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Birds never leave the Kursiu Nerija National Park. Late in the
autumn, when it gets quiet in the continent and lakes become empty, more than
300 bird species can be seen in the spit.
The geography of the Curonian Spit is well suited for scientists studying bird
migration routes. The White Sea-the Baltic Sea migration "highway" goes
along the spit and millions of birds passes it. For this reason the bird-ringing
station was set up in Juodkrante. Every autumn scientists hang out nets for bird
catching in the Nagliai Nature Reserve. Each season about 10 to 11 thousand birds
are ringed there.
Large flocks of migrating finches (Fringilla) and tits (Parus)
can be seen every spring and especially in autumn. Sparrowhawks (Accipiter
nisus) are following these birds. Buzzards (Buteo), ospreys
(Pandion haliaätus), harriers (Falco subbuteo)
and hobbies (Circus) very often are cruising in the sky. Shallows
of the lagoon are favored by different species of ducks (Anatidae),
grebes (Podiceps), Bewick's swan (Cygnus columbianus)
and whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus).
In August beaches are full of dunlins (Calidris alpina), curlews
(Numenius arquata), godwits (Limosa), oystercatchers
(Haematopus ostralegus), etc. Black terns (Chlidonias niger)
and common terns (Sterna hirundo) fly crying in the air. One can
count 5 species of gulls (Larus) sitting on dunes and piers.
Thousands of water birds gather for wintering in the spit. Common scoters
(Melanitta nigra), velvet scoters (Melanitta fusca),
long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) and divers (Gavia)
feed in the sea. Goosanders (Mergus merganser) and goldeneyes
(Bucephala clangula) flock near the unfrozen cracks in the lagoon. White-tailed
eagles (Haliaëtus albicilla) often can be seen flying above.
Summer in the Curonian Spit is a breeding season for more than one hundred bird
species. In May and June dunes are full of skylarks (Alauda arvensis)
singing. The woods sing with the voices of chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs),
warblers (Phylloscopus), robins (Erithacus rubecula),
thrushes (Turdus) and tits (Parus). Near the shore
other warbler species (Acrocephalus), nest in the reeds. It is also
home for great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus), mallards
(Anas platyrhynchos) and mute swans (Cygnus olor).
A mixed colony of grey herons (Ardea cinerea) and cormorants
(Phalacrocorax carbo) settled near Juodkrante. This is one of the largest
and oldest colonies in Lithuania. 1361 pair of cormorants and 582 pairs of grey
herons hatched there in 2000.
Several rare bird species breed in the national park also. White-tailed eagles
(Haliaëtus albicilla) build their nests in places where humans hardly
ever tread. Two or three pairs of these birds hatch every year. In the woods the
black kite (Milvus Haliaëtus) and the hobby (Falco
subbuteo) also have nests. The later chooses tall pine trees. On a beach,
the ringed plower (Charadrius hiaticula) places its eggs right on
the sand. In the few old growth forests in the spit, the stock dove (Columba
oenas) coos, which means it nests there also. Grey dunes and foredunes are
home for the tawny pipit (Anthus campestris), rather rare elsewhere
in Lithuania. In summer, the most beautiful Lithuanian duck - the shelduck
(Tadorna tadorna) takes its hatchlings out to the shallows of the lagoon.
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Bird catching nets in the Nagliai Nature Reserve
Kingfisher
Greenshank
Cormorants colony near Juodkrante
Grey heron
Cormorants
Shelducks at the Curonian Lagoon |