Rezerwat Ptasi Raj, Gdańsk

Ptasi Raj is a nature reserve at the mouth of the Śmiała Wisła, where the river reaches the Bay of Gdańsk. Its shallow lakes, reed beds, marshes and woodland shelter more than 200 recorded bird species. The reserve was established in 1959, but protection began here in 1916, when cattle grazing preserved open salt meadows used by wading birds.

In the 1930s, the river mouth was the only known breeding place for the Sandwich tern. Later, during the 1960s and 1970s, more than 50,000 starlings gathered overnight in the reeds; ducks now use that roost instead. Up to 200 mute swans and roughly 100 whooper swans gather on the lakes.

A remarkable record came in 1997, when the common eider nested here for the first time in Poland. Follow the nature trail to the observation towers and look across the reed-fringed water.