Bold Vistula
Stock Press Photo | Vistula River Mouth
The Site consists of two separate areas of the Vistula River estuary, the largest estuary in Poland. The western part is the Ptasi Raj (Bird’s Paradise) Nature Reserve located on the westernmost section of Sobieszewska Island, covering a wetland and a partly dyked section of the mouth of the western arm of the Vistula (called Wisła Śmiała or Bold Vistula). The eastern part, which includes the Mewia Łacha Nature Reserve, covers the main river mouth (known as Wisła Przekop or Vistula Canal) and an area of sea. The Site is one of the most important areas in the country for migratory and wintering coastal waterbirds, as the only nesting site in Poland of the sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis and one of the most important nesting sites for the little tern Sternula albifrons and the common tern Sterna hirundo. It is also an important resting area of grey and harbour seals: it hosts Poland’s main population of grey seals. Harbour seals occasionally breed at the Site, the only breeding location of the species in Poland. Visitor facilities include an educational trail with two observation towers in the Ptasi Raj Nature Reserve, and a trail in the Mewia Łacha Nature Reserve.
rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2321