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Nätsi-Võlla Nature Reserve
Nätsi-Võlla Nature Reserve is a nature reserve situated in western Estonia, in Pärnu County, made up of several bogs that together form the largest bog area in Pärnu County. It is an internationally important bird area, with species such as golden eagle, merlin and ruff. The bogs are rich in cloudberries and cranberries. The bogs of Nätsi-Võlla host numerous migratory species, such as the tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus''). It also sees an annual congregation of numerous wader species. The bogs are also home to a significant percentage of the total national breeding population of such species as common crane (''Grus grus'') and black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa''). Other birds found here are whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genu ... (''Cygnus cygnu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. Its capital Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest List of cities and towns in Estonia, urban areas. The Estonian language is the official language and the first language of the Estonians, majority of its population of nearly 1.4 million. Estonia is one of the least populous members of the European Union and NATO. Present-day Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9,000 BC. The Ancient Estonia#Early Middle Ages, medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Northern Crusades in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Crane
The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus'') that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), demoiselle crane and the brolga (''Antigone rubicunda''), it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing Reintroduction of a species, reintroduction project is underway in the United Kingdom. Taxonomy The first Species description, formal description of the common crane was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetlands Of Estonia
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor (anoxic) processes taking place, especially in the soils. Wetlands form a transitional zone between waterbodies and dry lands, and are different from other terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems due to their vegetation's roots having adapted to oxygen-poor waterlogged soils. They are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as habitats to a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals, with often improved water quality due to plant removal of excess nutrients such as nitrates and phosphorus. Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, ''marshes'' are wetlands d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forests Of Estonia
Forests cover about 50% of the territory of Estonia, or around 2 million hectares, and so make out an important and dominating landscape type in the country. National law and policies recognize that forests are a natural and ecological resource, and the importance of forests is to be considered from an economic, social, ecological and cultural aspect. Overview History Before the advent of agriculture in Estonia, the land area covered by forests was approximately 80%; however, due to human activity it fell to about 34% by 1939, and Estonia has traditionally been a country dominated by agriculture. However, after World War II and the ensuing Estonian SSR, Soviet occupation of Estonia, large parts of former agricultural land fell into disuse and was reforested. In the 1960s, attempts were made to improve the output of silviculture by e.g. draining swamps. Agricultural reforms during the 1990s have further increased the amount of land with forests growing. Forest types Despite its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pärnu (urban Municipality)
Pärnu () is an urban municipality of Estonia, in Pärnu County. It comprises the town of Pärnu and settlements of former parishes of Audru, Paikuse and Tõstamaa. Settlements ;town *Pärnu ;boroughs * Audru, Tõstamaa, Paikuse and Lavassaare ;villages Ahaste, Alu, Aruvälja, Eassalu, Ermistu, Jõõpre, Kabriste, Kastna, Kavaru, Kihlepa, Kiraste, Kõima, Kõpu, Kärbu, Lao, Lemmetsa, Liiva, Lindi, Liu, Lõuka, Malda, Manija, Marksa, Männikuste, Oara, Papsaare, Peerni, Pootsi, Põhara, Põldeotsa, Põlendmaa, Päraküla, Rammuka, Ranniku, Ridalepa, Saari, Saulepa, Seliste, Seljametsa, Silla, Soeva, Soomra, Tammuru, Tuuraste, Tõhela, Tõlli, Valgeranna, Vaskrääma, Värati. Administration Local administration consists of the city council and the city government. City council elections take place every four years. The number of councillors depends on the population. The current number of councillors are 39. Twin towns – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserves In Estonia
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part of nature, human activity or humans as a whole are often described as at times at odds, or outright separate and even superior to nature. During the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries, nature became the passive reality, organized and moved by divine laws. With the Industrial Revolution, nature increasingly became seen as the part of reality deprived from intentional intervention: it was hence considered as sacred by some traditions (Rousseau, American transcendentalism) or a mere decorum for divine providence or human history (Hegel, Marx). However, a vitalist vision of nature, closer to the pre-Socratic one, got reborn at the same time, especially after Charles Darwin. Within the various uses of the word t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whooper Swan
The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genus '' Cygnus''. Taxonomy Francis Willughby and John Ray's ''Ornithology'' of 1676 referred to this swan as "the Elk, Hooper, or wild Swan". It was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'', where it was given the binomial name of ''Anas cygnus''. The species name is from ''cygnus'', the Latin for "swan". Description The whooper swan is similar in appearance to Bewick's swan. It is larger, however, at a length of and a wingspan of . The weight is typically in the range of , with an average of for males and for females. The verified record mass was for a wintering male from Denmark. It is considered to be amongst the heaviest flying birds. Among standard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tundra Swan
The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the whistling swan (''C. columbianus'') proper of the Nearctic. Birds from eastern Russia (roughly east of the Taymyr Peninsula) are sometimes separated as the subspecies ''C. c. jankowskii'', but this is not widely accepted as distinct, with most authors including them in ''C. c. bewickii''. Tundra swans are sometimes separated in the subgenus ''Olor'' together with the other Arctic swan species. Bewick's swan was named in 1830 by William Yarrell after the engraver Thomas Bewick, who specialised in illustrations of birds and animals. ''Cygnus'' is the Latin for "swan", and '' columbianus'' comes from the Columbia River, the type locality. Description ''C. columbianus'' is the smallest of the Holarctic swans, at in length, in wingspan and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga, which is a part of the Baltic Sea. In the city, the Pärnu River drains into the Gulf of Riga. Pärnu is a popular summer Tourism, holiday resort town among Estonians with many hotels, restaurants and large beaches. The city is served by Pärnu Airport. History Pärnu or Old Pärnu (, , ), which was founded by the bishop of Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, Ösel–Wiek , suffered heavily under pressure of the concurrent town, and was finally destroyed . Another town, Embeke (later , ) was founded by the Livonian Order, who began building an Ordensburg nearby in 1265. The latter town, then known by the German name of , was a member of the Hanseatic League and an important ice-free harbor for Livonia. The Polish–Lithuanian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves. The flowers are dark pink. The fruit is a berry (botany), berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially light green, turning red when ripe. It is edible, but has an acidic taste. In Britain, ''cranberry'' may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, ''cranberry'' may refer to ''Vaccinium macrocarpon''. ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while ''V. macrocarpon'' is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile. In some methods of classification, ''Oxycoccus'' is regarded as a genus in its own right. Cranberries can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rubus Chamaemorus
''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family. Its English common names include cloudberry, Nordic berry, bakeapple (in Newfoundland and Labrador), knotberry and knoutberry (in England), aqpik or low-bush salmonberry (in Alaska – not to be confused with salmonberry, '' Rubus spectabilis''), and averin or evron (in Scotland). A herbaceous perennial, it produces amber-colored, edible fruit similar to the blackberry. It is native to cool temperate regions, alpine and Arctic tundra, and boreal forest. Description Unlike most ''Rubus'' species, the cloudberry is dioecious, and fruit production by a female plant requires pollination from a male plant. The cloudberry grows to high. The leaves alternate between having five and seven soft, handlike lobes on straight, branchless stalks. After pollination, the white (sometimes reddish-tipped) flowers form raspberry-sized aggregate fruits, which are more plentiful in wooded rather than sun-exposed habitats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
