Vanhankaupunginlahti Bay Scenery and Bird Life in the Early Days

Walking in the Viikki area a hundred years ago was a somewhat different experience than you find it today.  Fields and pastures dominated the area, and as cattle grazing the shoreline kept vegetation low, one was able to admire an open view over the bay when standing as far as where Gardenia nowadays stands. Bird species that no longer breed on this area used to nest on wet shore meadows. These included species like Eurasian curlew, ruff and Northern pintail. At present, agriculture is not the main land use in Vanhankaupunginlahti any more and most of the meadows have been taken over by reed. Natural shore meadows can nowadays only be found in Purolahti where surface waters regularly flood the fields. 

In the dry hilly part of Viikki, larger areas used to be covered by tall forests. A variety of bird species that no longer inhabit this area, were found in these remote forests. Because of urbanization the number of fowls and owls, for example, has diminished.

Woodlands surrounding pastures were also different in nature. Grazing nearby kept vegetation low and light was able to penetrate deeper into forests. Accordingly, woodland habitats were dryer than today and more suitable for species like ortolan bunting, whinchat, and red-backed shrike. These species used to be more abundant in Viikki in the days of extensive agriculture.

Even though land use in Viikki has changed dramatically due to widespread building projects, small amounts of the original habitats still remain. Effort is also made to restore some of the natural shore meadows in Vanhankaupunginlahti bay. Since 1993 cattle has been put out to pasture the shore in Lammassaari during summer months to reduce reed growth and to increase biodiversity.