The Vicognebos – Ostend

Location

Voorhavenlaan 18
Oostende 8400
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A little over 10 ha, Ostend’s Vicogne wood consists of young woodland and polder meadows, while the Vicognezwin retention pond, an old antitank trench and the Spuikom basin provide the area with much-needed water. A winding walk will give you a glimpse of the open polder grasslands while taking you through the woodland populated by a wide variety of small songbirds in spring. Bird lovers are definitely in for a treat along the Schietbaanstraat as the islands in the adjacent Spuikom welcome hundreds of terns to breed every year, as well as lots of pied avocets and black-headed gulls. Don’t think the area is completely deserted in winter either, because it’s the place to be to spot goldeneyes, great-crested, red- and black-necked as well as little grebes.

Features:
°Quiet area between the Ostend and Bredene urban centres
°Colony of terns on the breeding islands in the Spuikom
°Songbirds
°Close to the sea
°Remnants of the war (airfield)