Kretuonas Lake : thousands of birds...

Welcome to Didzioji sali, a large island located in the middle of the biggest lake of the Park, Kretuonas Lake. This island used to be a place for grazing and mowing for local people and their sheep and cows, and a fantastic bird reserve. In the seventies, a decision was made to empty the island from all grazing animals to as to protect an endangered species of bird, threatened by these animals stepping on its nets. But the troublesome consequence was forest starting to grow and birds, instead of living there, were... leaving from there!

In 2001, trees were cut and later on, some sixty sheep were sent to the island to graze, like in the "old times", to try to come back to the original state. And that's been pretty successful, with the presence of more than ten thousand birds (mostly Larus Ridibundus for the ones who know...). But that only last for two years, and some trees are starting to grow back again...

Some monitoring is being done on the island on a regular basis to count birds, especially three species : Larus Minutus, Sterna Hirundo and Philomachus Pugnax. If the number of these birds decreases too much, some money can come from Europe to improve the situation.

Bronis, ornithologist, biologist and botanist
for the National Park, on the way to the island

The population of Larus Ridibundus raises up to 10000 units!
And then, there are other species of course...

Four people from the Birds Protection League were already
on the island to look for birds nests and to clip young birds

Sterna Hirundo's eggs

Larus Canus' eggs

Beautiful plant diversity as well on the island...
this is a Platanthera Bifolia

And the parasitic plant Cuscuta europaea,
first time Bronius saw it on the island

Andreus, inspector of the Park,
uses this tool to look for illegal nets in the lake's waters

Another illegal tool : a berry "collector"