Private Project

The Bird Ranger; no time, only tide

The work of bird rangers in European Nature Reserve “De Boschplaat” on Terschelling not merely consists of guarding the reserve. Hosting, providing information, monitoring and making inventories are equally important. The last professional bird ranger from Staatsbosbeheer, Oene de Jong, takes us on a journey into this extraordinary world, through a beautiful, dynamic landscape. Retired rangers share their stories, supported by unique footage, philosophical anecdotes and beautiful time-lapse photography. All this manifests the importance of the bird-ranger history and its great value to the cultural-historical heritage of this West Frisian Island. Beside "De Boschplaat" the filmmaker also visits "Engelsmanplaat" and "Rottumerplaat", two unique islands in the Wadden Sea World Heritage where Bird Rangers are permanently stationed during breading-seasons.

  • Hans den Hartog
    Director
  • Hans den Hartog
    Writer
  • Hans den Hartog
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Nature, environment, birds, world heritage, european nature reserve, national park, wildlife, protect, Wadden Sea Islands, Terschelling, Boschplaat, Engelsmanplaat, Rottumerplaat
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 8 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 7, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    Dutch
  • Shooting Format:
    XDCAM HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Environmental Film Festival - DCEFF
    Washington DC
    United States
    April 3, 2016
    Official Selection
  • Wildlife Conservation Film festival
    New York City
    United States
    October 18, 2015
    North American Premiere
    North American Premiere
  • Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    October 31, 2015
    Official selection
  • Matsalu Nature Film Festival - Estland
    Lihula
    Estonia
    June 6, 2016
    Official selection
  • Environmental Film Festival Albania
    Tirana
    Albania
    March 15, 2016
    Official Selection
  • Noordelijk Film Festival
    Leeuwarden
    Netherlands
    November 14, 2015
    Official selection
  • Terschellinger Filmdagen
    West-Terschelling
    Marshall Islands
    November 12, 2015
    Official selection
  • Oerol Festival
    Terschelling
    Netherlands
    June 12, 2016
    Official selection
  • Dutch Public Broadcasting VARA Vroege Vogels
    Hilversum
    Netherlands
    February 10, 2015
    Dutch TV Premiere
    Dutch TV Premiere
  • Louis Hartlooper - Dutch Premiere
    Utrecht
    Netherlands
    February 7, 2015
    Dutch Premiere
    Dutch Premiere
Director Biography - Hans den Hartog

Biography
Hans den Hartog, filmmaker, born and raised in The Netherlands. Educated in mechanical engineering and worked for many years in the water treatment industry as a sales manger. He discovered in 2005 his true passion: create human-interest documentaries. After several camera-, editing courses and directing items for a Press agency, he started his own company; DUCreations Film Productions. He shot his first documentary Toos & Ron, to live and let go in 2011 in a hospice, a last home for terminal ill people. In 2013 he starts filming in the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands for The Bird Ranger project. The project took him three years from idea to realisation. The documentary has been screened on several film festivals in Holland, at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York and broadcasted on Dutch Public Television

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

We, humans, are taking more and more space from nature; to build houses, factories, recreations areas, animal agriculture and so on. Especially that last one, decimating rainforests at the speed of one football field per second for soy plantations to produce food for intensive livestock farming is painful to see. The wildlife needs to be protected from us, ‘evil’ human beings. We have to designate protected areas where they can live, give birth in their natural habitat.