Sandblåst-/Gaustadvågen Nature Reserve

Aerial view of Sandblåst/Gaustadvågen
Aerial view of Sandblåst/Gaustadvågen
Aerial view of Sandblåst/Gaustadvågen

Sandblåst-/Gaustadvågen Nature Reserve

  • Country: 
    Norway
  • Site number: 
    807
  • Area: 
    245.3 ha
  • Designation date: 
    18-03-1996
  • Coordinates: 
    62°59'N 07°16'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site is a typical well-developed estuary where three small rivers converge, forming a system of sheltered brackish lagoons and extensive intertidal mudflats with wet meadows. Its salinity varies from freshwater to brackish and finally salt water. A total of 250 different bird species have been recorded. The Site’s high biological production, extensive beds of aquatic vegetation, and invertebrate populations support large numbers of migrating birds and numerous wintering swans, geese, ducks and waders. Particularly high numbers of birds gather here during the autumn migration, with regular counts of several hundred whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and various ducks and waders. Several waterbird species as well as the European otter (Lutra lutra) breed at the Site. Botanically the area is also extremely valuable. The large system of brackish meadows and salt marshes, which are well developed in Sandblåstvågen, are notable for this part of the county. Road construction and urban wastewater may have affected the ecosystem. Human activities include agriculture, recreation and research, while birdwatching takes place throughout the year and there is a viewing facility.

Administrative region: 
More og Romsdal

  • National legal designation: 
    • nature reserve - Sandblåstvågen/Gaustadvågen
  • Last publication date: 
    23-06-2023

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Site map

Additional reports and documents