "Their excretions is called honey dew and that is a sweet waste." "Ants find it delightful." "In their turn the ants milk the aphids." "The aphid enjoy working with them, but do want something in return." "The ant must stop his greatest enemy, the larvea of the ladybird bug." "And that is something you don't have to tell an ant twice." "It is now warm enough for the green-veined white and small cabbage white butterflies." "Finally they can fly." "The caterpillars from the cabbage white feed on the leaf... of the exuberant yellow flowering black mustand." "As soon as they have become butterflies, they fly to the field thistles." "For the nectar" "Having eaten, it is naturally time for propagation." "The males don't shrink from interrupting each other's lovemaking." "They are small and vulnerable, but the mutual ties are strong." "Thus the strength and vitality of the whole system is guaranteed" "Every creature knows:" "Alone I will never survive." "The ladies and the gentlemen deer live apart." "Only when it is time to mate will they seek each other out." "The last get-together was very productive." "Hundreds of deer calves have been born." "They wait while the mothers graze elsewhere with the herd." "They are not too good on their hooves the first few days." "The ground begins to tremble." "The calf chooses the sure from the unsure." "and seeks a safe refuge in the tall grass." "The Queen's horses are having the spring sillies... and they are trotting in stampede." "Why?" "Maybe just because it is fun." "The horses are looking on in surprise." "They are used to their foal,who immediately after birth..." "Will attach themselves to the herd." "While deer and horses normally shun each other... it appears here that the mother instinct is stronger." "They try to force the deer calf into action." "But the calf is keeping well down." "The young foxes are beginning to get interested in the outside world." "Soon this will be their hunting terrain, so the sooner they learn the better." "At the end of the day the does come to gather their calves." "The mothers find them by calling out, and then listening very carefully." "The calves make unique sounds that the mother can recognise." "No calf is left behind." "Without effort mother and child are reunited." "A group of spoonbills has come together... to profit from the water teeming with life." "With their long beak they search for insects and small fish." "For the cormorant chicks it is time to leave the nest." "They might be as large as their parents..." "They still can't do anything for themselves." "They must now fish by themselves." "Although this still means figuring out what is fish and what is not" "A kingfisher must be very stress resistant." "Everything goes fast in their world." "The chicks are not five minutes out of the nest... and father expects them to fend for themselves." "Mother has already had enough of the young fry." "They have to go." "The parents want to start a new path as soon as possible." "They show them how to fish a couple of times and then it's up to them." "Nicely caught, but unfortunately, not a fish." "But still, within four days, the young kingfishers will be independant... and will leave the parents territory." "Now as the summer is progressing the nights are getting colder." "At this time the Queen's horses come together in one large herd." "All the families have merged." "Including the family with the black foal." "It is a peaceful scene, but that is from an outward appearance." "But there is serious unrest." "Groups of single young stallions live in the herd." "There, swirling testosterone is overflowing in their veins." "They want to be the alpha male, they want to mate, they want power." "The young stallions place the leaders under severe strain." "The alpha males must protect their families from these attacks." "The prize of leadership is high." "A dominant alpha stallion often has many scars from earlier fights." "A young challenger suspects weakness and starts the attack." "Another light coloured stallion appears on the scene." "He has a wholly different strategy." "He doesn't attack the leader, but chases the challenger away because he realises:" "if you show a little bit of cooperation, you can achieve a whole lot more." "The old stallion is well aware of it." "It costs him a lot less energy to keep his family together" "The challenger is contemplating a new assault... but he realises that something has changed." "This is the deal between the young and the old stallion:" "If you help, you can maybe be my successor." "But the lead stallion is a tough teacher." "The white stallion must constantly show that he is taking the task seriously." "The young one is now servant and plays an important role in the family." "That gives him respect and a higher place in the pecking order." "The challenger gives up." "the assaults on the position of the lead stallion will keep coming..." "But, for the time being, peace has returned." "You do not achieve success by using brute force." "You achieve it with carefully forged cooperatives... wherein the balance between giving and taking is continually renegotiated." "For today the poleaxe will be buried." "The herd relax and enjoy the late afternoon sun." "During these last summer days does it seem that there is an enormous, humming..." "Singing, neighing, quacking, lowing organism has been created." "On such a day it is hard to imagine... that a new season is lurking ahead." "Autumn... and the air is pregnant with hormones." "Now the animals are gorging themselves on fruits and seeds to make themselves... as strong as possible to go into winter, and the days are getting shorter... the thicket seems to explodes with a ferocious roar." "It is the time for the red deer rut." "But first for some sparring." "And flinging some grass in the air also makes a good impression." "The old deer wants to be involved one more time." "He has to pump himself up to tackle his rivals." "By peeing on himself, he underlines his status and manliness." "The smell also makes sure that the females know... that they have to be with him if they want to be protected." "It is all about the females." "the deer must gather and fertilize the greatest possible harem." "The luck of the draw turns out bad for the leader." "His first opponent is the biggest and strongest in the herd" "They size each other up." "The fight is short." "The challenger achieves a convincing win in his first fight." "Unfortunately the ladies are less than impressed with this manly conduct." "How difficult it may seem you must not be too hasty." "It will be another two weeks to the peak of the rutting season... when the real decisions will be made." "Hidden between the field thistles... the old deer keeps a eye on his opponents." "The most tropical bird in the Netherlands, the goldfinch... keeps him company." "It's a feast." "A fast expanding swarm of starlings have discovered an overladen elderberry tree." "Dinner is in full swing." "In appreciation of the lift the sparrows leave a track of elderberry poo behind." "It appears the Queens don't care at all that they are becoming like purple zebras." "In the horse dung the starlings are looking for insects." "They have developed strong beak muscles..." "To make digging easier." "The black foal is doing her best..." "To gorge herself for the coming winter." "But she does not find it really tasty." "Friends of her age have grown rapidly." "And the young stallions are constantly busy with mock fights." "The mare foal likes nothing better than to be close to her mother." "Compared to her cousin, she is lean and scraggy." "This is a nasty situation." "The large grazing animals must now build up their fat reserves for the winter." "They become some 70 kilos heavier." "In times of scarcity you must build up this layer of fat... otherwise there is a chance that you will come short of spring." "The rut is at its peak." "The strongest deer have formed harems." "The most important issue, copulation, is not decided by macho behaviour." "Tenderness play a role just as important." "The deer can put on a sturdy effort... but it is up to the does;" "they decide by whom they are fertilized." "The memories of his previous might and glory... forces the old deer to have a go one more time." "He doesn't have a chance." "His pride is broken as he leaves his last defeat." "Nearby the red deer rut things are getting harsh." "More then by injuries, the weaker animals are giving up due to exhaustion." "The ongoing fights demand the utmost... and that costs them their resistance." "The first to discover this are the ravens." "And thereafter the foxes." "Death is just as important as life, as nothing is wasted." "Out of death, life begins again." "After a month only the bones are left... and has provided a tasty food for tens of creatures." "The wilderness of the Oostvaarderplassen clothes itself... deep in autumn, in a dense fog." "As pale angels the great silver herons stand in the shallow water" "End October brings on the first barnacle geese." "After a flight more than 3000 Km from their brooding places... on Nova Sembla and in east Russia" "More than 30,000 geese come here to hibernate." "When they land, the frost will soon begin." "The foals see snow for the first time." "Again, every member of the herd has to get used to the hard water." "A northeasterly wind carries in cold air." "The temperature drops rapidly." "The queens know that together they can withstand much more." "They stand close together and turn their backsides into the wind." "The youngest and weakest horses get to stand in the warmest places... in the middle of the group." "But the black foal steps out of this shelter." "She is hungry and is looking for food." "This is a dangerous sign." "There is now almost nothing to eat." "The horses now rely on their fat reserves." "She has eaten too little, hence not enough reserves." "Therefore it will become extremely difficult to survive the winter" "The hunting grounds are becoming scarce for everyone." "The fox and the buzzard are forces to search longer and longer." "There is no doubt that some field mice are hiding under the snow." "But they are no easy prey." "It is freezing." "Eating is hardly possible while drinking is now more and more dificult." "The queen's horses abandon the open plain." "Grass has become unreachable under the layer of snow and ice." "They now search for their preservation under the shelter of trees and bushes." "Death is lying in wait everywhere." "Water is freezing rapidly and is dangerous." "The leg is frozen and nothing can be done." "Connecting with the herd is no longer possible" "Without the protection of the group, the chances of survival are slim." "The winter is ruthless." "It's freezing, it's blowing a polar wind, it's snowing." "Everyone is sorely tested." "All the animals have moved away from the plains." "Only the mute swans won't give up their spot." "The clouds pull away." "The earth radiates out its last warmth." "It is the harbinger of a period of Siberian cold." "Some animals can't handle the hardship of this hard winter." "With the great wisdom of their instinct... they feel they may not see in the coming spring... and find a place to die." "However sad the loss of a life is... the group, the most important unit, survives" "On the spot where life is celebrated so intensely... is the death just as important." "Bearded reedling roam the reedbeds in large groups." "They've eaten insects during the whole summer." "They switch their digestive system over and pounce on reed seeds" "Very different, but also tasty." "The other swamp birds are not such easy eaters." "They want fish, and that's that." "But they swim relaxed, unreachable, under the thick layer of ice." "The kingfisher male has decided to spend the winter here." "This is to make sure that next year he will still own this territory." "His partner and all the others have already flown south beyond the frost line." "He had not counted such a cold winter." "But it is too late as his last fishing spot has frozen over." "The kingfisher must eat every hour." "A few hours without and he starves." "The cold then rapidly gets him in its deathly grip." "A redbreast and the black foal keep each other company." "The little foal digs the reed roots and that brings out insects... that the redbreast eats with gratitude." "They have become allies." "The foal has used up all of her fat stores... and has no more reserves." "The little grebes have found the last piece of water." "They just beat the bittern to it." "The hungry bittern decides to attempt to catch one of them." "but they are on to him." "And then it appears there is much easier prey amongst the reeds." "The horse with the frozen leg didn't make it." "That is the chance the foxes and ravens have been waiting for." "For them the heavy winter regularly reserves a rich menu." "Although You can now eat what you want, the nutritional value is minimal... and you use more fat than you produce." "What you have added on in summer, determines what you can lose in winter." "Mother's milk is finished." "With the coming of a clear bitterly cold night the end is also approaching." "The family mourns the loss of their young." "They travel further, because only the strongest will survive." "And a little friend brings a last greeting." "There is always a new beginning." "Always there is the next sunrise... the next spring... the next generation." "The light returns and warms the chilled earth." "After a long, severe winter... the circle of life begins to turn again at full speed." "In the land the people have captured from the sea... in a time when nature is under pressure from everywhere... here it is displaying an unprecedented strength and richness." "A foal has been born." "a foal that lives in freedom amongst hundreds of thousands of people... in the densely populated land of Europe..." "In the New Wilderness." "The see eagle is breeding again in the Netherlands for the first time since the middle ages" "Nowhere in Europe do so many red deer live together." "The fox hunts in The New Wilderness during the day." "That's something you almost never see anywhere else." "In 1978 the silver heron found a brooding site here and this has in the meantime... grown into one of the largest colonies in north-west Europe." "The biggest wild horse herd in Europe lives in the Oostvaarderplassen." "Narrated by Harry Piekema" "Music Composition Bob Zimmerman" "Captions by Hans Sanders © South Australia"