Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A bay of the Kattegatt with a varied shoreline, comprising cliffs, sand beaches and wet meadows. Several shallow water areas in the bay itself provide feeding opportunities for wintering and passage seabirds.
Important for wintering seaducks and seabirds, the site is also a major migratory bottleneck site, where more than 5,000 raptors regularly pass in autumn (mainly
Pernis apivorus and
Buteo buteo). Wintering species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria:
Haliaeetus albicilla (1-3 birds). More than 140 breeding species have been recorded.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Nutrient-rich run-off enters the bay via streams that drain one of Sweden's most intensively farmed agricultural areas. American mink
Mustela vison pose a threat to breeding birds. Development of the shoreline may become a problem in the future. A Ramsar Site (1,320 ha) is likely to be designated in the near future.
National Partial
International PartialIBA overlaps with Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve. IBA overlaps with Special Protection Area (280 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bay of Skälder (Sweden). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bay-of-skälder-iba-sweden on 23/12/2024.
