The German

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

of Liebitz lies in the lagoon of Kubitzer Bodden about 700 metres west of Germany's largest island,

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, w ...

, in the state of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in pop ...

. It belongs to the municipality of Dreschvitz. The island is about 1,000 × 700 metres across and has an area of about 64 ha. In the west of this low island, only a few metres high, is the island's

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

core, which is increasingly being eroded by the water. In the east there are flat salt meadows. The island of Liebitz is part of the nature reserve named after it and lies within the West Pomeranian Lagoon Area National Park. It is forbidden to entering the bird reserve without permission. The eastern part of the island is the most densely populated by breeding birds. In addition to

black-headed gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds res ...

s, common gulls breed here in large colonies.

Sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the ...

s settle on the steep coast of the morainic core. In addition, various species of

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

, ducks and geese breed on the island. The number of breeding pairs fell drastically after 1992, but has been stable since 1998.

External links

Website of the West Pomeranian Lagoon Area National Park
{{authority control German islands in the Baltic Bird reserves in Germany Vorpommern-Rügen West Rügen Bodden Uninhabited islands of Germany Islands of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Dreschvitz