Sandskär is an island in the northeast of the Swedish sector of the
Bay of Bothnia
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and wit ...
. Once used as a base for fishing and sealing, it is now part of a national park.
Location
Sandskär is the largest island in the
Haparanda Archipelago National Park ( sv, Haparanda skärgårds nationalpark), in the
Haparanda archipelago, to the west of the Finnish
Perämeri National Park.
It may be reached from the mainland harbor of
Haparanda in a one-hour boat-trip.
The island was once used as a base for fishing Baltic herring and hunting seals. The remains of an old fishing village are still visible.
The old chapel has been preserved and may be visited by tourists. Behind it there is a modest graveyard.
Sunday visitors still fish for whitefish, whitebait and salmon.
The island has a marina, cabins, toilet, sauna and camping area. There is a boardwalk hiking trail.
Terrain
All of the islands in the Haparanda archipelago have emerged in the last 1,500 years or so, as the bed of the bay has risen due to
post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...
following the last ice age.
The island would have first emerged as a reef, but now contains moorlands, dunes, beaches, dense woods and meadows.
The core of the island is moraine shingle, on which sand has accumulated. The island lies in shallow water.
The seabed around the island is often exposed and dries up, and the sand blows onto the island to form dunes, some of which are very large.
The moorlands and dunes are in the south of the island, while the north has wetlands and deciduous forest.
Ecology
The island's flora include meadows, heath and forests of pine, birch and especially aspen.
Around mid summer orchids and lily-of-the-valley bloom in the meadows.
The island provides a varied habitat for over two hundred bird species, which use it for nesting or resting.
Waders and ducks will be seen in the many shallow bays.
The non-profit Haparanda Sandskär Bird Observatory on Sandskär was founded in 1981.
Since then over 100,000 birds of 137 species have been ringed. The most common species are the
willow warbler,
redpoll
The redpolls (genus ''Acanthis'') (in Great Britain also historically known as redpoles) are a group of small passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae, which have characteristic red markings on their heads. They are placed in the genus ' ...
,
brambling
The brambling (''Fringilla montifringilla'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It has also been called the cock o' the north and the mountain finch. It is widespread and migratory, often seen in very large flocks.
Ta ...
and
common reed bunting, but rarer eastern species such as the
dusky warbler
The dusky warbler (''Phylloscopus fuscatus'') is a leaf warbler which breeds in the east Palearctic. The genus name '' Phylloscopus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phullon'', "leaf", and ''skopos'', "seeker" (from ''skopeo'', "to watch"). The specific ...
and
yellow-browed warbler
The yellow-browed warbler (''Phylloscopus inornatus'') is a leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae) which breeds in the east Palearctic. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical South Asia and South-east Asia, but also ...
are often caught.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandskar
Swedish islands in the Baltic
Islands of Norrbotten County