In order to preserve the landscape of the Nemunas Delta region, its natural ecosystem, and cultural heritage values, the Nemunas Delta Regional Park was established in 1992. The park’s landscape is exceptionally rich. The territory of the park includes the shallow bays of the Curonian Lagoon, the entire system of rivers and streams of the Nemunas Delta, oxbow lakes (“žiogiai”), Lake Krokų Lankos, the floodplain meadows of the lower Nemunas, the largest polder system in the region, the Aukštumala raised bog and other wetlands, the largest island in Lithuania—Rusnė Island (area – 46 km²), and the Ventė Cape peninsula.
LANDSCAPE
The Nemunas Delta begins 48 km from the river mouth (downstream from Tilsit), where the Nemunas splits into the Rusnė and Gilija branches. At Rusnė Island, 13 km from the mouth, the Rusnė branch divides into the Atmata and Skirvytė branches. The plain of the Nemunas Delta is still being shaped by the branches of the Nemunas and the deltas of the Minija, Šyša, Tenenis, Leitė, and other rivers that join the delta. As sediments continuously accumulate at the mouth of the Nemunas, the delta gradually increases in size and shifts towards the Curonian Lagoon.
The landscape and biological diversity of the delta’s rivers (Minija, Atmata, Skirvytė, Rusnė, etc.) can be explored by boat from Šilutė, Rusnė, Minija, or Ventė.
On the western shore of the lake (by the road to Minija (Mingė) village), a viewing tower has been built for visitors, from which the unique landscape of this Lithuanian lake and its exceptionally rich birdlife can be observed.
The Nemunas Delta is one of the few places in Lithuania and Europe where large, permanently flooded tracts of swampy deciduous forests—habitats of European importance—can still be seen. Many rare bird species, protected in Lithuania and the European Union (black stork, lesser spotted eagle, crane, great grey owl, etc.), nest in the forests and wetland complexes. One of the most important breeding sites in Lithuania for the globally endangered aquatic warbler has been found in the meadows near Žalgiriai forest.
The area of floodplains reaches about 400 km². The region is characterized by spring and autumn-winter floods. Floods most often occur in spring, when the Nemunas overflows its banks. Spring floods in the lower Nemunas begin at the end of March and reach their maximum level 6–8 days after the river leaves its channel. The overflowing water and ice destroy embankments, flood settlements, damage roads, riverbanks, and cover fertile land with debris. Every year, floods cause significant damage. During major floods, more than 1,500 people are affected, and the floodwaters can reach the outskirts of Šilutė town.
FLORA AND FAUNA
The Nemunas Delta and its surrounding areas are distinguished by an exceptionally high diversity of habitats, flora, and fauna. More than 600 species of flowering plants have been recorded in the regional park, including 25 rare and endangered species listed in the Lithuanian Red Book. The Nemunas Delta is home to the extremely rare and disappearing water lobelia in Lithuania. Particularly valuable are the species growing in the wet meadows and sandy grasslands surrounding the delta, found only in the Pamarys region: saltmarsh rush, seaside centaury, seaside plantain, and others. More than 20 types of habitats of European importance have been identified in the delta (river estuaries, muddy riverbanks, lagoons, sandy grasslands, meadows and forests flooded during seasonal floods, swampy deciduous forests, raised bogs, transitional mires, etc.).
Among the numerous invertebrate species living in the delta, rare species of mollusks and insects have been discovered, including those listed in the Lithuanian Red Book (such as the thick shelled river mussel (Unio crassus), emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator), green hawker (Aeshna viridis), yellow-legged dragonfly (Gomphus flavipes), large white-faced darter (Leucorrhinia pectoralis), heath goldsmith ground beetle (Carabus nitens), heath ground beetle (Agonum ericeti), old world swallowtail(Papilio machaon), scarce large blue (Phengaris teleius), large heath (Coenonympha tullia), and others).
The waters of the Nemunas Delta contain around 50 species of fish. The Nemunas Delta and the adjacent Curonian Lagoon are home to several rare fish species listed in Lithuania’s Red Data Book: the sea lamprey, salmon and wrasse. The waters of the Nemunas Delta are also home to several species of fish that are rare in Europe: the river lamprey and the small lamprey, the salmon, the salad, the goatfish, the cartouche, the peregrine falcon and the catfish. The Lower Nemunas River is the most important migratory route in Lithuania for many species of passing fish (e.g. lamprey, salmon, sea bream, whitefish, terns, sturgeon, etc.). The Delta is a spawning ground for stints, stints, catfish and bream. Pike, sturgeon, bream, pikeperch, bream and boar spawn in the Delta’s oxbow lakes and tidal lakes. The Nemunas Delta has always been known as a fishing area. This is one of the most fish-rich areas in the Baltic region. Recreational fishing in the Nemunas Delta Regional Park is allowed in accordance with recreational fishing regulations. During the spawning season, only smelt migrating from the Curonian Lagoon to rivers can be caught. Ice fishing for smelt in the Curonian Lagoon is extremely popular and attracts thousands of recreational anglers every year.
In the delta’s wetlands and waters, various species of amphibians and reptiles can be found, including rare and protected species in Lithuania such as the European fire-bellied toad and the natterjack toad. In many areas of the delta, the common grass snake can be seen, while common european adders are frequently found in the marshes.
The Nemunas Delta Regional Park is home to 50 species of mammals, 14 of which are listed in the Lithuanian Red Book. Several bat species rare in Europe have been recorded in this area, while forest habitats shelter northern birch mouse and stoat, and streams and lakes are home to otters. Beaver lodges are particularly common and can be seen throughout many parts of the delta. The forests and wetlands of the delta are a crucial refuge for moose in the Nemunas Delta region. Throughout the Nemunas Delta, including the part of the delta belonging to Russia, several wolf families reside.
However, the Nemunas Delta is most renowned as a kingdom of birds.
More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the Nemunas Delta. Around 180 bird species breed here. The delta, along with its surrounding floodplains, marshes, and wet forests, serves as the most important breeding ground in Lithuania for many rare and endangered bird species. In the Nemunas Delta Regional Park, 58 nesting bird species are listed in the Lithuanian Red Book, and 54 species are included in the list of the most protected bird species in the European Union. This unique natural area is a breeding site for globally endangered water and wetland bird species, such as the great snipe (Gallinago media) and the aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), with the ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca) also recorded during the breeding season. The Nemunas Delta provides crucial breeding habitats for numerous rare bird species in Lithuania, including the black-necked grebe, great bittern, greylag goose, shelduck, northern shoveler, white-tailed eagle, corncrake, oystercatcher, ruff, dunlin, little tern, black tern, eagle-owl, bearded tit, and many others.
Nemunas Delta Regional Park is one of the most important sites in Europe for migrating water birds.
This unique area is home to the internationally important migratory migratory eared grebes, great white herons, song swans, little swans, white-crowned godwits, greylag, white-fronted and greylag and greylag geese, and cypress, resting and feeding areas for grey, pintail, spoon-billed, brown-headed and tufted ducks, waders, great and lesser black-backed gulls, common and lesser spotted gulls, terns, cranes, little gulls, black terns, and other waterbirds.
The floodplain meadows of the Regional Park are among the most important resting sites in Europe for migrating whooper swans. Every year, from March to April, up to 4,000 whooper swans breeding in the European tundra gather there, their loud “trumpeting” calls echoing across many parts of the delta. The wet meadows surrounding the Delta are one of Europe’s most important resting places for white-fronted and greylag geese. During high spring tides, huge flocks of White-fronted Geese can be seen there, stopping off on their way to breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra, where up to 100,000 birds have been counted. The shallow waters, sand islands, and surrounding wet meadows of the delta are among the most important resting places for migrating waders in the Baltic region. In recent years, very large flocks of lapwings (up to 11,000 birds), ruffs (up to 8,000), black-tailed godwits (up to 500), and other waders have been observed here.
At the end of summer (July–August), flocks of black terns can be seen in the delta. This is the only place in Lithuania where up to 15,000 of these rare European birds gather every year. This is the only place in Lithuania where up to 15,000 of these rare birds gather each year.
The Nemunas Delta is one of the most important resting places in Europe for migrating pochards and tufted ducks. In recent years, around 40,000 pochards and up to 50,000 tufted ducks have been observed there during autumn migration.
In 1993, the Nemunas Delta Regional Park was recognized as an internationally significant area for migrating birds under the Ramsar Convention criteria. In 2004, a Natura 2000 site, part of the European Union’s network of protected natural areas, was established within the park.
The largest waterbird and key habitat conservation program of the United Nations Environment Programme and other international environmental organizations, “Wings Over Wetlands,” is being implemented in the Nemunas Delta Regional Park. The aim of the program is to preserve the most important wintering and resting sites for migratory waterbirds along the entire migration route in the Western Palearctic (including the Nemunas Delta).
In spring, huge flocks of migratory waterbirds attract birdwatchers. The largest flocks of migrating swans, geese, and ducks in the Nemunas Delta can be observed in March–April in the floodplain meadows of the Rupkalviai and Žalgiriai ornithological reserves (along the Šilutė–Rusnė road), the Sausgalviai ornithological reserve (near Sausgalviai village), the southern part of Rusnė Island, the Minija oxbow botanical–zoological reserve, and other places in the delta.
From August to October, large flocks of migratory waterbirds can be observed at the Kintai fish ponds, from observation points and towers built for birdwatchers near Lake Krokų Lankos, Ventė Cape, and Rusnė Island, as well as on the Aukštumala and Pakalnė nature trails. However, the greatest diversity of birds can be seen by boat near Kniaupas Bay and Lake Krokų Lankos, as well as on the sand islands formed at the mouth of the Atmata River.
In October, birdwatchers are invited to the annual “farewell to departing birds” event in the Pamarys region and to the traditional “Bird Rally” (a birdwatching competition for amateurs and professionals).
Visitors are invited to get acquainted with bird migration at the Ventė Rags Ornithological Station of the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum. The Ornithological Station has a small museum where you can learn about the history of bird ringing, bird migration studies and the unique world of the winged birds of the Nemunas Delta. Ventė Ragas is a very important place for migratory birds. Sometimes up to 300,000 birds pass through Vente Ragas every day. 1929 m. Prof. T. Ivanauskas established the Ventė Rags bird ringing station. It is one of the oldest stations in the world. In recent decades, the ornithological station has been equipped with the world’s largest bird traps (60 m wide and 25 m high) and modern zigzag traps. The author of these traps is Leonas Jezerskas, a long-time director of the ornithological station. Since its establishment, the Ventė Rags Ornithological Station has recorded a total of about 2 million bird sightings of 226 species. More than 95% of all ringed birds were small passerines (starlings, great tits, swallows, etc.). In recent years, about 300-400 reports of birds ringing at the ornithological station have been received annually from various European, Asian and African countries.
Information from the Nemunas Delta Regional Park
More information: www.nemunodelta.lt, www.saugoma.lt