Stormaren, Naturreservat

The Stormaren nature reserve is a mosaic of wet meadows, wetlands, dry meadows, gravel alvars and rocky areas. In the north lies Stormaren - the deepest lake on the Alvar. The lake and surrounding wetlands attract many birds.

Stormaren

An alvar lake is a shallow body of water rather than a lake. In summer, large areas can be completely drained, exposing white limestone bleach on the bottom of the lake. Alvarsjön Stormaren differs from other Alvar lakes because it is located in a clear depression in the bedrock. It is at its deepest 2.4 m, which makes it the deepest alvar lake on Öland.

Wetland plants

In the middle of the alvar lake grows ag, bladderwrack and bunkestarr. The lake is bordered by flower-rich wet meadows with, among other things, meadowsweet and krissla. There are also wetlands adjacent to the lake, temporary pools of water that dry out in summer. Rarities such as beach violet and mayflower grow here.

Bird life

Both breeding and resting birds come to Lake Stormaren. Regular visitors include shoveler, redshank and snipe. In some years, water rail, oystercatcher and black-necked grebe breed. During the period 1/4 - 31/7 it is not allowed to stay in the area, which means that you can study the birds from a distance.

Ruler of the skies

If you want to see birds of prey, you've come to the right place! Brown harriers and meadow hawks hunt regularly during spring and summer. In the fall, they are replaced by the blue harrier and the tawny owl. Nowadays, eagles are a common sight all year round. Most often they are white-tailed eagles, but the occasional golden eagle can also sail by in the sky. In the 1970s and 80s, eagles were in dire straits, but after decades of successful bird conservation work, their numbers have increased.