Denmark has been growing, with eleven new islands created along its coasts. A few of them are sizable, most quite small, and all of them good news for birds looking for places to nest.
Six of the islands are off the coast of Møn, which is itself an island. The remaining five are in the Nissum Fjord area of West Jutland. All together, they total 63 hectares, and were created by sea currents and material produced by erosion inland. The largest accounts for 36 hectares. A few were ‘islets’ that were surrounded by water only at high tide, but are now full-time islands.
According to Jes Aagaard, of the government’s Nature Agency, “Where the currents reduce in a certain area, the material is deposited, and that can create an island over a period of time. The deposits often occur around areas like promontories, which can give island chains that look like a string of pearls.”
Aagaard also pointed out that “These isolated islands close to the coast have a colossal importance for many of our coastal birds and waders. They are safe reservoirs on which to nest, where there are no foxes to come and plunder eggs.”
