Hallands Väderö - Seabird Heaven
Hallands Väderö is a small, uninhabited island tucked into the Kattegat off the tip of the Bjäre peninsula, reached by ferry from the seaside town of Torekov, in southern Sweden. The island itself is about 3 km long and, at its narrowest, just 600 metres wide. It was established as a nature reserve in 1958. The landscape is remarkably varied for such a small place: pebble beaches lined with flowering blackthorn, broad-leaved woodland full of thick-trunked old trees, dark alder carrs and ponds, dry meadows carpeted in blooming thrift, juniper scrub, sandy beaches and rocky shores.
In proportion to its size, it's one of the most species-rich places in the country, home to many uncommon and threatened species. The birding here is the real draw. Several gulls and other seabirds are common breeders, with many Common Eider breeding on the island, and it's the only place on Sweden's west coast where Black Guillemot, Razorbill and Common Guillemot all breed together. Away from the coast you can also find species like Northern Wheatear, Red-backed Shrike, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Common Redstart, Whinchat and Thrush Nightingale, all of which I saw on my quick 3 hour visit to the island.
Certain coastal stretches and skerries are set aside specifically as sanctuary for nesting seabirds and for the harbour seals that haul out on the rocks.
It's a nice pairing with Kullaberg (see previous blog), which sits just across the bay — Kullaberg for cliff-nesting peregrines and storm-driven seabirds, Väderö for its breeding auks, eiders, passerines and seal colonies in a gentler island setting.
