The Tønder Marsh, Denmark, Tønder, Nørresø, Starlings, October 2, 2015

The Tønder Marsh is Denmark´s largest grassland and pasture area. It is characterized by fertile marshy soils and the constant threat of storm surges from the nearby North Sea. The Tønder Marsh form a unique cultural landscape. It is recently created by the sea, by deposits of clay and silt. It is a result of centuries of interaction between nature and humans.

We started the day with a canoeing trip on the River Vidåen from our house at Nørremølle

Tønder is a busy town with lots of shops and tourists. This picture is from one of the more quit streets, Uldgade.

Old map of Tønder. Tønder was originally the small port for a nearby village called Møgeltønder or the Great Tønder. Uldgade is Kaaber Gade on the map.

Uldgade – or the street of where garments were made of wool

Nørresø is created with EU funds. The lake is an extension of Vidåen. The aim is to restore spawning - and nursery areas for the rare species of fish Houting (Coregonus oxyrhynchus). A nature-restoration project, which is also beneficial to many other animal and plant species. Nørresø er skabt med EU midler. Søen er en udvidelse af Vidåen. Formålet er at gendanne gyde – og opvækstområder for den meget sjældne fiskeart: snæbel (Coregonus oxyrhynchus. Engelsk: Houting). Et natur-genopretnings-projekt, der også er til gavn for mange andre dyre- og plantearter.

Great Egret (Ardea alba). The Great Egret does not yet breed in Denmark, but is seen more and more often. Sølvhejre (Ardea alba). Sølvhejren yngler endnu ikke i Danmark, men træffes stadig oftere.

The train from Tønder to Germany passes an traditional farm . Originally it had its barn and stable in on end and living quarters in the other end.

The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), also known as the peewit, pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover or just lapwing in Danish just Vibe. The northern lapwing one of the birds that were most common in the Tønder Marsh during our visit. Viber

Bjerremark is a great marsh farm, which was first mentioned in 1685. In 1988 underwent Bjerre Mark a major renovation and restoration, and is used as a training center for Ecco Group. Bjerremark er en stor marskgård, der nævnes første gang i 1685. I 1988 gennemgik Bjerremark en stor renovering og restaurering og indrettedes til et kursuscenter for Ecco-koncernen.

LACK SUN – HUNDRED THOUSANDS OF STARLINGS IN THE SKY. Black Sun watching attracts thousands of tourists. Starlings roost in the reeds. Such large number of juicy prey attract many raptors. On the other side of the the red bed the shopping centers in Aventoft just next to the Danish-German border with hundreds of bird watchers. There is a symbiosis between the bird watchers and the starlings. The bird watchers scares the raptors and even more starlings are attracted to this place because it is relatively safe. Sort sol in the marsh near Tønder can occasionally comprise a formation with up to one million birds. Sort sol er et naturfænomen, der kan ses forår og efterår, når stære på træk samles i store flokke for overnatning. Lige før stærene går ned på jorden for natten, danner de store flokke mønstre på himlen, der næsten formørker solen, heraf navnet sort sol.

In Spring and Autumn huge numbers of migration starlings gather in the Tønder Marsh. They are looking for daddy long legs and garden chafer grubs in the wet meadows. At such time you can observe a fascinating panorama called “Black Sun” (Sort Sol). Sort sol takes place in the hours just after sunset. The birds gather in large flocks and form huge formations in the sky just before they decide for a location to roost for the night. The movements of the formations have been likened to kind of a dance or ballet and the birds are so numerous that they seem to obliterate the sunset, hence the term "sort sol" (Danish for "black sun"). Stærene, der ses i marsken er trækfugle, der forår og efterår er på vej til eller fra Skandinavien, Finland og Rusland, hvor de yngler.

Hundreds of thousands of starlings turn the sky black when they are circling around creating fascinating formations in the air before they land at dusk in an area covered with reeds. Several starlings descend on the same reed – the uppermost in danger of being caught by a bird of prey, while the lower ones might end with their feet in water. Stæren kommer til marsken for at æde stankelbens- og gåsebillelarver, som findes i store mængder i de fugtige græsarealer. Om dagen søger de især føde i de ydre, vestlige koge i Tøndermarsken, mens de om natten sover på tagrørene

Sunset over the Tønder Marsh

Sunset over the Tønder Marsh

Cows in the evening fog near our house at Nørremølle