Tipperne
Encyclopedia
Ringkøbing Fjord
Ringkøbing Fjord, despite its name, is in fact a shallow lagoon in the west of Jutland that is shielded from the North Sea by the long isthmus of Holmsland Dunes. On the Hvide Sande Canal in the middle of the isthmus, there is a floodgate that provides access to the sea to the west. The fjord is...
(Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality
Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality
Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality is a municipality in Denmark. It was formed on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 administrative reform from the former municipalities of Egvad, Holmsland, Ringkøbing, Skjern, and Videbæk. The new municipality has an area of 1,485 km², the largest, area wise,...
, Region Midtjylland
Region Midtjylland
Central Denmark Region or Central Jutland Region is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger...
). The area, an important stopover for migratory birds
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, was created by sand deposits and is only a few hundred years old. It has been publicly owned since the latter half of the 18th century, and in 1898 provisions on conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
were introduced to protect the rich bird life in the area. In 1928 a bird reservation
Bird Reserve
A bird reserve is a wildlife refuge designed to protect bird species. Like other wildlife refuges, the main goal of a reserve is to prevent species from becoming endangered or extinct. Typically, bird species in a reserve are protected from hunting and habitat destruction...
was established and a groundskeeper was hired.
The reserve, which falls under the control of Denmark's Environmental Ministry
Ministry of the Environment of Denmark
Ministry of the Environment of Denmark is the Danish ministry in charge of near all matters concerning Environmental issues in Denmark.Created in 1971 as the Ministry of Pollution Combating , it changed its name in 1973 to the current Ministry of the Environment...
and is managed by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency
Danish Forest and Nature Agency
The Danish Forest and Nature Agency is part of the Ministry of the Environment of Denmark , and deals with a number of tasks in nature conservation and forestry. In addition, the agency is in charge of operation and administration of the state-owned forests and the rest of Miljøministeriet's areas...
(Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
: Skov- og Naturstyrelsen) via Oxbøl Statsskovdistrikt, has a total area of about 2,200 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
, of which about 1,500 ha are shallow water areas around the peninsula.
Tipperne is part of a larger conservation of Ringkøbing Fjord, which is also designated as a Ramsar wetland
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
, that is, an international area of importance for waterfowl in accordance with the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
and EF's bird protection directive.
So that the birds may have peace and quiet, Tipperne is normally closed to the public. However, there are exceptions, usually on Sunday mornings.