Feasting on the seaweed banks
Anyone taking a walk along the Jæren coastline will probably have noticed the strong smell of rotting seaweed. You smell it before you see it! The seaweed offers excellent conditions for fly larvae and other invertebrates, which are food for the many waders such as dunlin (Calidris alpina). Photo: Roy Mangersnes
Kolnes
The Kolnes bird conservation area, just north of Solastrand beach, consists of small islands and rocky reefs, famous for causing many historical shipwrecks. Seabirds, on the other hand, flourish here, nesting on the islands and finding food in the shallows. You can observe seals further out at sea.
The rock pipit (Anthus petrosus) is very numerous at Kolnes, where it feeds among the tufts of grass, rocks and seaweed banks. Photo: vcebollada, Wikimedia Commons
Orre-Reve
Revtangen and Orreosen are two of the most important stopping-off points for migratory water birds. After the glaciers retreated 15,000 years ago, Revtangen on the coast was one of the first places to be free of ice. This is where we find the longest unbroken stretch of sandy beach in Norway – 9 kilometres long. Behind the sand dunes, we find a unique variety of plants that are very vulnerable to trampling.
As you move from the beach up into the sand dunes, you will find the marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) that dominates the dune landscapes along the Jæren coastline. This picture was taken from the beach at Nærlandsstranda. Photo: Ryan Hodnett
Skeie-Nærland-Håtangen
The Håelva river estuary is a very productive site for plants, birds and fish. This is where the salmon arrive after fattening themselves up on their journey across the Atlantic. The area is characterised by sand and boulder beaches. The marram grass binds the dunes, preventing the sand from being blown away.
The Håelva estuary. Photo: Roy Mangersnes