Böda East Coast
Sandy beaches, dunes and fields of shifting sand
As you let the fine sands of Böda run between your toes, you may perhaps think about the fact that these small millimetre-sized grains of sand are remnants of mountain ranges formed billions of years ago and which have slowly been eroded by rain, snow, ice, wind and waves over an unimaginably long period of time.
Large area of dunes
The Böda coast is the result of an accumulation of sand from the Baltic Sea over the course of 12,000 years since the ice sheet retreated, as well as sand transported to the area by the wind. Moving inland, the sandy beaches turn into large sand dunes and fields of shifting sands. One of Sweden’s largest areas of sand dunes is located to the west and to the north of Böda Bay, and the largest dune in the area, Bölinge backe, is about 10 metres high. Old pine forests and stunted, branched pines grow on the dunes. Many of the trees are between 150 and 200 years old.
Sparse vegetation
Sea sandwort, sea rocket and sea pea grow on the beach and the dunes provide a home for marram and lyme grass. Grey and shrubby reindeer lichen dominate the pine forest, with sand sedge, yellow bird’s nest and green-flowered wintergreen thriving in the sparser areas of pine and heather and crowberry prevailing in the denser areas. To the south there is a marsh with a high botanical value, which is home to an endangered green algae (mellanräfse).
Haven for many species
The nature reserve is a breeding ground for velvet scoters, red-breasted mergansers and common ringed plovers, as well as birds of prey such as white-tailed eagles and ospreys. The sandy pine forests, which contain many old and dead trees, provide a habitat for a large number of rare insects, lichens and fungi. These include antlions, longhorned beetles, scribble lichens, Schismatomma pericleum lichen and the Irpicodon pendulus fungus.
Facts:
Size: 1021 ha (2523 acres), of which 338 ha (835 acres) is water
Year of creation: 1995
Purpose: To preserve a piece of naturally developed forest, well-developed dunes and shifting sand fields and a coastal and shallows area with a special flora and fauna.
Directions/Location:
The nature reserve is located in north-eastern Öland, between the Trollskogen Nature Reserve to the north and Böda Camping to the south.
GPS coordinates to the parking lot WGS 84 decimal (lat, long): 57.30321 , 17.08605
Map: Naturcentrum AB, Stenungsund.
Download: the County administrative boards brochure over (in Swedish only) (354 kB): Bödakusten Östra
Download: the entire brochure (in Swedish only) (19 MB): Utflyktsguide Öland
© Lantmäteriverket, Ur Geografiska Sverigedata, översiktskartan Dnr. 106-2004/188”
Source: County Administrative Board, Kalmar
Translation: Visitoland.com