Vasco van der Boon & Jip Louwe Kooijmans (2025) Simonszand: an important high-tide roost for birds in the Dutch Wadden Sea that disappeared in the sea. LIMOSA 98 (4): 167-178.

The uninhabited sandbank complex Simonszand was located between Schiermonnikoog and Rottumerplaat in the Dutch Wadden Sea. It served as an important high tide roost for migrating and wintering birds. Since "#$%, "&' high tide roost counts have been carried out at Simonszand. The last count was in November '(''. The monitoring stopped because the sandbank had disappeared in the sea due to the natural dynamic of the Wadden Sea. Simonszand ful)lled the two quantitative Ramsar-criteria for an international important bird area. During %& counts more than '( ((( birds stayed at the same time at Simonszand. More than "+ of the /yway population of eight bird species repeatedly stayed at monszand: Eurasian Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Sanderling, Red Knot, Grey Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit and Common Shelduck. The total number of individual birds on Simonszand roughly kept pace with the growth and then the shrinkage of the sandbank. The number of roosting bird species responded more slowly to the decrease in the sandbank’s surface area. The seasonal occurrence of Red Knot and Common Ringed Plover on Simonszand deviated from their seasonal occurrence throughout the rest of the Dutch Wadden Sea.

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