Estonia Ramsar wetland
Nigula Nature Reserve
148 bird species recorded; the most in May.
Sirujs Enobs · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
5 species in January.28 species in February.53 species in March.70 species in April.133 species in May.108 species in June.63 species in July.83 species in August.16 species in September.48 species in October.7 species in November.9 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
148 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 148Speciesrecorded more than once
- 91Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 2ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 3,529Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 61 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 10Raptors
- 4Owls
- 14Waders
- 3Gulls & seabirds
- 12Ducks & geese
- 2Herons, ibises & grebes
- 3Storks & cranes
- 78Songbirds
- 22Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 148 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- Lesser spotted eagleAquila pomarina
- European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
- European HobbyFalco subbuteo
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- White-tailed EagleHaliaeetus albicilla
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Eurasian GoshawkAccipiter gentilis
Owls4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eurasian Pygmy-OwlGlaucidium passerinum
- Ural OwlStrix uralensis
- Tawny OwlStrix aluco
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
Waders14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
- Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
- RuffCalidris pugnax
Gulls & seabirds3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common GullLarus canus
- European Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
Ducks & geese12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- GoosanderMergus merganser
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Bewick's SwanCygnus columbianus
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
- SmewMergellus albellus
Herons, ibises & grebes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
Storks & cranes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common CraneGrus grus
- White StorkCiconia ciconia
- Black storkCiconia nigra
Songbirds78 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- Great titParus major
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
- Wood WarblerPhylloscopus sibillatrix
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- Willow TitPoecile montanus
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
- Red-breasted flycatcherFicedula parva
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
- Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Marsh TitPoecile palustris
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- FieldfareTurdus pilaris
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- Garden WarblerSylvia borin
- Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
- Northern NutcrackerNucifraga caryocatactes
- RedwingTurdus iliacus
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Common RosefinchCarpodacus erythrinus
- Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
- Thrush NightingaleLuscinia luscinia
- Icterine warblerHippolais icterina
- Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Marsh warblerAcrocephalus palustris
- Eurasian River WarblerLocustella fluviatilis
- HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- Greenish WarblerPhylloscopus trochiloides
- Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
- WoodlarkLullula arborea
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Carrion CrowCorvus corone
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
- Blyth’s Reed WarblerAcrocephalus dumetorum
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
- Barred WarblerSylvia nisoria
- Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
- BramblingFringilla montifringilla
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
Other birds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
- Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martius
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- White-backed WoodpeckerDendrocopos leucotos
- Black GrouseLyrurus tetrix
- Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minor
- Hazel GrouseTetrastes bonasia
- Grey-headed WoodpeckerPicus canus
- Eurasian Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides tridactylus
- Corncrake, corn crakeCrex crex
- European SwiftApus apus
- European NightjarCaprimulgus europaeus
- Stock DoveColumba oenas
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- WryneckJynx torquilla
- Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
- European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
- Western CapercaillieTetrao urogallus
- Middle Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocoptes medius
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in May.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan-3°/-8°55 mm
- Feb-3°/-9°46 mm
- Mar1°/-5°44 mm
- Apr9°/0°46 mm
- May16°/6°49 mm
- Jun19°/11°79 mm
- Jul22°/14°74 mm
- Aug22°/13°87 mm
- Sep16°/9°59 mm
- Oct9°/3°73 mm
- Nov3°/0°72 mm
- Dec0°/-4°62 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Nigula Nature Reserve.
Protected area in Estonia
Nigula Nature Reserve is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Estonia.
148 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 3,529 open records.
The most recorded are the Eurasian Chaffinch, the Great Spotted Woodpecker and the Eurasian Wren.
69 species come for the summer, 17 for the winter and 5 only pass through.
2 are threatened worldwide, including European Turtle Dove and Long-tailed duck.
The most species are recorded in May.
Get there and watch
- Kilingi-Nõmmenearest town · 21 km in a straight line
- Pärnu Airport (EPU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 km in a straight lineCar hire at TAY airport (Tartu)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 2observation towers within 6 kmNigula raba vaatetorn
- 1marked trails within 4 kmNigula raba õpperada
- 2viewpoints within 5 kmNigula raba vaatetorn
- 1car parks within 3 km
- bird hides within 6 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Nigula Nature Reserve.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas3 mountains within 25 kmTõotusemägi · 18 kmKivikupitsa Hill21 m · 18 kmTornimägi · 18 km
Lakeyas3 lakes within 15 kmSokas Ezers0.9 km² · 6.2 kmMazezers0.2 km² · 12 kmRamatas Lielezers1.6 km² · 13 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Nigula Nature Reserve
Estonia
- 65Birdyas Score
- 148Species
- 91Migrants
- 2Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q13653426) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 3,529 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
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Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit