The Wallnau Waterbird Reserve (german: Wasservogelreservat Wallnau) is one of the most important reserves for

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

in Germany and the largest of

NABU Nabu ( akk, cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû syr, ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō) is the ancient Mesopotamian patron god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian "nab� ...

's nature conservation centres. The former pond estate of Wallnau lies on the west coast of the Baltic island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

and covers, in its core zone, an area of just under , of ponds, reed beds and meadows as well as part of the Baltic Sea and its fringing beaches. The nature conservation centre houses an exhibition on

bird migration Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

, a small restaurant and seminar rooms. Paid and volunteer workers look after conservation-related work and public relations. The centre is certified as the provider of

education for sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

History

The area, which consists of

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hydrologically ...

s and small groves of trees, was originally a bay in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

before a spit developed and separated what became an inland lake from the sea 400 years ago. In the 19th century the area was drained by engineer and surveyor, Gustav Kröhnke, and numerous

fish ponds Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

were created over an area of . The drained lake was used for a long time for agricultural purposes before it was purchased in 1975 by the German Society for the Protection of Birds (''Deutscher Bund für Vogelschutz'')Today the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (''Naturschutzbund Deutschland'' or ''

'') and the district of Ostholstein. NABU bought the site in 1976 and, by 1977, it had been designated as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. This secured the protection of breeding and migrant bird species. In order to optimise the habitat for these birds, landscaping measures were carried out in several areas. The reserve also took part in a LIFE project for improving the protection of the Baltic Sea lagoons, cooperating with Danish and Swedish partners. The head of NABU's Wallnau Waterbird Reserve since March 2008 has been Malte Siegert. In March 2010 NABU Wallnau was given responsibility for three other nature reserves on Fehmarn, thus creating a linked conservation system on the island. One reserve lay just to the north of NABU's existing nature reserve of Wallnau/Fehmarn. The two others are located between the Wallnau Nature Reserve and the NABU's '' Krummsteert-Sulsdorf Wiek / Fehmarn'' Nature Reserve. The peninsula of ''Spitzenort'' and the islands in the Lemkenhafener Wiek, which are home to inter alia a large colony of herring gulls, will also be looked after by NABU Wallnau in the future. The reserves fall under the EU's

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

and are

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

in the Europe-wide conservation network known as

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

. In 1970 the Love and Peace Festival, a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

lasting several days took place on the edge of the present NABU reserve. This event was the last one at which

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

performed before his death. Today, a memorial stone commemorates the event.

Wallnau / Fehmarn Nature Reserve

On 23 December 1977 ownership of the site, designated as a nature reserve by the state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, was transferred to

Conservation

Over 270 species of bird use the terrain of the nature reserve as a resting area during their migration. Around 100 species breed in Wallnau. Data from the continual waterbird numbers and mapping is archived and passed on to the collection points. Employees of the reserve carry out tasks for the Nature Conservation Service of the state of Schleswig Holstein. The team of the waterbird reserve undertakes specialist support of the Wallnau nature reserve and the site support of the reserves of Grüner Brink and Krummsteert/Sulsdorfer Wiek on the island. WallnauInformationsschild

Importance

Because of its favourable location on the migration path of

migrating bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

s, Wallnau is a much sought-after resting place and is also used as a nesting ground in the summer by rare birds like the

red-necked grebe The red-necked grebe (''Podiceps grisegena'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although ...

and

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of ''Sterna'', "tern". The specific '' ...

. The nature reserve can be viewed at any time from a path on the crest of the summer dyke. NABU's information centre is open from March to October and there are also guided walks through the area.

Footnotes and references

External links

www.nabu-wallnau.de
- NABU waterbird reserve at Wallnau
Audiopodcast of important sites on Fehmarn, incl. Wallnau, Orth, Grüner Brink
{{Coord, 54, 28, 22, N, 11, 01, 17, E, type:landmark_dim:1500_region:DE-SH, display=title Bird reserves in Schleswig-Holstein Nature reserves in Schleswig-Holstein Fehmarn Protected areas established in 1977 1977 establishments in West Germany