Description of the attraction
Matsalu National Park, located in the western part of Estonia, covers an area of 486.4 km2. The territory of the reserve includes the lower reaches of the Kazari River, the coastal strip of the Matsalu Bay of the Baltic Sea and about 50 islands of the Moonsund Strait. Matsalu Bay is quite shallow, its depth is only one and a half meters, its length is 18 km, and its width is 6 km. The reserve has been operating since 1957. The aim of its work is the protection of natural complexes, as well as the protection of numerous bird species inhabiting the territory of the Matsalu nature reserve.
The predominant landscapes of the reserve include forest thickets and water spaces. In addition, in the Matsalu National Park you can find flooded meadows, thickets of reeds, cattails and reeds. Almost any moisture-loving plants will perfectly take root on the territory of the reserve. In general, the relief of the reserve is flat, with some hills.
The fauna of the National Park is represented mainly by birds. Among the mammals that are most widespread in Matsalu, one can note moose, wild boars, foxes, wild roe deer, raccoon dogs, in addition, there are hedgehogs, shrews, and a mole. The inhabitant of the water islands, the water rat, stands out in large numbers. On the territory of the reserve there are 772 species of plants, 49 species of fish.
There are about 250 bird species in the reserves, and 160 of them are nesting ones. The most common are waterfowl and wading birds. Permanent inhabitants include such birds as terns, eiders, mergansers, scooters, gulls, shelves, and crested black cocks. Among migratory birds, the main mass is made up of northern ducks, waders and whooper swans. In addition to the above, the most typical inhabitants of the reserve include gray geese, geese, mallards, and red-headed ducklings. Among the wide variety of birds, two species stand out especially: large bittern, because became the emblem of the reserve, as well as the barnacle goose, because it is under the protection of the Red Book of Russia.
Colonies of birds are so large here that they are not afraid of any whims of nature. So on the island of Anemaa gulls live, of which there are so many that predators will be afraid to approach here, since the whole flock will attack a possible offender. The eiders have chosen Papilad Island for themselves.
Thus, there is a lot of work for bird watchers here. In addition to all kinds of research and observations, experts are engaged in checking bird nests, in parallel ringing gull chicks. It is customary to consider the teacher Martenson to be the discoverer of bird ringing, who at the end of the last century put an aluminum ring with numbers on the birds' paws in order to trace their flight path. Thanks to a successful experiment, ringing has since become widespread.
In order to catch a bird, bird watchers use special automatic trap beams that are placed on the nest. When the bird sits down, the trap is triggered and the net covers it. Birds are caught not only for ringing, but also for study and detection of diseases.
The feathered inhabitants of the Matsalu National Park can be observed from specially equipped observation towers. In addition, for the convenience of visitors, there is a museum and a hotel in the very center of the nature reserve in Penijije. You can enjoy the beauty of the reserve on foot, by bike or even by boat. Every autumn, the Matsalu International Nature Film Festival takes place near Lihula.
