Sweden - Spring Birds & Flowers of Oland

The limestone island of Öland lies just off the coast of south-eastern Sweden. Although connected by a bridge since 1974, the island’s rugged, rural flavour is quite unique. Like the Orkneys in Britain, Öland has a rich blend of natural, cultural and historic attractions: its Great Alvar Plain, divided by immaculately fashioned dry stone walls; ancient coastal hay meadows and pasturelands; unusual linear villages fashioned in the Middle Ages; many Iron Age, Stone Age and medieval remains; and an exceptional flora and rich birdlife have all earned southern Öland World Heritage status.

The island is particularly well known for its birdlife. By early June a host of breeding waders will have arrived to establish their territories amongst the damp meadows and flat coastal pastures. This land has been cut or grazed over thousands of years, without the use of any fertilisers, and the flora is very rich; by late spring the ground is pink with Bird’s-eye Primroses (Primula farinosa) and a profusion of orchids. Dunlin, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and Avocet breed in these meadows which, during the early summer, are full of colour and activity. The island’s meadows and woodlands are also the summer home of such localised breeding species as Montagu’s Harrier and Corncrake, as well as Thrush Nightingale, Barred and Icterine Warblers, Collared Flycatcher and Common Rosefinch.

At the southern tip of this long sinuous island lies the famous Ottenby Bird Observatory and Nature Reserve, the oldest bird observatory in Sweden (established in 1946) and a place of pilgrimage for Scandinavian birders. Here, tired spring migrants take a break in the bushy gardens around the old stone lighthouse, or the adjacent meadows, after their 300-kilometre northbound journey across the Baltic Sea. Late May and early June is the best time for rarities from south-east and eastern Europe, with such species as Red-footed Falcon, Marsh Sandpiper, Red-rumped Swallow, Greenish Warbler and Rose-coloured Starling being amongst the more regular of the unusual visitors at this time. The wet meadows to the north-east of the observatory have benefitted from centuries of hay-making and grazing. Filled with such typical plants of this habitat as Glossy Eyebright, Common Milkwort, a host of different grasses and sedges, and many orchids, the area is very colourful at this time of year, and also provides a wonderful environment for breeding waders. Inland, and to the west of these meadows, lies Ottenby Wood, the largest deciduous woodland in southern Öland. Here, birch and oak trees dominate and host such rare breeding species as Red-breasted Flycatcher and Golden Oriole, whose songs fill the wood at the time of our visit. To the west of the wood lie the ancient grazing pastures of the Västra Mark. Still grazed today by cattle and sheep, such plants as Burnt-tip Orchid, Yellow Milkvetch, Buckshorn Plantain and Glasswort are common, whilst breeding birds include Oystercatchers, Ringed Plovers, Lapwings, Turnstones, Redshanks, gulls, Little Terns and Northern Wheatears.

The lighthouse gardens and point at Segerstad offers an outstanding spot for incoming migrants and vagrants, as well as a chance for a little sea-watching; here too, delightful flower-filled pastures are filled with breeding waders and the dry stone walls that divide them make ideal resting spots for tired migrants. More than 300 species of birds have been recorded here by our resident guide, perhaps the highest number ever recorded from a private European garden! White-tailed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Caspian and Black Terns are amongst the breeding birds of the region, and such species as Black Stork, plus a host of rare passerine migrants, have been recorded in spring.

The most striking characteristic of Öland, though, is the Great Alvar Plain. An alvar occurs on hard limestone bedrock and is a flat area where bare rock breaks through thin soil. The Great Alvar Plain is the largest grazed alvar in the world, and is an extensive limestone plateau strewn with windswept junipers, and granite boulders deposited during the last Ice Age 11,000 years ago. The plateau has been grazed continuously from the Neolithic period until relatively recently, thus, in early summer, this wild area is carpeted by many species of colourful orchids. Further, the thin alvar soil is subject to both extreme drought and flooding, and the plants living here are particularly well adapted to this peculiar and harsh environment in which both alpine and Siberian species live side by side with sun-loving species from southern Europe and a number of endemics, including the Öland Rockrose (Helianthemum oelandicum) and Öland Wormwood (Artemisia oelandica).

During the week our superb resident guide, Christian Cederroth, will introduce us to this wealth of flora and birdlife on the peaceful island that he calls home, with the island’s ambience, manageable size and quiet roads ensuring a most leisurely and enjoyable break.