Easter March: Bird Trail, Warfts and Wadden Sea

Easter March combines a marsh landscape shaped by large farms and warfts with birdwatching and visible traces of earlier settlement. The Bird Trail leads from the former village school at Otto-Leege-Platz in Ostermarsch to the observation hut at Norddeich’s eastern harbour. Along the way, the original coastal village, the East Frisian coastal marsh and the North Sea coast with the Wadden Sea take centre stage. Nature and local history thus come together, without reducing Ostermarsch to just one aspect of its landscape.

Birdwatching on the Bird Trail

The educational trail is around 7.5 kilometres long and has nine stops. Its route connects Otto-Leege-Platz with Norddeich’s eastern harbour, where the observation station is located. It is sheltered from wind and rain and offers far-reaching views as far as the island of Norderney. Information boards and a spotting scope offer insights into the birdlife of the Wadden Sea. The trail provides a clear thematic framework for planning: it leads from the village setting of Ostermarsch to a station where coastal birds take centre stage. The nine stops structure the experience, while the coastal village, coastal marsh and Wadden Sea represent different facets of the surrounding area.

Petersbörg and the birdlife

Another nature feature is the Petersbörg wetland in the Altendeich area. It lies 300 metres north of the Petersbörg farmstead and was designated a natural monument in October 1991. A nature conservation report highlights its importance for waterbirds: the area serves as a resting, feeding and retreat site for various waders from the areas outside the dikes, meadow birds and northern migrants. Anyone interested in birdlife can thus consider the educational trail, with its stops at the eastern harbour, and the importance of the wetland as two distinct aspects of the natural environment.

Warfts and traces of settlement

Large farms, often situated on warfts, shape the district. Three uninhabited medieval farmstead mounds have been preserved in Ostermarsch. Two visible settlement horizons can be identified on each, dating approximately from the 12th to the 13th century AD. Between them lies a clay deposit about 0.50 metres thick. The separate horizons make traces of settlement visible in the landscape; the layer between them is also part of this evidence. This connects the term “warft” with a specific historic landscape: the preserved farmstead mounds are not inhabited farms but offer insights into earlier settlement phases.

The repeated raising of the warfts is also part of the area’s history: they had to be raised several times because of rising sea levels. The Süderhaus dike line is the oldest dike line recorded in this area during terrain mapping. The first dike ran one kilometre south of, and parallel to, today’s Ostermarscher Landstraße. It connected the old warfts of Sieltog and Süderhaus. These two details draw attention to different elements of the historic landscape: the recorded dike line and the route of the first dike, including its stated endpoints.

Dike building and travel planning

A major embankment project in 1576 created a large polder between Lintelermarsch and Hagermarsch. It was almost ten kilometres long and three-quarters to one kilometre wide; Ostermarsch accounted for about one-third of its length. These dimensions convey the scale of the landscape transformation at the time, while the connection between the old warfts draws attention to a specific dike route.

Ostermarsch is connected to local public transport by bus route 413 on the Norden/Norddeich–Dornumersiel route. Check the current timetable before travelling. This contrast helps you decide which aspect to focus on during your stay, without equating the nature and history themes.

Discover more destinations: Norddeich.

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