One of Europe’s most unspoiled wetlands, Matsalu is a centuries‑old landscape and one of Estonia’s most pristine, biodiverse national parks. It supports exceptional birdlife and sustains one of the country’s highest elk populations.
Matsalu National Park is a birder’s paradise, offering remarkable seasonal diversity. In spring and autumn, its floodplain meadows, coastal grazing marshes, and shallow waters are a critical stopover for thousands of barnacle, bean, and white‑fronted geese. Hundreds of thousands of sea ducks, including long‑tailed ducks, velvet scoters, and common eiders, also pass the Puise Peninsula, creating an unforgettable spectacle.
By late May, the wet coastal meadows support many vulnerable breeding waders such as ruff, black‑tailed godwit, and great snipe, while bittern, spotted crake, marsh harrier, and numerous warblers thrive in the extensive reedbeds. Woodlands and juniper scrub host thrush nightingale, common rosefinch, and barred warbler, alongside raptors including Montagu’s harrier, osprey, and lesser‑spotted and white‑tailed eagles.
The wet meadows also provide ideal habitat for elk, which flourish here and are often seen at dawn or dusk in quieter parts of the national park. Matsalu’s landscape has remained largely unchanged for centuries thanks to low‑intensity cattle grazing, preserving a beautifully intact environment to explore on a wildlife holiday.
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