Around Lake Hornborga there are more birds than cranes. Nearly 300 species of birds have been seen here. We look forward to your visit to one of Sweden’s foremost bird lakes – home to black-necked grebes, western yellow wagtails, black terns, white-tailed eagles and many, many more species of birds.
Sudden flapping of wings can be seen over Lake Hornborga. A white-tailed eagle sweeps over the shiny surface of the water, creating chaos and confusion among the geese and ducks. Lake Hornborga is a unique place, in so many different ways. The birdlife by the lake is rich, irrespective of the season.
Lake Hornborga is one of northern Europe’s most important lakes for migratory birds. During both spring and autumn, many species of birds pass through the lake.
This includes species such as the peregrine falcon, hen harrier (blue marsh hawk), common greenshank and ruff. The most birds are on the lake during the autumn. Then tens of thousands of birds can be seen by the lake at the same time. Many gadwall ducks and Eurasian wigeons, among other birds, can be seen. They stop by the lake to eat before continuing their on their migration to their wintering grounds to the south.
Picture: Gadwall
Lake Hornborga is not only an important place for migratory birds. About 50 different species of birds breed in the surroundings in and around the lake.
That means they mate, build nests and then breed their young hatchlings here. To put it quite simply, in the spring and early summer Lake Hornborga is an exuberant nursery.
One of the lake’s more famous inhabitants, apart from cranes, are a type of bird called grebes. All of Sweden’s five different species of grebes are regularly visible on the lake. The unusual and elegant black-necked grebe nests here. They often build their nests together with the black-headed gulls found on the lake.
The gull is an important bird species around Lake Hornborga. Many other species build their nests in the midst of or near the shrill colonies of the black-headed gulls. In that way they get help protecting their hatchlings and nestlings.
Picture: Black-necked grebe
In the spring, the singing of birds echoes across Lake Hornborga. After a winter in which wintering white-tailed eagles and rough-legged hawks are perhaps the biggest treasure at the lake, but in the spring it is a different story.
Many birds return here to the lake to breed here. In the thicket around the lake, the thrush nightingale sings. From the reeds, you can hear Eurasian reed warblers, sedge warblers and great reed warblers singing.
In the rolling farmland around the lake stands the large Eurasian curlew, the Northern lapwing (also known as the peewit) and the Eurasian skylark (colloquially known as the singing lark) for the sound stage. The Eurasian curlew is a yellow-brown bird with long legs and a long curved beak. To hear the flute song of the Eurasian curlew on a spring evening is a simply fabulous experience.
Picture: Sedge warbler
The black tern is another of the many species that breed by the lake. It thrives in lakes where there is plenty of vegetation. In other words, Lake Hornborga is the perfect place for the elegant tern. With grey wings and a black head, the black tern stands out among its white-coloured relatives.
At Lake Hornborga you can see how it flies like a swallow and grabs insects in the air. Small fish are also on the menu for the black tern.
Another bird that you can be lucky enough to see around Lake Hornborga is the great egret, or great white heron, which in recent years has become more and more common at the lake.
Picture: Black tern
