Strandstuviken Nature Reserve () is 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, funga, or features of geologic ...

Södermanland County Södermanland County (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' on the southeast coast of Sweden. In the local Sörmlandic dialects it is virtually universally shortened and pronounced as Sörmlands län, or simply Sörmland, which is the ...

in Sweden. It is part of the EU-wide

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, respectiv ...

-network. The nature reserve lies along a stretch the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

coast and is one of the most important stop-over areas for

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

. It consists of several narrow spits, shallow bays and

beach meadow Beach meadows are coastal meadows influenced by the presence of the nearby sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is always high and the meadows are often flooded during and after stormy weather. These conditions implies th ...

s, as well as a variation of

forest types A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

further inland. ''

Sörmlandsleden Sörmlandsleden ("Sörmland trail")" is a system of hiking trails covering a total of approximately of walking paths in Södermanland, south of Stockholm, Sweden. The trails pass through several nature reserves, areas of cultural tradition and ...

'' passes through the reserve.

Bird-life

Strandstuviken Nature Reserve is first and foremost an important area for resting migratory birds, and is well known by local

ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US * Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US * William Louis Abbott – US * Humayun Abdulali — India * Joseph ...

; in the northern part of the nature reserve there is an observation tower for the convenience of bird-watchers. The bird-fauna of the area is among the best documented in the entire county. Among the birds that use the nature reserve as a stop-over are

tufted duck The tufted duck (or tufted pochard) (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of nearly one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. They are partially migratory. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek , an unide ...

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina''), known simply as pochard in the United Kingdom, is a medium-sized diving duck in the family Anatidae. It is widespread across the Palearctic. It breeds primarily in the steppe regions of Scandinavia and Si ...

greater scaup The greater scaup (''Aythya marila''), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup and tufted duck. It spends the summer months breeding in Iceland ...

common goldeneye The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (''Bucephala clangula'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus ''Goldeneye (duck), Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from th ...

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic Range (biology), distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is bird migration, migratory an ...

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy T ...

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genu ...

goosander The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

and

smew The smew (''Mergellus albellus'') is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus ''Mergellus''. ''Mergellus'' is a diminutive of ''Mergus'' and ''albellus'' is from Latin ''albus'' "white". This genus is closely related to ''Me ...

, as well as almost all types of

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s found in Sweden. In addition, certain species use the area as a breeding ground: such species include

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

and

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

Flora

The nature reserve also provides a habitat for some unusual plants. ''

Sesleria caerulea ''Sesleria caerulea'', the blue moor-grass, is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae, native to Europe. References GrassBase entry* * Animadv. bot. spec. alt. 2:18, t. 6, fig. 3-5. 1764 * Foggi, B. et al. 2001. Nomenclatural n ...

'' and ''

Gentianella uliginosa ''Gentianella uliginosa'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', ...

'' are examples of plants that thrive in this landscape, which is of a type that is becoming less and less common.

References

{{Nature reserves in Södermanland County Nature reserves in Sweden Tourist attractions in Södermanland County Geography of Södermanland County Protected areas established in 1989 1989 establishments in Sweden Natura 2000 in Sweden Nyköping Municipality 20th-century establishments in Södermanland County