Birder's diary - 29.06

Birder Margus Ots, Linnuvaatleja.ee
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Aardla lake and polder. Tartu
 
In connection with the Ropka-Ihaste meadow and  Aardla polder nesting bird monitoring project we checked the Ardla lake this morning. Although I visit the area quite frequently it is some 20 years back since I last went by boat on this lake. In the meantime the area has changed almost beyond recognition. Pumping water from the polder stopped already years ago so the water level today is considerably higher and the lake spreads over a much larger area. The shores of the lake are largely overgrown with reeds and boggy and the lake cannot be approached at all without getting your feet wet. From the tower in the north-western corner of the polder only part of the lake can be seen. To get an overview of breeding waterfowl no other choice remains but to get out by boat. The birds all got neatly counted but the great number of fishermen was remarkable. In this relatively small lake there were 5 boats and unfortunately this is far from a record number, birdwatchers have earlier noted even 17 boats at one time. On this very good bird lake the movements of people should at least be regulated during the spring migration and breeding periods. We also found an unmarked illegal fisherman’s net in the lake. The Environmental Inspectorate was summoned and the net was pulled out, luckily there were no dead birds. In a bird-rich lake one net can cause much damage. In the past I have hauled out many unmarked nets from various bird lakes and sadly quite often a grebe or a goldeneye was found in them. Hopefully the Environmental Inspectorate will keep an eye on the Aardla lake in the future too.


 

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