Storøykilen Nature Reserve - new ponds at Fornebu - nature restoration in wetland area
- Admin
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
When Fornebu Airport was closed on 7 October 1998, the development of what will become a medium-sized Norwegian city began. Fortunately, the authorities have spared some areas where they have tried to restore nature to the way it was before the airport was built. Over the past two years, the important wetland area in Storøykilen has received a major upgrade. A total of four ponds have been established that will provide good habitats for both insects, plants and birds. Arrangements have been made so that visitors can see the birds without disturbing them.
In the nature reserve around Storøykilen in Fornebu, you still have the feeling of being out in the open. Here, cows graze in peaceful coexistence with deer, geese and other birds. But just behind the shoreline, it has not been as idyllic. Over the years, what were previously dumps and open ponds have been filled in with waste and fill materials. Much of the area has also been overgrown with roof reeds and bushes. After several years of lobbying, however, enthusiasts - and in particular nature conservation contact Bjørn Olav Tveit in BirdLife Norway, Asker and Bærum local group - have had success in cleaning up old pollution and restoring nature to its original state.
Just inside the shoreline, polluting waste has been removed and a tidal pond has been created that partly receives surface water from the slopes behind and partly receives seawater from the fjord at high tide. It has been named Fjærepytten and has become a nice resting and living area for wading birds and ducks.
Next to the walkway a little further behind the beach, a pond has been dug out that has been named Isfugldammen. Here, it is hoped that the beautiful turquoise and rusty red kingfisher - which is found in the area - will be able to find a place to nest and live when the pond is hopefully filled with small fish that this bird feeds on. To achieve the desired depth, the river has been dammed and in this way also contributed to raising the water level in the entire wetland area behind where you can regularly hear the "pig squeals" from the water rail, which is so shy that only the most eager and skilled birdwatchers have been able to see it.
Next to the walkway a little further northwest is the Sivhønedammen. As the name suggests, it is hoped that the common moorhen will be able to settle here, but so far it is mostly barn swallows that have used it. In addition, a pair of little ringed plovers have been breeding in the area this year. They had four children and have tried out Fjærepytten, Sivhønedammen and Isfulgdammen in addition to the areas around the embankments that have been made.
The largest pond - Askengtjernet - is located further back in the terrain. It will probably become the most important habitat for the birds, but is not visible from the walkway today and will therefore probably be inaccessible to the public most of the year. You can see some of it from the viewpoint on the mound on the sea side of the hiking trail. During the breeding season for the birds and the grazing season for the cows, the area is fenced off with electric fences. However, in the fall, winter and early spring you will be able to walk around and see the pond from the back.
The work to create the ponds in Storøykilen Nature Reserve started in December 2023 and was completed in 2024/2025. The traces of the digging are therefore still visible, but the first nesting bird has already been observed, a herring gull. The herring gull is on the red list of endangered species. It is therefore positive that it has found a safe oasis in Askengtjernet.
Storøykilen Nature Reserve covers 146 hectares. It was established in 1992, and the purpose was to take care of the vegetation, birds and animals that live in the area. The nature at Fornebu has several plant species that are important to take care of. An example is the blue dragonhead plant that the dragonhead beetle is completely dependent on. Dragonhead beetle only lives in certain places on Fornebu and some islands in the Asker and Bærum archipelago, but nowhere else in the world. Therefore, Norway has a special responsibility to take care of it. Dragonhead plants grows, among other places, at the viewpoint at Storøykilen.
Fornebu is one of the most important bird areas in the country. Birds can be found here all year round, but especially during the spring and autumn bird migrations when many species spend a few days or weeks here gathering strength and energy on their way north or south. 285 different bird species have been observed at Fornebu, making it ninth in Norway on the list of places with the highest number of observed bird species.
The work to restore the wetland in Storøykilen nature reserve will make it easier to be a bird in Fornebu. Bjørn Olav Tveit has managed to get financial support from the Savings Bank Foundation, DNB, the State Administrator, the Norwegian Environment Agency and Smart City Bærum. BirdLife has also contributed. It is both great and absolutely necessary that public bodies and private enterprises can come together on such projects, which in addition to time and work also require a good deal of money. It should also be mentioned that BirdLife members have been willing to put in a large number of volunteer hours cutting trees and removing bushes, clearing trash and maintaining the area.
The development of Fornebulandet is one of the largest urbanization projects in Norway. It is easy to see that both nature and wildlife will be at risk when blocks of flats and terraced houses grow up like mushrooms and surround the vulnerable natural areas. It is also obvious that there may be a conflict when visitors and people living in the area use nature in their free time. One of the purposes of the nature restoration of the wetlands in Storøykilen Nature Reserve is that people and nature can live side by side. Therefore, paths and observation hides will be created that ensure that hikers and bird lovers can see the birds and animals at the same time as they have their safe places.
One of the biggest conflicts in the area is related to the Kilen Seaplane Club, which is located at the southwest end of Lilleøya, right next to Storøykilen. It is considered one of Europe's leading seaplane communities and trains seaplane pilots from all over Norway and the rest of the continent. It has been located here since the 1920s and can be seen as a nostalgic element from Norway's former main airport. However, the large-scale development at Fornebu with the pressure on nature it entails and the proximity of the seaplane club to vulnerable nature and wildlife makes seaplane activity increasingly problematic. The club has approx. 100 members and 17 aircraft. Every time one of these lands or takes off, the birds in the area are frightened, and this is not beneficial for the birds, especially not for resting birds that are going to eat and gather strength during the bird migration.
Fortunately, in the development of Fornebulandet, some natural areas have been preserved and thus ensured that the residents have beautiful recreational areas. The large Nansenparken (https://www.turideer.com/post/nansenparken-fornebu-i-ny-drakt) is a large green lung that the entire area has access to. The beach areas on the tip of Storøya (Storøyodden) have been turned into a beautiful sandy beach (https://www.turideer.com/post/storøyodden-badestrand-på-fornebu), and good hiking trails have been created to both Koksakilen and over to Hundsund. So even though Fornebulandet will eventually become a city, there will also be good access to green areas.
More projects with nature restoration: www.turideer.com Topic tag: Rewilding
Excursion of the week: nature restoration in wetland area in Storøykilen Nature Reserve in Fornebu
Suitable for: Anyone with an interest in nature who can walk a distance.
Finding it: The easiest way is to start from the public parking lot that is used to access the beach at Storøyodden. It is located on Lomviveien on Storøya. From the parking lot, there are paths through the forest on the west side that lead down to Storøykilen.
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