A paradise for birds

Orrevatn Lake is a mecca for water birds.
Photo: Roy Mangersnes

Lonavatn Lake

Lonavatn Lake is part of the Figgjo river catchment, and the flowing water keeps it ice-free during winter. It is an excellent overwintering site for ducks and swans, and as many as 133 different bird species have been recorded here. The lake is also home to freshwater mussels and salmon.

More than a quarter of all Europe’s freshwater mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) are found in Norway. Mussel larvae depend on clean rivers and healthy salmon and trout populations to help their distribution.
Photo: Bjørn Mejdell Larsen, NINA

Orrevatn Lake

As at 2017, as many as 298 species had been recorded in Orrevatn Lake, which is the fifth most species-rich bird locality in Norway. Thousands of ducks can be seen on the lake in winter, and it is not uncommon to find rare migratory species. The lake is shallow, nutrient-rich and full of food for the birds. In and around the lake are many rare and red-listed plants such as creeping water-plantain, flaxseed and slender naiad.

The black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is critically endangered and one of the few ‘priority’ species in Norway. This means that the authorities have assigned the bird special protection, and extra efforts are made to ensure its survival. Photo: Andreas Trepte

Smokkevatn Lake

Birds were protected from hunting in Smokkevatn Lake as early as in the 1940s. This was not before time because, as with many other lakes in Jæren, it had been drained down. This had a serious impact on waders such as redshank and dunlin. Today, as many as 161 bird species have been recorded on the reserve, 68 of which breed here. There is also a rich plant flora, with 214 species, and fish species such as eel and stickleback also live in the water.

European eels (Anguilla anguilla) spawn and develop in the Sargasso Sea, north-east of Cuba. They have to migrate long distances before they arrive in our rivers as adults. Photo: Erling Svensen