Getteron Nature Reserve

Getteron sits on the coast just outside Varberg where a shallow bay, reed beds and grazed wet meadow meet, and the mix of habitats in a small area gives it a species list that runs well over three hundred - unusual for a site you can walk round in a couple of hours. Avocet, ruff, spotted redshank and a long run of ducks and waders use it on passage, marsh harrier and bearded tit breed, and rarities turn up regularly enough that Swedish birders check it habitually. A visitor centre with a large window over the water and several hides around the reserve make it usable in any weather, which matters on this coast.

Background

The reserve covers 350 hectares, 235 of them land, on parts of the Getterön peninsula and an area to the north in Varberg Municipality, and it was set up in 1970. The wetlands themselves are younger: they formed in the 1930s, once the shallow channel separating Getterön from the mainland had been filled. It is a Natura 2000 site and has been on the Ramsar list since 5 December 1974. Pied avocets, the reserve's emblem, nest here along with ruff, dunlin, little tern, garganey, gadwall and black-tailed godwit, and in winter visitors can find little grebe, water rail, kingfisher, bittern, bearded reedling, whooper swan and smew.

Source: Wikipedia, "Getterön Nature Reserve"

What's there

• A species list over three hundred - in a small area.
• Waders on passage - avocet, ruff, spotted redshank.
• Breeding marsh harrier and bearded tit - in the reed beds.
• A visitor centre and hides - usable in bad weather.

When to go

April to June and August to October for passage. Half a day.

Practical notes

It is a birding site - without binoculars there is little to do. The centre keeps seasonal hours. Wind off the sea is constant. Summer between the passages is quieter.

Nearby

Varberg fortress is south; the Halland coast runs both ways.

Key facts