Waders are a group of birds that often look for food in shallow water. They often have long legs and a long and pointed beak for foraging down in the mud. They feed on molluscs, insects, crustaceans and annelids. During the autumn and spring migration, at least 28 different species of waders visit the Nordre Øyeren nature reserve.
Swans feed on aquatic plants, and the long neck allows them to obtain aquatic plants even outside the shallowest water areas. In Nordre Øyeren nature reserve you can observe whooper swans, mute swans and tundra swans.
Geese feed on plants, among other things, and find food both on land and in water. In Nordre Øyeren, greylag geese, pink-footed geese, canada geese and barnacle geese are regular guests. If you see birds flying in a V formation in the sky, it is likely to be geese.
Diving ducks are a collective term for ducks that feed mainly on molluscs and invertebrates, and that dive to catch food. As many as seven species of divers visit the Nordre Øyeren nature reserve every year, of which the tufted duck and the common goldeneye are the most common.
The sea ducks are ducks that mainly feed on fish, but also crustaceans and aquatic insects. They dive to get food and often have jagged beaks and a hook at the end of the beak, which is an adaptation for eating fish. The most common species is the common merganser, but the red-breasted merganser and smew also visit the nature reserve annually.
Dabbling ducks are ducks that feed mainly on plants. In shallow water areas, they graze on aquatic plants by tipping headfirst into the water. If you see a duck with its tail sticking out of the water, it is probably a dabbling duck looking for aquatic plants. In the Nordre Øyeren nature reserve, the mallard, the eurasian teal, the eurasian wigeon and the northern pintail are the most common of a total of seven species that visit the area each year.