Eskilsø, with its 140 hectares, is the biggest island in the fjord. By the ferry berth on the edge of Østskoven there are a partially demolished farm and a herdsman’s house.



The low cliffs of an earlier coastline divide the island’s high moraine landscape from the flat salt meadows.



There are two ponds on the island – Greater and Smaller Rørsø – as well as a couple of water holes and some dry marl pits. The higher part of the island is used for grain crops, whilst the meadows are grazed by livestock. Hawthorn and roses grow on the old coastal slopes. There are also big elm trees here and in the hedges, left in ruins after Dutch elm disease.



The ruins of a church stand at the highest point of the island. This church once belonged to the Augustinian monastery which existed briefly on the island in the first half of the twelfth century. The monastery is presumably the source of a number of plants, which were introduced by the monks.



A large number of birds breed on the salt meadows. Almost all the fjord species are found breeding here. The waders are particularly characteristic of Eskilsø, but gulls and terns are also well represented. The island is big enough to have a fox population and when foxes are present the breeding birds disappear. The continuous presence of foxes from 1996 to 2001 caused the population of breeding birds to fall from about 1000 to just a few pairs. Cattle graze on the salt meadows and it can unfortunately have a drastic effect on breeding birds when 50 – 100 cows trample their way through a colony. There are long term plans to stop cultivation of the higher parts of the island, allowing the development of natural pasture-land. The island can then be divided into low and high pastures so that animals can be kept away from the salt meadows during the birds’ breeding season. In autumn and in mild winters large numbers of ducks, geese and waders roost on Eskilsø. Birds of prey are also often seen here in autumn and winter. The White-tailed Eagle is regularly seen on the island during the winter, and occasionally the Peregrine Falcon too.

There are paths for walking in some parts of the island, including one up to the church. During the breeding season (1st April to 15th July) it is forbidden to walk on the salt meadows.

Eskilsø is owned by the Struckmann Foundation, a conservation foundation set up with the money left by artist Erik Struckmann and his wife Ingrid Struckmann. Erik Struckmann was the first chairman of the Danish Society for the Conservation of Nature.