Hornborgasjön - nature restoration of wetlands and lakes - a paradise for cranes and birdwatchers

Hornborgasjön is a large shallow lake in western Götaland, Sweden, best known for the large influx of cranes during the spring and autumn migration. Every year, thousands of birdwatchers and photographers from all over Europe come to witness between 20,000 and 30,000 cranes congregating in a relatively small area. They are able to do so thanks to a large-scale nature restoration effort that began several decades ago and is still ongoing. The unique nature makes Hornborgasjön an interesting place to visit all year round, regardless of whether you are interested in birds.

A couple of hundred years ago, Hornborgasjön covered an area of ​​28 square kilometers. In the 19th century, however, parts of the lake began to be drained to make way for larger areas of land for cultivation. This was done in five rounds between the 19th century and the 1930s. In the end, only a few scattered small bodies of water with bushes and undergrowth remained in an area of ​​less than four square kilometers.

However, poor soil and heavy spring floods made most of the area unsuitable for agriculture. In 1988, the government therefore decided to restore the lake. Work began in 1992, and with the help of new technology, new machines and new knowledge, after several years of work, the lakebed was cleaned and the water level raised by 85 cm. By then, dikes had been sealed, a large dam had been built at the lake's outlet and old channels had been filled in.

Evening view of gravel road by the shoreline on the north side of Hornborgasjön

In areas where there are many birds, it is prohibited to travel during the migration and breeding season

By 1995, the lake had grown to about 10 kilometers long and 2-3 kilometers wide, covering an area of ​​35 square kilometers. It is still a shallow lake with a maximum depth of 1.5 meters, which is also one of the reasons why it is so well suited for birds. However, the water level varies both during the year and from year to year depending on the amount of precipitation.

Water levels can vary throughout the year and from year to year

After the water was back in place, work began to restore the surrounding nature. Much of the shoreline was overgrown with forest, and the original flora had been destroyed. To recreate the plains that had once been here, the forest was removed and plants that belonged to the place were planted. Much has been achieved, and the reserve today appears both beautiful, distinctive and natural, but it takes time to restore ecological balance. Therefore, some of the work is still ongoing.

A beautiful plain has been created along Lake Hornborgasjön

In 1997, Hornborgasjön and its surroundings were declared a nature reserve. With an area of ​​approximately 4,000 hectares, this is one of Sweden's largest nature reserves. It was later also granted the status of a Ramsar site with the associated protection obligations. This shows that Hornborgasjön Nature Reserve is perceived as one of the most important wetland areas for birds in Sweden.

Flooded bushes and trees on the north side of Hornborgasjön

Hornborgasjön Nature Reserve has made arrangements for the public to experience this unique area without harming the plants, birds and wildlife. There are a total of nine places around the lake that are specially designed for visitors. Several of them have their own shelters that you can use to see the birds up close. The shelters and the area are free to use. The two most famous places to visit are Tranedansen and Naturum.

Footbridge out to hide

Hide where you can study birds up close without disturbing them

Old barn converted into a photo hide

The Tranedansen (Crane Dance) is located on the southwest side of the lake. As the name suggests, you can see the crane dance there, but it is also where the large gathering of cranes is. There is a small visitor center there that is open during the high season in spring, and there are toilets and good parking facilities. In spring, there is also plenty of space for campers with makeshift toilets nearby. The area where the birds stay is fenced, and during periods of bird migration, there is a ban on movement in the bird area. However, the birds are so close to the barriers that you can see them well, especially if you have binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens. In addition to cranes, you can see various types of geese, ducks, swans, quails and other smaller birds.

In the fields at Tranedansen where cranes and other birds are given grain, many birds can gather. Evening picture.

Two cranes go in for landing in the middle of the flock

A whooper swan grazing with the cranes

Parking space for campers at Tranedansen

One of the viewpoints at Tranedansen

One of the purposes of a crane's stay in Hornborgasjön is to find a mate. Once a pair has found each other, they form strong bonds and stay together for the rest of their lives.

Environmental image in the evening from Tranedansen

The view from the visitor center at Tranedansen. During the high season, the birds can come quite close to the barriers.

Naturum is located on the opposite side of the lake. There are many other seabirds that use the lake. Naturum has good parking facilities, toilets, a restaurant and a large visitor center in addition to a number of shelters that can be used free of charge if you want to see or photograph the birds up close. In addition, marked paths have been made along the water in both directions. There, too, the birds are protected by a ban on traffic in an area closest to the shoreline.

The visitor center at Naturum

The café at Naturum

Path along the lake at Naturum

Colony of nesting black-headed gulls with a viewpoint in the background

The eared grebe on the left has built a nest together with the black-headed gulls for protection from birds of prey

The red-necked grebe is one of the birds you can see up close at Naturum

In the forest along the water you can see the common small birds like this robin

Plain with a solitary tree at Naturum

Hornborgasjön is surrounded by mountains, which makes it lie like a cauldron. This creates upward winds when the sun is up, and these warm air currents are used by large birds such as cranes and birds of prey to save energy when they take off and need height to continue their journey to their breeding grounds in the north or wintering grounds in the south.

Cranes soaring on the warm air currents

Cranes have flown over and rested at Hornborgasjön for thousands of years. It has been a good place to gather strength and build up energy stores before the final stage north. Potatoes have been produced on the farms around the lake for centuries, but this was particularly systematic in the latter half of the 19th century when the area's two large estates, Store Björum and Dagsnäs, started factories for the production of potato spirit. Potato cultivation left behind large amounts of waste and potato residues that the birds ate, and the good supply of food meant that more and more cranes found their way there.

The birds are crowded together when 20,000 to 30,000 gather in a small area

When the government transferred all alcohol production to a large plant in Skåne in 1971 and banned alcohol production on farms, the basis for the large-scale potato cultivation also disappeared. For a few years, they continued to feed the cranes potatoes to prevent them from damaging the crops on the surrounding farms, but this became too expensive, and eventually they switched to giving them grain instead.

Cranes eating grain

This has continued to this day. Now more than 150 tons of grain are used each year to feed the cranes. The grain is spread on the fields at Tranedansen in the evenings after the birds have moved out to the lake to spend the night there. Today, this distribution of grain has two purposes. In addition to preventing the cranes from damaging agricultural production on the surrounding farms, this has now also become a measure to maintain tourism in the area. Much of the income from the parking fee is used to finance the feeding. Tourism provides jobs in nearby restaurants and hotels.

The cranes stay at Hornborgasjön for a few weeks in the spring before moving on. Some of them go to Norway to nest there, but most travel further north in Sweden. The population of cranes has increased in recent years in both Norway and Sweden. Part of the reason is probably that the good supply of food in Hornborgasjön has led to more birds surviving and having enough strength to successfully nest.

Mating occasionally occurs at Hornborgasjön, but most wait until they have found a suitable nesting site

This is of course good for the cranes, but it is not necessarily good news for other bird species that use the same nesting areas as the cranes and that may be displaced by them. There is still ongoing discussion about how significant this is, but developments show that even measures with the best intentions can have unintended effects.

Crane dancing occurs spontaneously and is intended to strengthen the emotional bond with the partner

Cranes are large, beautiful and impressive birds. They grow to between 95 cm and 1.3 metres tall, weigh between 4.5 and 6.1 kg and have a wingspan of up to two metres. During migration and roosting, cranes are social and appear in large flocks. However, during the breeding season, they keep a great distance from other cranes and are shy. They are mainly monogamous. Pairs have strong bonds and usually stay together until one of them dies.

The dance they perform in the spring is not part of a mating ritual, but a behavior that strengthens the bond between the pair. When you observe a flock of cranes, you will see that the dance occurs suddenly and sporadically, and not very often. It is spread out throughout the day, and there is no time of day that is better than others to see it. The cranes often emit loud trumpet sounds to mark their territory. Therefore, there is quite a high noise level when you are near a large flock.

Cranes that emit trumpet sounds to mark territory

The peak season for seeing cranes at Hornborgasjön is in the spring from late February to early April. During this period, the population is counted every day, and on the Naturum website https://www.hornborga.com you can keep track of how many birds are there at any given time. They are counted in the evening when the birds leave Tranedansen and fly out to the lake to spend the night there. It is a great experience to see 20,000 to 30,000 large birds gathered in one place. In the autumn, cranes also come, but then they do not stay at Tranedansen for as long, and therefore there are not so many birds there at a time. Then the population is only counted twice a week.

For those interested in photography, it may be good to know that you get side light early in the morning and backlight in the afternoon at Tranedansen, and that heat haze often forms over the fields when the weather is clear and sunny. At Naturum you have the sun at your back in the morning, and you photograph birds on the water where the heat haze is usually less pronounced in the morning hours.

More projects with nature restoration: www.turideer.com tag: Rewilding

Excursion of the week: Crane dance at Hornborgasjön - nature restoration of wetlands and lakes

Suitable for: Anyone with an interest in birds and nature conservation

Getting there: Enter Tranedansen Hornborgasjön or Naturum Hornborgasjön in Google Maps, and you will be taken straight to the parking lot at the two visitor sites.

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