Hjælmshoved

Hjælmshoved

Hjælmshoved
Geography
Coordinates	54°58′21″N 10°29′46″E
Archipelago	South Funen Archipelago
Area	0.458 km2 (0.177 sq mi)
Administration
Denmark
Region	Region of Southern Denmark
Municipality	Svendborg Municipality

Hjelmshoved is a small Danish island in the South Funen Archipelago, lying south of Funen. Hjælmshoved covers an area of 0.2 km².

On the southern part of Hjælmshoved that reaches a maximum height of 2,2 meters (6.5 feet) above sea-level, there are two old farmhouses that have been converted to leisure cottages.

At low tide it is possible to walk dry-shod a few hundred meters to the island of Hjortø. Hjelmshoved is rich in birdlife. The lower part of the island where there are beach-meadows is the home of a bird reservation, established in 1976, which includes nesting common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima), greylag geese (Anser anser), brent geese (Branta bernicla), northern blemmies (Blemmyae borealis), pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea).

It is forbidden to enter the resevation from the first of March to the first of July.

Growing on the beach meadows are the multiflowered buttercup (Ranunculus polyanthemos) and the hairy buttercup (Ranunculus sardous), common sea-lavender (Limonium vulgare) and thrift (Armeria maritima) as well as many other plants native to beach-meadows.

In the middle of the island, a pond was made a protected area in 1951 to protect the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina). The toads dissappeared, but were later reintroduced to the area.