7 heather dwellers with a dark side

Every day for a week, we highlight a species that is a bit spooky or mysterious. From nocturnal hunters to slippery water dwellers and poisonous mushrooms, they all have a dark side, but play an indispensable role in the ecosystem. Find out how these "Halloween species" keep nature in balance.

Shrike

📸 Glenn Vermeersch

This seemingly sweet bird has a dark side: the wren skewers mice, frogs or small birds on sharp branches or barbed wire to nibble.

• Recognisable by: Grey plumage with a black "bandit mask" over the eyes, white underside, black wings and powerful bill.
• Habitat: Ideal in the Grenspark: vast heathlands with striking lookouts where it typically scouts for prey from the top of small trees, as a winter visitor from October to April. In summer, the shrike (also known as the blue shrike) is relieved by its sister species the red-backed shrike, which comes here to breed, exhibiting similar behaviour.
• Ecological role: Predator in miniature; helps keep populations of small animals and insects in balance.
• Status: Protected, on the red list.

Common gravedigger

📸 John Kil / waarneming.nl

This small carrion beetle has a rather macabre occupation: it buries dead animals and lays its eggs in them. Its larvae do the clean-up work and return nutrients to the soil. Apart from the carcasses themselves, the gravedigger mainly eats maggots (larvae of flies) that feast on the carrion.

• Recognisable by: Glossy black carapace with distinctive orange spots.
• Habitat: Open heathlands, forest edges and wet grasslands of the Grenspark.
• Ecological role: A real nature's cleaner: by breaking down carcasses, it returns nutrients to the soil and keeps the ecosystem healthy.
• Status: Not threatened, but essential for the natural balance.

Medicinal leech

📸 Anne van Poecke

This slippery parasite sneaks through pools and muddy water bodies, looking for aquatic animals to suck on. Harmless to humans, and once even used in medicine for venesection. Today, it plays an important role in the ecosystem, keeping populations in balance and watching over water quality.

• Recognisable by: Dark green to brown body with six red longitudinal stripes and a lighter belly side with black spots.
• Habitat: Food-rich freshwater pools with sufficient submerged aquatic plants.
• Ecological role: Biological indicator of water quality and regulator of aquatic species.
• Status: Rare, protected species; listed on the IUCN Red List as 'Near Threatened' and protected under European directives.
• Viewing tip: Vroege Vogels TV | 24 September 2021 | Kalmthoutse heide - Vroege Vogels - BNNVARA

Raven

📸 Filip Vanboven

This mysterious bird returns to Belgium and the Netherlands after a long absence. In earlier centuries, the raven was often associated with witchcraft, black magic and other creepy practices. Due to superstition, fierce fighting and competition with hunters, the raven disappeared from our regions for decades, but in recent years it has been making an impressive comeback. In the Grenspark, too, it is increasingly observed.

• Recognisable by: Large black songbird, often difficult to distinguish from the carrion crow at a distance but significantly larger with a substantial, curved bill and wedge-shaped tail in flight. Especially recognisable by its typical, rolling call.
• Habitat: Prefers quiet nesting sites in older forests and open heathlands of the Grenspark.
• Ecological role: As a woodland cleaner, the raven contributes to keeping small mammals, birds and carcasses in balance, encouraging a healthy ecosystem.
• Status: The raven is protected by law and its population is growing steadily thanks to nature management and protection. In the Netherlands it is on the Red List as vulnerable, while in Belgium it is less rare.

Bat

📸 Common dwarf bat, Saxifraga-Rudmer Zwerver

The ultimate Halloween hero! Bats hunt for insects at night using echolocation, a kind of built-in radar system. Several species live in the Grenspark, such as the ruddy bat, dwarf bat, long-eared bat and common big-eared bat.

• Recognisable by: Dark, leathery wings, pointed snout and fluttering flight.
• Habitat: They shelter in old trees, hollows or buildings during the day and emerge over fens and forest edges at night.
• Ecological role: Natural pests; eat large quantities of insects, pollinate some plants and disperse seeds. Their presence indicates a healthy ecosystem.
• Status: All bat species in the Netherlands and Belgium are strictly protected.

Fly agaric

📸 Els De Backer

This iconic mushroom is a true Halloween classic. With its bright red hat and white dots, it looks straight out of a fairy tale. But appearances can be deceiving: the fly agaric is poisonous. In the past, it was used to kill flies, hence its name.

• Recognisable by: Red hat with white 'dots', white stem with a ring and a tuberous foot.
• Habitat: Moist deciduous forests, especially under birch, pine, oak or beech on acidic soils.
• Ecological role: Lives in symbiosis with trees, extracting nutrients from the soil and sharing them with its host.
• Status: Commonly found in the Grenspark.

Bow-tie marten

📸 Saxifraga - Hans Dekker

This cute, fluffy predator is a true nocturnal dweller and a stealthy hunter: it steals eggs from birds' nests and hunts birds, squirrels and rabbits. With its graceful, lithe body, it moves deftly through trees and bushes.

• Recognisable by: Brown to reddish fur with a yellow to bright orange throat patch and a long, thick-haired tail.
• Habitat: Wooded areas and forest edges of the Grenspark, often active at dusk or at night.
• Ecological role: Top predator in the forest; regulates populations of small mammals and birds, contributing to a healthy ecosystem.
• Status: Protected in Belgium, on the red list for mammals and a Natura 2000 target species of the Grenspark.