The south-western most part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark also forms the northern border of the Wadden Sea which is a stretch of very shallow coastline - much of which is flooded twice a day at high tide.
The Wadden Sea stretches from Esbjerg, Denmark to the north across the german coast and to Den Helder, Netherlands to the south and the 10x450 km. stretch is the largest such area in the world.
Millions of water- and shorebirds, mostly geese, waders, and ducks, rest here on their spring- and autumn migrations because of the vast amounts of food readily available.
I visited the danish part on Roemoe, a small island connected to the Jutland peninsula by an elevated road.
This area - as the rest of the Wadden Sea - is distinguished by huge areas being flooded at each high tide only to re-appear at low tide.
At low tide one can walk quite a distance on the what was just a few hours ago covered by the sea but be careful because one can easily be stranded out there when the water returns, quite a few careless people have lost their lives this way.
The birds usually move with the tide and where hundreds of birds were feeding just half an hour ago may now be deserted and the tracks from the birds be all that is left.
This ofcause also demands a bit of planning for those who want to visit the area knowing the tides will prove very useful.
Apart from the beach itself there are large areas of shore meadow where the geese are often found as this flock of Barnacle geese which have travelled all the way from northern Russia.
These flocks can count thousands of individuals and are an "easy target" for any bird photographer.
Much more difficult are the waders which are smaller, faster, and more difficult to approach.
The most striking difference between the different races of waders is the shape of their bills; some are long and curved and very useful for catching lugworms like that of the Whimbrel while other are short and straight and most useful for catching mussels like that on the Knot.
This means that the area can support a much larger amount of birds because they different races are not competing for the same source of food.
They all make marvelous photographic targets however, especially early mornings and late afternoons when they are active and the light is good.
The most successful approach for me has been to find a calm place on the beach when the tide is coming in and wait for the water and the birds to come to me.
If you sit still long enough the birds will come to you...
