There are several areas in the national park that birdwatching enthusiasts should not miss.

Stora gungflyet

Stora gungflyet (the great quagmire) is a marsh area along the southern side of Kävsjön. The quagmire consists of a root blanket that partially floats on the water. The crane nests here, and you can often see the birds foraging in the undulating vegetation.

In spring and autumn, the flooded quagmire areas are important resting places for many duck species. The quagmire also offers a protected haven during the sensitive molting period when the birds briefly lose their ability to fly.

The crane, the most characteristic bird of all, nests on the quagmire. The birds can often be seen in pairs foraging in the undulating green vegetation.

Today, the vegetation is very uniform over large areas. Common species include, for example, tufted loosestrife, Menyanthes, purple marshlocks, bottle sedge, and swamp horsetail. Most of the marsh is treeless, but in places it is densely overgrown with bog-myrtle.

Blådöpet

Blådöpet is rich in water and very difficult to cross. This has led to many stories about missing animals and people. Blådöpet means "the bottomless dark opening in the bog".

The approximately four-kilometre-long Blådöpet begins at Kalvasjön in the northeast and cuts right through the entire southern part of the bog. It eventually flows into Storån. The marshy bog is made up of firmer tufts of peat moss with large, water-rich areas in between where you can find both yellow and white water lilies and the beautiful Calla.

Within Blådöpet there are also Menyanthes, purple marshlocks, marsh-bedstraw, Tofieldia calyculata, bog asphodel, and bottle sedge. There are also large areas of dwarf birch and bog-myrtle.

The birdlife in and around Blådöpet is more diverse than on the surrounding bog. There you will mostly find meadow pipit and golden plover, while here you will also find species such as redshank, wood sandpiper, curlew and common snipe. Among ducks we mainly find mallard and Eurasian teal, and within these vast marshes we also find the nesting cranes, which are allowed to be completely undisturbed by humans here.

Out here at Blådöpet you can also hear jack snipe and white-rumped whimbrel playing their typical calls on warm spring and early summer evenings.

Horssjön and Häradsösjön

The lake Häradsösjön was almost completely drained when the lake Kävsjön was lowered. The lake Horssjön was lowered in the 1870s. The drained bottoms were used as hayfields and pastures until well into the 20th century. Today there are fens and quagmires where the lakes used to be.

During the spring high tide, Horssjön in particular can regain some of its former appearance. At that time large numbers of birds gather here. Moose thrive in this area and there is a birdwatching tower at Kvarnö on the edge of the lake.