Outdoors
BIRD WATCHING
Until recently, Latvia was unknown territory to most Europeans. Before the 1980s, most ornithologists and bird conservationists certainly knew very little about it. They have only just begun to realize that Latvia is wonderfully rich in bird fauna, including internationally significant populations of many species. Extensive areas of important wildlife habitats of outstanding importance in a European context are scattered throughout the country.
Over half the country remains largely untouched by man. Hardly any other place in Europe has as much natural and near-natural habitat left. It is this fact, above all others which has enabled so many scarce species to survive in such tremendous numbers. The rest of Latvia is farmed, but generally not in the intensive, highly mechanized way that is familiar to most of Western Europe. This means, for example, that a third of the agricultural landscape consists of meadows and pastures. This is the prime habitat for several thousand pairs of Corncrakes. Unable to cope with the most modern farming techniques, the Corncrake has virtually disappeared from huge areas of Europe. In many places where it survives at all, it is now a rare and critically threatened bird. White Storks are also a familiar sight in the Latvian countryside. They thrive in areas of traditional farming, especially where these are close to wetlands. A recent estimate puts the Latvian population of these storks at 7,000 nesting pairs.
Statistics can be boring, but it is impossible to ignore them when attempting to convey the extent and importance of Latvia's wetlands. Inland waters cover 2.4% of the country. Bogs and fens a further 10%. Then there are the rivers and streams, some 12,000 of them, with a total length of 38,000 kilometres. It's a small wonder that wetland birds are such a great feature of Latvia! Open-water breeders include both Red-throated and Black-Throated Divers and the handsome little Slavonian Grebe, all essentially northern European birds. The extensive reedmarshes have substantial populations of species with a more southerly distribution. Birds such as the Bitterns (200-300 pairs), Marsh Harries (300-500 pairs), and Black Terns are abundant in more open marshland. Ospreys fish the lakes and rivers (Latvia has up to 120 pairs). It is still possible to come upon the huge White-tailed Eagle in many wetland areas.
Two very rare European birds breed in the open sedge fens. These are the Aquatic Warbler (perhaps as many as 50 pairs) and the Great Snipe (perhaps 20 pairs). Aquatic Warbler is something of a misnomer, since it is a bird of relatively dry habitats. Outside Poland, which still has a fairly large population, it is a great rarity. The Great Snipe has a much wider distribution, but is very scarce on the southern side of Baltic. Open fens and bogs are also home to the spectacular Crane, whose wild trumpeting calls are a prominent feature of this landscape. Latvia has several hundred breeding pairs.
More than 40% of Latvia is forested, with over half of the forests containing middle-aged to old, mature timber. There are large tracts of wet forest, one of Europe's scarcest habitats. With pine, birch and spruce being the dominant species, these mixed and coniferous forests hold a wonderful variety of birds. Well over 1,000 pairs of Black Storks nest in them and similar numbers of Lesser-Spotted Eagles. Black Grouse, Hazelhens, Black and Three-toed Woodpeckers are common in the appropriate habitat. The White-backed Woodpecker, which is declining over much of its European range, is still quite numerous. Northern forests are famous for their owls and those in Latvia are no exception. Ural, Tengmalm's and Pygmy Owls are common.
By one of those strange quirks of history, much of Wild Latvia has survived the fifty years since the end of the Second World War. For various reasons, the regime imposed upon the country failed to build a thriving rural economy. It brought about little change in much of the countryside. In a sense, the benefit to wildlife was achieved by accident. Now that Latvia has regained its independence, things are bound to change. Pressures will begin to develop and parts of the countryside will grow. It is vitally important that Latvia learns from the mistakes many western countries have made and seeks to blend good conservation into its wider economic policies. This can be done and Latvia is in a good position to build on the excellent record it already has in affording effective conservation through its network of nature reserves, national parks and other protected zones. A few are Lakes Engure, Kanieris, Teicu and Palsmanes bogs, which are wetlands of international importance.
The Latvian Association of Ornithologists
Kalnciema iela 27, Riga, tel. 371 7221580, fax. 371
7603100, E-mail: putni@parks.lv
Internet: http://www.home.delfi.lv/putni
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