Do you know that: the ferruginous duck Aythya nyroca rears only one brood a year, at the turn of April and May. The female lays from 6 to 14 eggs in the nest and broods them for 25-28 days. The ferruginous duck is a diving duck and eats water plants with a small amount of invertebrates caught in water.
Lake Wytyckie is the largest body of water in Polesie where several dozen of bird species breed and stay during their journeys
Existing environmental protection forms: Nature 2000 protection area of Polesie (PLB060019), Nature 2000 protection area of Ostoja Poleska (PLH060013), buffer zone of the Polesie National Park, the Polesie Landscape Park.
Directions: We start the trail at the Urszulin Commune Office (GPS coordinates: 51○23’29.67’’N; 23○11’40.76’’E). Having driven about 4.4 km along the national road no. 82 towards Włodawa, we turn left to the village of Kochanowskie and then arrive at the observation tower located at the south shore of Lake Wytyckie (GPS coordinates: 51○25’23.12’’N; 23○12’37.38’’E; elevation: 166 m).
Bird watching equipment: binoculars and a canoe (canoes and life jackets may be rented in Wytyczno – a place adjacent to the northern-eastern shore of the Lake. Address of the rental: Piotr Oleszczuk, Wytyczno 50a, tel. 695930343).
Difficulty level: difficult in terms of the necessity of canoeing
Length of the trail: about 3-7 km or shorter, depending on individual abilities.
Transport: canoe.
Periods for bird watching
| Month | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII |
| bird watching period | ||||||||||||
| the best season for birding |
Trail description: The trail runs across Lake Wytyckie as it has been proposed in the tourist guide Urszulin (Panasiuk A., Różycki A. 2012. Przewodnik turystyczny Urszulin. Gmina Urszulin [Tourist Guide Urszulin. The Urszulin Commune]). Canoeing should be made dependent on weather-conditions. In case of strong wind we should give up canoeing because of high waves which may pose danger to our safety. In case of mild wind, which may be also a hindrance on open water surface, we should canoe only on the southern part of the Lake, near the canoe jetty. Under windless conditions or in case of very mild wind we can use almost the whole lake surface for canoeing. All safety regulations must be adhered to and we should have a safety jacket in our equipment.
The most important bird species to be seen or heard during the best season for birding: the ferruginous duck, the Caspian gull, the Eurasian bittern, the common goldeneye, the greylag goose, the great crested grebe, the red-necked grebe, the black-necked grebe, the great egret, the Eurasian penduline tit, the great reed warbler, the common tern, the mute swan, the Savi’s warbler, the common shelduck.
The best observation points: 1 – canoe jetty – view over the southern part of the Lake where we can see ferruginous ducks, Caspian gulls, great-crested grebes, Eurasian coots, greylag geese and other aquatic birds; 2 – a good spot for the observation of Caspian gulls’, ferruginous ducks’ and other aquatic birds’ colonies. 3 – view over the Lake where we can observe grebes, geese and ducks.
[Key
Observation towers
Observation points
The ferruginous duck Wytyckie L.canoe
Com. Borders lux
Main roads
Borders of the Polesie NP
Bodies of water
Local roads
Watercourses
Buildings
Forests
Open spaces]
The “Aquatic Birds of Polesie” Trail
Other attractions in the vicinity of the trail: see the “Ferruginous Duck” Trail