A faunal reserve of 904 ha around the overgrowing Lake Świdwie, important for breeding and migrating birds, at a junction of walking and cycling trails.
Świdwie is a faunal nature reserve in Police municipality, at the southern edge of the Wkrzańska Forest. It covers 904.04 ha of the overgrown Lake Świdwie and the wetlands around it: marshes, fens and reed beds. Wikipedia calls it a waterfowl and wetland bird reserve unique on a European scale.
The reserve was established on 14 January 1963, and since 3 January 1984 it has been on the list of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. According to the Trzebież Forest District, 253.81 ha lie on forest district land, in the Zalesie forestry. About 59 per cent of the area is marsh, 20 per cent farmland, 18 per cent forest and 8 per cent water. The area is also part of the Natura 2000 bird site numbered PLB320006, which borders the Szczecin Lagoon area to the north.
Protection covers cranes, golden orioles, marsh and Montagu's harriers, corn crakes, grasshopper warblers and geese: bean, greylag and white-fronted. Wikipedia mentions more than 160 bird species in the breeding season, and the forest district 218 species of avifauna in total; it lists, among others, the water rail, reed bunting, black tern and corn crake. The reserve is also a feeding and resting place for tens of thousands of birds migrating between northern Scandinavia and the Mediterranean, and within its boundaries lies a white-tailed eagle hunting territory.
Reeds overgrow most of the lake. Yellow water-lily, frogbit, water soldier and the rare fringed water-lily grow in the water. The forest district also lists protected plants such as Pomeranian honeysuckle, broad-leaved helleborine and bogbean.
The reserve is a junction of trails: the "Puszcza Wkrzańska" cycle trail, the Parks and Natural Monuments cycle trail and the walking Puszcza Wkrzańska Trail named after Stefan "Tata" Kaczmarek meet here. Wikipedia states that more than 20 thousand people visit the reserve every year, mainly from Poland but also from Germany and Scandinavia.
Places in the area are Węgornik, Zalesie, Tanowo, Łęgi (Na Świdwie Street) and Stolec. You can reach Tanowo by city bus from Szczecin or from Police. In Stolec stands the Palace in Stolec, and the Świdwie Education and Museum Centre tells the story of the region.
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