Pitkasääremaa is a small islet in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

belonging to the country of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Pitkasääremaa is part of the Vesitükimaa islets, made up of several islets in

Saaremaa Parish Saaremaa Municipality, also known as Saaremaa Rural Municipality ( et, Saaremaa vald), is a municipality in Saare County in western Estonia. It is the largest municipality in Estonia by land area. The administrative centre of the municipality is i ...

Saare County Saare County ( et, Saare maakond or ''Saaremaa''; la, Oesel; german: Ösel; sv, Ösel) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, A ...

in the southern part of the

Sõrve Peninsula Sõrve is a village in Harku Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finla ...

off the southeastern coast of the island of

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

. The Vesitükimaa islets include Siiasaar, Lombimaa, Vesitükimaa islet and Pitkasääremaa. The area was placed under protection in 1971 as the Vesitükimaa Islets Sanctuary ( Estonian: ''Vesitükimaa laidude kaitseala''). The area of land of the sanctuary is made up of 10.8 hectares and the area of water in within the sanctuary has an area of 149.7 hectares (a total of 160.5 ha). Pitkasääremaa and the other islets in the sanctuary are an important breeding and nesting ground for waterfowl and migratory sea birds, as well as a breeding ground for

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

s (''Halichoerus grypus'').Sõrve poolsaar - Sõrve Puhkeküla.
Retrieved 28 May 2016. The area is off limits to visitors during the

nesting season The nesting season is the time of year during which birds and some other animals, particularly some reptiles, build nests, lay eggs in them, and in most cases bring up their young. It is usually in the spring. Bird conservation Bird conservat ...

, from April 1 to July 1.

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* Estonian islands in the Baltic Saaremaa Parish {{saare-geo-stub

See also

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