This exhibition is an opportunity to learn about a few selected bird species that inhabit wetlands. And here you can read about the wetlands. So let's hit the road!
Pied Avocet
It is a species associated with shallow bodies of water. It feeds primarily on insects and small crustaceans, picking them up with its characteristic thin, upward curved beak.
Pied Avocet
With its long legs and black and white colouration, the pied avocet is one of the most elegant representatives of piping plovers.
Bearded Reedling
Closely related to larks, the bearded reedling nest in reed beds. The male bearded reedling is unmistakable - its blue-grey head is decorated with the long, black moustache to which the species owes its name.
Great Crested Grebe
They are associated with the distinctive top and orifice that adorn them in summer. The young ones present a slightly more modest appearance.
Great Crested Grebe
They spend a lot of time on the water, but also under it - they are great divers.
Common Merganser
Due to the long growing time of the chicks (reaching flight at 60-70 days), they bring out only one brood per season, while the birds reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age.
The female common merganser lays up to 12 eggs and begins brooding after the last one has been laid, so that the chicks hatch at about the same time.
Black-Crowned Night Heron
A very rare bird in our country, this member of the heron family is strongly associated with water, inhabiting swampy river valleys, heavily vegetated riverbanks, lakes, ponds, and sea shores.
Dunlin
The typical biotope of the dunlin is peatlands, tundra, and open wetlands, while it usually chooses coastal wet meadows with a tussocky structure as its breeding sites.
Common goldeneye
A bird of the duck family, it prefers bodies of water, both natural and artificial. Particularly important to it are areas with abundant aquatic and rush vegetation, which offer them shelter and a rich source of food, which includes, for example, molluscs, crustaceans, and small fish.
The Male of Little Bittern
One of the few representatives of the heronry showing clear sexual dimorphism, it is distinguished by its fawn underside of the body and wings, which contrast with the black head and back. The female has brown plumage with dark stripes on the neck, breast, and belly.
Wood Sandpiper
During migration, swans can be found in large, dense flocks. They often migrate with other birds, usually plovers.
Common Merganser
It is a rare breeding bird in Poland. The national population is estimated at around 1500-2500 pairs. In the second half of the 20th century, its range expanded significantly.
While it was still nesting almost exclusively in the lake districts in the 1980s, today it can also be found in the middle Vistula valley and in scattered locations throughout Poland.
The common merganser nests in hollows and various natural or artificial openings, which distinguishes it from most ducks that nest on the ground.
The common merganser is one of the few waterbirds that can dive to depths of up to several tens of metres in search of food.
Continue your journey!
Click here if you haven't already read about wetlands - the areas inhabited by the birds we just discussed.
🦆 The Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (OTOP), founded in 1991, is a public benefit non-governmental organisation. We work to protect wild birds and areas where they live. Our actions include monitoring, active conservation, shaping policies that have impact on the environment, and education. We are supported by several thousand members and volunteers. Our goal is to preserve the natural heritage for the good of the current and future generations.
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