Norderoog
| Native name: Noorderuug | |
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Norderoog as seen from Hooge island
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| Geography | |
| Location | Wadden Sea |
| Coordinates | 54°32′N 8°30′E / 54.533°N 8.500°ECoordinates: 54°32′N 8°30′E / 54.533°N 8.500°E |
| Archipelago | North Frisian Islands |
| Area | 9 ha (22 acres) |
| Length | 640 m (2,100 ft) |
| Width | 210 m (690 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Administration | |
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Germany
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| State | Schleswig-Holstein |
| District | Nordfriesland |
| Demographics | |
| Population | unpopulated |
Norderoog (Halligen Frisian: Noorderuug, Danish: Nørreog) is one of the ten German halligen islands of the North Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, which is part of the North Sea off the coast of Germany. A part of Hooge municipality, the island belongs to the Nordfriesland district.
It is only temporarily inhabited by a bird warden from March to October. The refuge hut at the northeastern end is called Jens Wand Hütte, which is built on stilts to protect it from flooding. A former terp had been washed away. It has been the site of several ecological studies.
The island was first recorded in 1597 as Norder Ough. In 1630 there was a permanent estate on Noorderoog that was inhabited by a beach warden. This dwelling was destroyed in the Burchardi flood of 1634. Later, another family settled there but their house was washed away in the February flood of 1825. From then, Norderoog remained uninhabited. It is the only hallig that does not have a terp for dwelling. Since 1909, the island is owned by Verein Jordsand, an association that promotes the creation of bird refuges along the German North Sea coast.
Norderoog is a resting and hatching place for a number of rare species of marine birds. Notably the Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis) has a colony. During spring and early summer, up to 5,000 couples will breed there annually. In 2007, 2,800 breeding couples were counted. Floodings of the island in summer are however a negative factor for breeding and may cause significant statistical deviations.
Apart from the Sandwich tern, also common tern (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) use to breed on Norderoog. For a long time, Norderoog was the Eurasian oystercatcher's (Haematopus ostralegus) most densely populated breeding colony in the German Bight, but recently the population has dropped. Norderoog is however not only an important breeding resort but it is a resting area for migratory birds. At times, some 50,000 marine birds will occur on Norderoog and Norderoogsand, a shoal off the island.
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Wikipedia