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The Strabrechtse Heide has great ecological and cultural-historical values. This nature reserve covers 1,500 hectares and is the Netherlands' largest heathland area. In the heart is the open drifting sand area of the Galgenberg, with typical vegetation consisting of spurrie, sheep grass and bunt. The sheepfold on the heath offers shelter to a flock of approximately four hundred Kempen heath sheep, a breed that was almost extinct in the mid-twentieth century. The flock can be found on the heath during the day and if you arrive early, you can take the sheep onto the heath.

In the spring, shovelers and summer teals breed around the fens. The melancholic call of the curlew can be clearly heard while the green woodpecker searches the ground for ants and other tasty treats. But the most impressive animal that inhabits the heath is the crane, which announces its arrival with a trumpet call.