Lake Nesheimvatnet

Nesheimvatnet is not so much a lake as an extension of Ekso fjord - with several restricted bays and coves. The marsh vegetation is dominated by sedge, a belt of water horsetail and high-growing willow thicket. The tea-leaved willow is beautiful to look at when it grows four to five metres high. A few of the swamp plants that grow in the area are not common otherwise in the county, such as blister sedge and marsh speedwell. The bird life is lively: Dabbling ducks like the Mallard and Eurasian Teal swim with their back ends in the air in search of food on the bottom, while diving ducks dive for small animals where it is a little deeper. Also the Eurasian wigeon nests in the area, and is seen more often on land. During migration small flocks of gray goose stop off here, and sometimes also some Goosander. The Snipe, Red Shank and Common Sandpiper are among the nesting wading birds.

This variety of species must be seen in connection with the elevation at 414 m a.s.l. and that the water temperature is relatively low. Eksingedalen also lies quite a distance from the normal migration routes of the majority of birds passing by Hordaland. But, because there is nowhere else in the region with comparable wetlands, this is a rest stop for birds on migration. Those that stop here usually come down from the surrounding mountain areas, and take the opportunity to fatten up before their demanding journey onwards, or they stop on their way home, in anticipation that the snow and ice will soon loosen their grip on the mountains.