Estonian Nature Tours

Saa osa erakordsest elamusest!

2012-03-01T03:34:00.005-08:00

Liitu grupiga ja saad nautida tedrekukkede rituaalset pulmatantsu.
Planeeritud retked toimuvad 14.04 ja 21.04.

Hind: 41 EUR / in. (sisaldab linnugiidi ja korraldust + piknikukorvi)
Kohtumine giidiga: Tallinn-Haapsalu mnt. ääres Risti söögitare juures kell 6.00.

Registreeri siin: info@naturetours.ee

Perioodil 1.aprill – 15.mai on võimalik tellida ka gruppidele ja eriti hästi sobib see retk firmaürituseks!

Paketi lühikirjeldus:

Retk algab meie kuninglike põlisasukate tetrede pulmamängu jälgimisega. Igaüks neist püüab olla neist kohevama sabaga ja kõvema kudrutusega. Tõeline tegija leitakse platsi keskelt – just siin on kõige tugevamad, kõige uhkemad ja kõige vägevamad tedrekuked, kes üldjuhul ka tedremammaga lähemat tutvust teha saavad. Edasi liigume Tuksi-Roosta kanti, kus õnnestub kohata ka laanepüüd. Metsise nägemiseks peab väga palju õnne olema. Paneme reisile kaasa piknikukorvi, teine võimalus on süüa peale linnuvaatlust Roostal.

Foto: Tedrekuked / Sven Zacek

Kana on kindlasti igaüks näinud ja nii mõnigi ilmselt ka maistnud. Aga on ka veel teistmoodi kanasid – need on metsakanad. Eestimaa metsades võib kohtuda kolme kanalisega – laanepüü, tedre ja metsisega. Linnuretkel näeme tetre ja kui õnne on, siis ka laanepüüd.

Tedremäng, pildistatud 2011 "Saagem tuttavaks metsakanadega" retke ajal / Olar Barndõk

Linnuliigid, keda võib retkel kohata: teder, laanepüü, rähnid, tutt-tihane jpt.

Kaks kanget laanerähni, pildistatud 2011 "Saagem tuttavaks metsakanadega" retke ajal / Olar Barndõk

Metsis / Ingmar Muusikus

Valgeselg-kirjurähn / Sven Zacek

Vaata ka tedremängu videot

LEADER ja KIK-i taotlusvoorud on avanenud!

2012-02-29T02:15:00.004-08:00

Õppereis Matsalu rahvuspargis

KIK-i Keskkonnaprogrammi taotlusvoor on avanenud! Estonian Nature Tours'il on keskkonnateemaliste laagrite ja õppereiside läbiviimisel aastatepikkune kogemus. Aitame meelsasti õpetajaid ja huvijuhte, kel õuesõppimise soov olemas, kuid puudub idee ja aeg selle elluviimiseks. Taotluste esitamise tähtaeg on 26.03.2012.

Meie õppeprogrammid:

Õppereis Läänemaa looduskaitsealadele
Õppereis Matsalu rahvusparki
Õppereis Loode-Läänemaale
Õppelaager Pärnumaal
Mageveekogude elustik
Linnuõpe Läänemaal

Ning palju teisi õppeprogramme, näiteks: Õppereis Lõuna-Eestisse, Õppereis Ida-Virumaale, Botaaniline retk Saaremaa ja Hiiumaa kaitsealadele, Rannaniitude taimestik ja hooldus, Lindude ränne ja rõngastamine, Looduse talveaabits, Tere Kevad!, Metsa eluring.

Küsi ideid ja hinnapakkumist!
E-mail: info@naturetours.ee

Loe Valgamaa lasteaia õpetajate õppereisist Matsalu rahvusparki siin...

RMK tasuta loodusõppeprogrammide talvekampaania kestab veel 2. märtsini! Loe lähemalt...
NB! Pakume tasulisi programme neile, kel kampaania periood ei sobi või kes on tasuta programmidele registreerimisega hiljaks jäänud. Vahendame RMK Matsalu, Nõva, ja Kabli looduskeskuse programme.

Küsi hinnapakkumist!
E-mail: info@naturetours.ee

LEADER programmi 2012.a. taotlusvoorud on avanenud. Loe lähemalt...
Omame pikaajalist kogemust koostöövõrgustike kujundamisel ning uute toodete ja teenuste väljatöötamisel. Seetõttu korraldame ka külaliikumise ning säästva turismi õppereise ja seminare. Infot maakondlike tegevusgruppide taotlusvoorude kohta leiad siit...

Küsi ideid ja hinnapakkumist!
E-mail: info@naturetours.ee

Õppereis Läänemaa looduskaitsealadele / Kaarel Kaisel

Lindude ränne ja rõngastamine / Lembit Michelson

Mageveekogude elustik / Peeter Vissak

Õppereis Ida-Virumaale / Valeri Štšerbatõh

Rannaniitude taimestik ja linnustik / Peeter Vissak

Õppereis Saaremaa ja Hiiumaa looduskaitsealadele / Peeter Vissak

Õppelaager Pärnumaal / Mati Kose

2012. aasta orhidee on käokeel / The Orchid of the Year 2012 is the Butterfly-orchid

2012-02-24T02:58:00.001-08:00

Ööviiul ehk kahelehine käokeel, Night-violin a.k.a. Lesser Butterfly-orchid(Platanthera bifolia) / Rainar Kurbel

Eesti Orhideekaitse Klubi valis välja 2012. aasta orhidee, kelleks on Eesti mõlemad käokeele perekonna esindajad: kahelehine käokeel (Platanthera bifolia), mida tuntakse ka rahvapärase nimega ööviiul, ja rohekas käokeel (Platanthera chlorantha).

Nii kahelehine kui rohekas käokeel kuuluvad kaitsealuste liikide III kategooriasse. Viimastel kümnenditel on mõlema liigi arvukus vähenenud, seda nii kasvukohtade hävimise kui setõttu, et nii nagu mitmeid teisi kodumaiseid orhideeliike, ohustab ka käokeeli vaasi noppimine.

Käokeeled kasvavad loopealsetel, hõredates kadastikes, puisniitudel ja loometsades. Kahelehine käokeel on hajusalt levinud üle Eesti, kuigi ida ja kagu poole liikudes muutub harvemaks. Teda võib leida happelise mullaga palumetsast ning ka üsna märjast paigast sooservas. Rohekas käokeel eelistab kuivemaid kasvukohti ning on lubjalembesem, seetõttu on ta sagedam Lääne-Eestis. Liigi määramiseks tasub uurida käokeelt igal pool, sest nii võib avastada mõne täiesti uue leiukoha.

Neid kahte sarnast liiki polegi nii raske eristada, kui esmapilgul tundub. Selleks tuleb ära oodata õite avanemine, sest kõige kindlam tunnus, mille järgi liiki määrata, peitub õie ehituses.

Käokeele õie keskosas asuvad kaks tolmukalaadset organit. Kui need asetsevad lähestikku ja rööpselt nagu jutumärgid, siis on tegemist kahelehise käokeelega. Rohekal käokeelel on "tolmukad" teineteise poole kaldu ja nende vahe üsna suur.

Heaks määramistunnuseks on ka lõhn. Kui õide puhkenud ööviiulid täidavad suveõhtul oma meeldiva aroomiga terve metsaaluse, siis roheka käokeele lõhna tunneb alles nina õitesse pistes.

Käokeelte õitseaeg on jaanipäevast juuli keskpaigani, ilmast ja kasvukohast sõltuvalt võib see kõikuda umbes nädala jagu.

Leiukohtade andmeid saab igaüks sisestada loodusvaatluste andmebaasi (LVA) http://loodus.keskkonnainfo.ee/lva/LVA.aspx?page=lvadb
Kõigi loodusesõprade abi on teretulnud!

Aasta orhidee eesmärk on valitud liike laiemalt tutvustada ja nende elu veidi lähemalt uurida, saada täpsemat pilti liikide levikust Eestis ja pöörata tähelepanu leiukohtade kaitsmisele. Eesti Orhideekaitse Klubi kuulutab aasta orhidee välja juba kolmandat korda. Varasemalt on seda tiitlit kandnud punane tolmpea (2010) ja tõmmu käpp (2011). 1983. aastast kuuluvad riikliku looduskaitse alla kõik Eestis kasvavad orhideeliigid.

The Orchid of the Year 2012 is the Butterfly-orchid

The Estonian Orchid Protection Club (EOPC) picked out Butterfly-orchid to be the orchid of the year 2012. In Estonia this genus is represented by two species: Lesser Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia), also known by the name Night-violin and Greater Bullerfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha).

Both Butterfly-orchid species are the Category III protected species. The number of either of the species has decreased in recent decades, in the first place due to the destruction of habitats and simply because as every other Orchid species these ones are also suffering under general picking up for vase.

Butterfly-orchids’ natural habitats are alvar meadows, scarce juniper stands, wooded meadows and alvar forests. The Lesser Butterfly-orchid is sparsely distributed all over Estonia, albeit becoming less common towards East and South-East. It can be found in boreal pine forests with acid soil and in quite moist habitats, e.g. swampy meadows. The Greater Butterfly-orchid prefers drier habitats, also it is more calciphilous, therefore more commonly spread in West-Estonia. It is worth studying Butterfly-orchids anywhere encountered, as odds are to find some.

These two close species are not so difficult to distinguish from each other, as it may seem at first sight. You simply have to wait until the flowers open up to a full bloom, because the most indicative differentiating attribute lies in the structure of the flower. Quite in the middle of the Butterfly-orchid’s flower there are two anther-like organs - pollinia. If these are situated close to each other in a parallel way just like double quatation marks, it is definitely the Lesser Butterfly-orchid. The Greater Butterfly-orchid has the pollinia further apart and ‘tumble home’ from the top.

Another good distinguishing attribute is the flavour. When the full-blooming Night-violin is able to fulfill the whole grove or a glade with its fragrance, then to pick the smell of the Greater Butterfly-orchid you have to stick your nose literally into the flowerhead.
Butterfly-orchids are flowering from about the Midsummer’s day until mid-july, varying possibly up to a week, depending on the weather and the habitat.

Everyone can upload the site data into the Estonian nature database (LVA- Loodusvaatluste andmebaas) http://loodus.keskkonnainfo.ee/lva/LVA.aspx?page=lvadb
Any help by nature-lovers is highly acknowledged.

The purpose of selecting the Orchid of the year is to introduce the picked species more widely and study their life more closely and by these means acquire more precise picture of the distribution of the species in Estonia, therefore turn more attention to habitat conservation. It is the third time already when the Estonian Orchid Protection Club announces the Orchid of the Year. In the bypast years the title has been held by the Dark-red Helleborine (2010) and the Burnt Orchid (2011). From 1983 all Orchid species of Estonia are under protection.

TOUREST 2012

2012-02-17T02:10:00.006-08:00

Täna algas TOUREST 2012!

Eesti suurim ja vanim rahvusvaheline turismimess TOUREST 2012 toimub 17.-19.02.2012 Tallinnas Eesti Näituste messikeskuses Pirita tee 28. Meie flaiereid leiad Eesti Maaturismi, Piletilevi, Tallinn Card´i ja Läänemaa pinnalt. Peale TOUREST´i on meie flaierid saadaval turismiinfopunktides üle Eesti.

Tasuta pääse TOUREST´ile prindi välja siit...

International Travel Trade Fair - TOUREST 2012

The oldest and biggest International Travel Fair in the Baltic States – TOUREST started today. TOUREST - will be held in Tallinn on 17-19 February. You can find our flyers at Western Estonia Tourism, Estonian Rural Tourism, Piletilevi and Tallinn Card fair grounds. After TOUREST, our flyers are available at tourist information centers all over Estonia

Print out free access ticket to TOUREST here...

Kui Te ei näe teksti siis tehke parem hiireklõps flaieril ja valige Open Link in New Window...
If you can't see the text, then right-click on the flyer and choose Open Link in New Window...

Design: Tuuli Mann

A New Edition of the Book about Estonian wildlife is now available on ENT Webshop!

2012-01-27T03:03:00.001-08:00

"Estonia - the Heart of European Wildlife"

Marketing literature has proven to be very successful in the world's largest eco-tourism trade show, British Birdfair, as well as other sales activities in Europe. This is by far the best advocacy publication about nature values and conservation in Estonia. The book focuses on the species and habitats that are disappearing or absent elsewhere in Europe. That kind of approach - Why Estonia? - helps Estonians to distinguish themselves from other countries in Europe setting out the the reasons why nature-lovers from around the world should definitely visit Estonia. Although the title is intriguing, the content is fully relevant.
This beautifully designed book is also appropriate as a gift for foreign visitors.

Request a book at our webshop...

To see is to believe - happy reading!
Selected pages can be viewed below.

ISBN: 978-9949-21-979-7
Compilers: Marika Mann, Tarvo Valker
Design: Tuuli Mann
Binding: stapling through the centrefold paperback
Pages: 18
Publisher: NGO Loodusturismikeskus
Publication date: 20.09.2011

Shipping information:

We are shipping via International registered maxi letters

"Estonia- the heart of European Wildlife" – 6,00 € + shipping

To Europe:
up to 3 books = 4,00 €
4-6 books = 6,00 €
(including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, France, Sweden, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Great Britain Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, Russia)

To rest of the world:
up to 3 books = 4,50 €
4-6 books = 8,00 €

For further questions and larger amounts, please email us: info@naturetours.ee

Preview of selected pages:
Click here if you can not see the text

Special New Year offer for Bird Watching Readers!

2012-01-27T01:16:00.000-08:00

For more information, and to book click here and use the special code – 533 1KAH – to get your exclusive Bird Watching discount.

Estonian Nature Tours are making a special New Year offer to Bird Watching readers, with a spring birdwatching tour of the Baltic country, between May 11 and 18, available for just 995 Euros (about £830) per person.

A variety of other birdwatching, butterfly, botanical, mammal watching, wildlife photography and nature study trips in the unspoiled landscapes of Estonia are also available.

Visit one of the most beautiful countries in Europe!

We have a wonderful photo-gallery of Estonian nature. Share the gallery also with your friends.
Click here to see it...

Variety of our trips: Tour calendar 2012...

Fantastic New Year´s offer!

See also some videos of Estonian nature here...

For the latest news and best travel offers:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EstonianNature
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EstonianNature
Blog: http://estoniannature.blogspot.com/

Õppereis Virumaale 11.-12. jaanuar

2012-01-25T02:43:00.000-08:00

European Mink is Critically Endangered / Euroopa naarits on äärmiselt ohustatud liik

2012-01-25T01:40:00.000-08:00

European Mink / Wikipedia

On November 10th, 2011 the IUCN Red List Working Group (www.redlist.org) publicized the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, that illustrates the efforts undertaken by the organization and its partners to review by now more than 61,900 species, results of the assessment of their conditions and conservation status. According to this evaluation European Mink was moved to the ‘critically endangered’ category, which means that the species is considered to be in etremely high risk of extinction. 8 more carnivore species throughout the whole world are in similar risk category. In Europe all together 4 mammal species, among them 2 carnivores share the same status: Iberian Lynx and Mediterranean Monk Seal. From all Estonian fauna only European Eel is in the same category.

Moving European Mink into the critically endangered category does not mean so rapid worsening of this species’ state from the previous assessment in 1996. Even then it was quite clear that it deserves higher conservation degree, but due to the lack of adequate field data from Russia it was impossible to prove the presumption and the European Mink was left in the lower category of ‘endangered’ species. Now the real situation is quite clear and the assessment is available on the Red Data site:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/14018/0

European Mink / Jonathan Hall

In Estonia remarkable results have been achieved in conservation activities of the species. As much as half of global artificial population of European Mink is kept in Tallinn Zoo and one of the most successful special protection activities is repopulation of the species to the Hiiumaa Island. By now similar activities have taken place in Spain, Germany and France.

Source: Tiit Maran, Chairperson of the Foundation Lutreola

In May 2010 Jonathan Hall, www.mammalwatching.com , was thinking about trying to see a Eurasian Flying Squirrel and not having much luck getting information on where to look in Finland. And then Estonian Promotional tour report arrived. It was a sign for Jon. A few days later he had arranged a long weekend to look for the Squirrel and also European Mink. „Estonia has the potential to become one of the best, if not the best destinations in Europe to see large mammals,“ he said after the trip.
Read his tour report here...

Read more about BBC Wildlife and mammalwatching.com visit to Estonia here...

European Mink / Wikipedia

Euroopa naarits on äärmiselt ohustatud liik

10. Novembril 2011. avalikustas Maailma Looduskaitseliidu Punase Raamatu
toimkond (www.redlist.org) oma selleaastase liikide seisundi hinnangute kaasajastamise tulemused. Selle hindamisega on nüüdseks objektiivsete kriteeriumite järgi hinnatud maailmas kokku 61 900 liigi liigikaitseline olukord.

Seekordse hindamise tulemusel tõsteti Euroopa naarits äärmiselt ohustatud
liigi (critically endangered) kategooriasse. Sinna kuulumine tähendab, et liiki peetakse äärmiselt suures väljasuremisohus olevaks. Kõikidest maailma kiskjatest peetakse sama kriitilises seisus olevaks veel kaheksat kiskjaliiki. Euroopas on kõikidest imetajatest naaritsa kõrval nii kehvas seisus neli ja kiskjatest kaks liiki: ibeeria ilves ja vahemere munkhüljes. Eesti faunas esinevatest liikidest on samasse kategooriasse praeguseks veel arvatud vaid angerjas. Naaritsa nihutamine äärmiselt ohustatud liigiks ei tähenda otseselt seda, et, alates eelmisest liigi seisundi globaalsest hindamisest 1996. aastal, oleks ta olukord hüppeliselt halvenenud. Ka siis avaldati kahtlust, et naarits võib tegelikult kuuluda äärmiselt ohustatud liik, kuid küllaldaste andmete puudumine Venemaalt ei võimaldanud seda tõestada ning naarits jäeti madalamasse, eriti ohustatud (endangered) liikide kategooriasse. Tänavuses hinnangus sisalduvad varem puudunud andmed ning see võimaldas esile tuua liigi tegeliku seisundi.

Naaritsa praegune ohustatuse hinnang on kättesaadav Punase nimistu
kodulehelt:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/14018/0

Eestis tehtud naaritsa alalhoiualasel tegevusel on märkimisväärne roll selle liigi kaitsel. Tallinna loomaaias peetakse ligi poolt naaritsa globaalsest tehisasurkonnast ning Hiiumaal naaritsa asurkonna loomine on üks edukamaid naaritsa liigikaitselisi ettevõtmisi. Tänaseks on samalaadsed liigikaitselisi ettevõtmisi algatatud ka Hispaanias, Saksamaal ja Prantsusmaal.

Allikas: Tiit Maran SA Lutreola juhataja

Visit one of the most beautiful countries in Europe

2012-01-25T00:50:00.000-08:00

We have created a new opportunity for our partners (tourism agencies and accommodation places) to help them make a better marketing about Estonia. Read more...

Oleme loonud oma koostööpartneritele uue võimaluse, mis aitab paremini klientidele Eesti loodust tutvustada. Võimalus on mõeldud kasutamiseks ainult linkidena kodulehtedel, uudiskirjades, Facebookis, Twitteris ja Blogis viitega Estonian Nature Tours´i blogile. Palume pilte galeriist mitte kopeerida, kuna meil puudub selleks võimaluseks luba (oleme ostnud pildid loodusfotograafidelt ja ei saa neid kasutada piiramatult). Loe edasi...

Fantastic New Year's offer!

2012-01-18T01:54:00.000-08:00

For futher information on any of Wildlife trips we have on offer, plus booking details, terms and conditions please visit www.naturetours.ee and choose TOUR CALENDAR from the left menu. Or you can phone or email us for detailed itineraries - tel: +372 5349 6695 / e-mail: info@naturetours.ee

Visit one of the most beautiful countries in Europe!

For the latest news and best travel offers:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EstonianNature
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EstonianNature

Aasta lind 2012 on tüll / Bird of the year 2012 is Plover

2012-01-16T00:50:00.000-08:00

Tüll (väike- ja liivatüll)

Liivatüll / Ringed Plover / Wikipedia

Eesti Ornitoloogiaühing valis 2012. aasta linnuks tüllid. Eestis pesitseb neid kaks liiki – liivatüll ja väiketüll. Nad on välimuselt väga sarnased, kuid eluviisilt erinevad: liivatüll on levinud rannikul, väiketüll elutseb aga peamiselt tehismaastikes. Mõlemaid pesitseb Eestis umbes 1000-2000 paari ning nad on ka väikesearvulised läbirändajad. Kui väiketülli arvukus püsib pärast suurt langust 1990. aastatel Eestis ja kogu Euroopas stabiilsena, siis liivatülli arvukus on viiekümne aasta jooksul vähenenud neli korda ning vähenemine jätkub.

Väiketüll / Little Ringed Plover / RSPB

Ehkki nad tegutsevad sageli inimeste läheduses, ei tunta neid liike kuigi hästi ja nende elust teatakse üsna vähe nii meil kui mujal Euroopas. Tegemist on põnevate lindudega, kelle omapärane käitumine ja pesitsusbioloogia väärivad suuremat tähelepanu. Seetõttu on tüllide aastal kavas koos linnuhuvilistega uurida ja tutvustada tüllide elu, elupaiku, pesitsusökoloogiat ja rännet.

Eesti Ornitoloogiaühing valis aasta linnu juba 18. korda. Aasta linnu valimise eesmärk on tutvustada avalikkusele üht meil esinevat linnuliiki või liigirühma ning kaasata loodushuvilisi aasta linnu uurimisse ja kaitsesse. Käesoleva aasta ja varasemate aasta lindudega saab tutvuda EOÜ kodulehel www.eoy.ee/aastalind.

Allikas: Eesti Ornitoloogiaühing

Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover

Väiketüll / Little Ringed Plover / Wikipedia

Plovers were chosen by Estonian Ornithological Society to be the birds of the year 2012. There are two of them breeding in Estonia - Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover. They are very similar in their external look, but with different way of living. Ringed Plover is prevalent on the coast, as Little Ringed Plover has spread mainly in cultural and artificial landscapes. The number of both species in Estonia stays between 1000 and 2000 breeding pairs and there is also a small number of migrating birds. While the number of Little Ringed Plover has stabilized in Estonia as throughout Europe after the big decline in 1990-ies, then the number of Ringed Plover has fallen four times during the latest 50 years and they continue to decrease.

Liivatüll / Ringed Plover / Wikipedia

Although these birds occupy areas quite close to human settlement, people commonly do not recognize them readily, neither do they know much about their activities and this holds here as well as in the whole Europe. Nevertheless these are pretty amazing birds, whose peculiar habits and breeding ecology deserve much more attention. Therefore the plans are to together with bird-lovers to research the life-cycle, habitats, breeding ecology and migration of Plovers and introduce them to the wider audience.

Estonian Ornithological Society has elected different birds of the year for 18 years already. The purpose of these choices have been to introduce a bird species or a group of species and involve nature lovers in the research activities and protection of that particular subject. One can find material about all these species from the homesite of EOÜ (Estonian Ornithological Society) at www.eoy.ee/aastalind

Source: Estonian Ornithological Society

Uued liigid 2011 / New Species 2011

2012-01-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

Kanada kurg, Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) / Wikipedia

Eelmisel aastal leidsid teadlased kokku 39 seni Eesti floorale ja faunale varem tundmatut liiki.

Tänavu registreeritud uute liikide seas annavad tooni seni meie looduses avastamata samblikud - nende nimistu täienes pea paarikümne liigi võrra. Enamik kaardile kantud samblikest ja sammaldest on juba aastaid varem leitud, kuid kuna nende liigi määramine on aeganõudev, jõuti need ametlikult kinnitada alles sel aastal. Arvukamalt lisandus liiginimestikku ka uusi liblikaid – koguni kümme uut liiki. Kui näiteks samblikuliike on Eestist leitud juba üle 950 ja erinevaid liblikaid üle 2400, siis Eestis nähtud linnuliikide hulk tõusis tänu kahele kaugele eksikülalisele 382-ni.

Vee-elukad: elegantne krevett (Palaemon elegans), pruunvetikas (Punctaria tenuissima), dinoflagellaat (prorocentrum lima), harrise mudakrabi (Rhithropanopeus harrisii)

Linnud: sõnnpea-sõtkas (Bucephala albeola), kanada kurg (Grus canadensis)

Liblikad: Coleophora prunifoliae, Scrobipalpa murinella, Oegoconia deauratella, Dichrorampha teichiana, Ecpyrrhorrhoe rubiginalis, Eublemma purpurina, Catocala electa, Coleophora obscuripalpella, Coleophora ptarmicia, Monochroa arundinetella

Seened: Pilati riisikas (Lactarius pilatii)

Pilati riisikas, Milkcap (Lactarius pilatii) / Wikipedia

Taimed: Vesitarn (Carex aquatilis)

Samblad: flörke ümarkupar (Microbryum floerkeanum), Lecanora epibryon, lubi-rähksamblik (Catapyrenium daedaleum), madjari porosamblik (Cladonia magyarica), Lecania sambucina, Polyblastia sendtner, Stirtoni krussik (Zygodon stirtonii), Lecanora zasterae, Catillaria atomarioidesm Lecanora persimilis, Micarea lithinella, Opegrapha calcarea, Thelidium papulare, Verrucaria hochstetteri, Agonimia vouauxii, Staurothele rupifraga, Lecania sylvestris, Kuldne turbasammal (Sphagnum pulchrum), Lepraria celata, tardsamblik (Leptogium intermedium), Arthonia arthonioides, Arnelli allikasammal (Philonotis arnelli), mägikeerik (Syntrichia montana), Lecanora zasterae.

Allikas: Ulvar Käärt / Eesti Päevaleht 05.01.2012 (artikli sisu lühendatud kujul)

New Species 2011

Sõnnpea-sõtkas, Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) / Wikipedia

Last year scientists discovered all together 39 so far undetected species, new to Estonia’s flora and fauna.

Among the newly registered species the largest proportion belongs to lichens – their list was complemented with almost couple of dozens species. Major part of the lichens and mosses, registered on the map, have been first found years ago, but since exact determination is time-consuming, the new species were officially confirmed no later than this year. The number of new butterfly taxons was also remarkable – outright 10 new species. While there are over 950 lichen species and about 2400 butterfly and moth species in Estonia, then the total number of bird species reached 382 due to 2 new accidental visitors.

Water creatures: Elegant Shrimp (Palaemon elegans), brown alga (Punctaria tenuissima), dinoflagellate (Prorocentrum lima), Estuarine (Harris’) mud crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii)

Birds: Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Butterflies: Coleophora prunifoliae, Scrobipalpa murinella, Oegoconia deauratella, Dichrorampha teichiana, Ecpyrrhorrhoe rubiginalis, Eublemma purpurina, Catocala electa, Coleophora obscuripalpella, Coleophora ptarmicia, Monochroa arundinetella

Ecpyrrhorrhoe rubiginalis / Wikipedia

Fungi: Milkcap (Lactarius pilatii)

Plants: Water Sedge (Carex aquatilis)

Mosses: Microbryum floerkeanum, Lecanora epibryon, Earth Lichen (Catapyrenium daedaleum), Cup Lichen (Cladonia magyarica), Lecania sambucina, Polyblastia sendtner, Zygodon stirtonii, Lecanora zasterae, Catillaria atomarioidesm Lecanora persimilis, Micarea lithinella, Opegrapha calcarea, Thelidium papulare, Verrucaria hochstetteri, Agonimia vouauxii, Staurothele rupifraga, Lecania sylvestris, Sphagnum pulchrum, Lepraria celata, Leptogium intermedium, Arthonia arthonioides, Arnell's Apple-moss (Philonotis arnelli), Intermediate screw moss (Syntrichia montana), Lecanora zasterae.

Source: Ulvar Käärt / Eesti Päevaleht 05.01.2012 (original text abbreviated)

Visit one of the most beautiful countries in Europe!

2012-01-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

We have a wonderful photo-gallery of Estonian nature. Share the gallery also with your friends.
Click here to see it...

Estonia is a wonderful place to see wildlife at any time of year with fantastic birdwatching including Steller’s Eiders, Ural Owl, Pygmy Owl, Great Snipe, Nutcracker, Citrine Wagtail, Lesser Spotted Eagle, 8 species of Woodpeckers, sea ducks, Hazel Grouse and massive numbers of birds on migration. Butterflies, dragonflies and flowers are equally exciting and the country is renowned for its large number of mammals – over 150 Wolves, 500-600 Brown Bears and almost 20 000 Beavers plus Flying Squirrels and an incredible 700-800 Lynx, one of the strongest populations in Europe!

Variety of our trips: Tour calendar 2012...

See also some videos of Estonian nature here...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Rahulikke jõule ja õnnelikku uut aastat!

2011-12-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

We’ll give you a photo-gallery for Christmas, click here to see it...

Santa’s helpers hurry-scurry out there. Have a look...
Today, at 7:29 winter began. Trees and ground are covered with frost, but still no snow. Whooper Swans are still here and there has seldom been so vast a December flood in the floodplain of the River Kasari (Matsalu National Park). Usually you can enjoy such a view in early April!

Nature is playing tricks and it happens also in Estonia, although here it is unbelievably lovely. It is cosy and safe in Estonia. We have four seasons, plenty of space and quietness and unspoiled nature. Although it takes no more than a few hours to drive from one end of Estonia to another, no matter in which direction, you realize - when you are once there - that it takes more than a couple of days to wander around locally. Swamps and bogs, floodplains and sea-shore meadows, old-growth forests and reed-beds, sea and coastal dunes, Northern and Western klint, a multitude of small islets in the West and hill country in the South – so much surprise and variability our small country has to offer.

One more thing that makes Estonia really special: these are people who care about their assets and give their best to preserve this wealth for their descendants. Nature conservation in Estonia is motivated and strong.

For many years I have had the opportunity to bring people closer to nature and to do so has been a real honour and privilege. Exploring new species and habitats together only nourishes the pleasure in my heart.

Hereby I’d like to express my gratitude to each and every client (also to all the intended ones) for helping me to open my eyes and my heart and teaching me to be proud of my country!

On behalf of the Estonian Nature Tours´ team
Marika Mann

Rahulikke jõule ja õnnelikku uut aastat!

Kingime teile jõuludeks pildigalerii, seda näed siit...

Päkapikud sebivad ringi. Vaata...

Täna hommikul kell 7.29 algas talv. Õues on puud ja maapind härmatanud, kuid lund pole ikka veel. Laululuiged alles rändavad ja üleujutus Kasari luhas (Matsalu rahvuspargis) pole kunagi enne nii suur olnud detsembrikuus. Tavaliselt saab sellist vaatepilti nautida aprilli alguses.

Loodus teeb trikke ka Eestimaal, kuid siin on see ütlemata armas. Eestis on mõnus ja turvaline elada. Meil on neli aastaaega, palju ruumi ja vaikust ning rikkumata loodust. Kuigi läänest itta ja põhjast lõunasse sõitmiseks kulub vaid mõni tund, mõistad kohapeal ringi liikudes, et isegi mõnest päevast jääb väheks. Sood ja rabad, luhad ja rannaniidud, ürgmetsad ning roostikud, meri ja liivarannad, pankrannik põhjas, rohkesti väikesaari läänes ning kuppelmaastik lõunas – nii palju erinevat ja rohkesti üllatusi on sel väikeriigil pakkuda.

On veel üks asi, mis Eesti eriliseks teeb. Paljud inimesed hoolivad sellest, mis meil on ja üritavad oma tegevusega neid rikkusi ka järeltulevatele põlvedele säilitada. Eestis on looduskaitsel tugev jõud.

Juba aastaid on mul olnud võimalus tuua inimesi loodusele lähemale ning see on olnud väga suur rõõm ja au. Üheskoos uusi liike ja elupaiku avastades hea tunne südames ainult suureneb.

Suur tänu kõigile partneritele ja klientidele (ka tulevastele), kes te olete aidanud mul silmi ning südant avada ja õpetanud oma maa üle uhkust tundma!

Estonian Nature Tours´i nimel

Marika Mann

New Wildlife Photography Tour to Estonia

2011-12-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

A new and exciting trip for 2012, this photo tour combines specialist photographic tuition and expert wildlife guiding through the skills and knowledge of both noted professional wildlife photographer from UK, Neil Aldridge, and leading Estonian photographer Remo Savisaar. The trip runs from the 26th of May to the 3rd of June 2012. I hope you will join us!
Read the full itinerary...

Make a booking here...

Photo: Neil Aldridge

Photo: Remo Savisaar

Your Guides

Neil Aldridge is an award-winning photojournalist and professional wildlife guide. Neil's photography has been celebrated in the winning portfolio of the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year and he is a British Wildlife Photography Awards winner. He is a published author and his work is seen widely in publications such as BBC Wildlife Magazine. Neil's photography experience, knowledge of wildlife and professional field guiding qualifications make him ideally suited to assisting others in photographing and experiencing wildlife and wild places. Neil leads wildlife photography trips in Europe and Africa.

Photo: Neil Aldridge

Photo: Neil Aldridge

Remo Savisaar is one of Estonia's leading wildlife photographers. Remo was attracted to the nature around him at an early age and has been passionate about nature photography for the past seven years. His award-winning photographs have received recognition at international level. Remo is also a Grand Prize winner of Estonian Nature photo contest 2011. He has held numerous exhibitions and his work has been published in books and in magazines, including National Geographic. His knowledge of photography and eye for a good photograph has meant that he has also been a member of the jury of several photo contests. This makes Remo well suited to helping others see and take that winning photograph.

Photo: Remo Savisaar

Kinkekaardid viivad Sind loodusesse!

2011-12-15T03:27:00.000-08:00

Hea loodusesõber!

Kingi oma sõbrale, armsamale, koostööpartnerile või kliendile jõuludeks elamus Eestimaa kaunis looduses aastal 2012.

Kas oled kunagi viibinud looduses siis, kui teised alles magavad? Kas oled kuulnud hundi ulgumist või kohtunud karuga sügavas laanes? Kas oled kuulanud vaikust või viibinud romantilisel paadiretkel roostikus?

Saadaval on kolm erinevat kinkekaarti:

Kinkekaardid väärtusega 40 € ja 70 €. Nende kinkekaartide omanik saab valida meie plaaniliste retkede seast endale sobiva. Kinkekaardid kehtivad kuni 29.09.2012. Palume kindlasti teha eelbroneering.

Kinkekaart väärtusega 280 € (Romatikapakett 2-le “Öös on hääli“). Selle kinkekaardi omanikud saavad osaleda romantikaretkel endale sobival ajal. Eelbroneering on ka siin vajalik. Kinkekaart kehtib kuni 17.06.2012. Tutvu paketiga siin...

Lisainfo ja broneerimine: kirjuta info@naturetours.ee või helista +372 5349 6695

Plaanilised retked (klikka retke nimele):

Saagem tuttavaks metsakanadega... 14.04 / 21.04
Linnukevad Matsalus 12.05 / 19.05
Karuvaatlus Alutagusel 5.-6.05 / 12.-13.05 / 19.-20.05 / 26.-27.05 / 2.-3.06 / 9.-10.06 / 16.-17.06
Kopra pildistamine 5.05 / 19.05 / 9.06 / 7.07
Ööhääled roostikus 26.05
Lendorava retk 17.06 / 8.07 / 29.07
Värviline Osmussaar 7.07 / 28.07
Kured läinud, kurjad ilmad... 14.09 / 15.09 / 16.09

Loodusturismiseminar 9. detsember 2011

2011-12-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Toimumisaeg: 9.detsember 2011
Koht: Matsalu Looduskeskus (Penijõe mõis, Lihula vald, Läänemaa)

Seminari läbivad teemad: kohalik toit, koostöö ja turundus

10.45 – 11.00 Saabumine, kohv ja suupisted

11.00 – 11.10 Avasõnad. Nele Sõber / „Parks & Benefits“ projektijuht

11.10 – 11.40 Matsalu Rahvuspargi kaitse-eeskirja ja kaitsekorralduskava seotus turismiga. Anni Kurisman / Keskkonnaameti Hiiu-Lääne-Saare regiooni kaitseplaneerimise spetsialist

11.40 – 12.00 Rahvusparkide töörühm Eestis. Mis see on? Krista Kallavus / Keskkonnaameti Hiiu-Lääne-Saare regiooni kultuuripärandi spetsialist

12.00 – 12.30 RMK külastuskorraldus Matsalu rahvuspargis. Marju Pajumets / RMK Lääne-Eesti piirkonna külastusjuht

12.30 – 12.50 RMK külastajaseire. Matsalu rahvuspargi ja üle-eestiliste andmete võrdlus. Marju Pajumets / RMK Lääne-Eesti piirkonna külastusjuht

12.50 – 13.30 Lõunasöök

13.30 – 15.00 Internetiturundus Estravelis – kanalid, mõõdikud, näited. Anu Vane / Estravel reisibüroo digitaalturunduse spetsialist

15.00 – 15.45 Kvaliteetne toit turundab turismitalu. Polli Talu kogemus. Marika Blossfeldt, USA / Coach. Author. Speaker. Ettekanne Skype´i vahendusel. Marika Blossfeldt´i koostatud tervisliku toidu raamat „Essential Nourishment“ on maineka ülemaailmse kokaraamatute auhinna „Best in the World 2011“ nominent.

15.45 – Käsitöö ja kohalik toit on piirkonna kaubamärgid. Saaremaa koostöökogemus. Jaanika Rikko / MTÜ Saaremaa Vill juhatuse liige;
Rahvusvahelise projekti Know Sheep (tunne lammast) Saaremaa projektijuht

Seminari korraldab ja modereerib Marika Mann / Estonian Nature Tours, tegevjuht.

Seminari rahastab Keskkonnaamet „Parks & Benefits“ projekti raames.

Seoses toitlustamisega on vajalik eelregistreerimine (nele@lihula.ee, 5142992).

NB! Iga osaleja võta kaasa mingi omatehtud käsitöö, suveniir või toit, mida raatsid loosimisele panna ja siis loosime päeva lõpus need omavahel välja. Kes ei too, see ei saa loosimisel osaleda :)

Cooperation with the Local Community

2011-11-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

Estonian Nature Tours considers cooperation with the local community an essential part of organizing nature trips. Lunch at a gourmet restaurant cannot compare to the immediate experience that guests have when tasting homemade foods, conversing with the locals at a farm picnic or buying handicrafts and farm products. This creates a much more relaxed and enjoyable experience and a feeling that we and our guests have been able to give something back to the people of the land, by making a real connection and truly appreciating them. And everybody involved is left with warm feelings in their hearts.

Photo: Marcus Becker

Photo: Nadine Herrmann

One of our partners, Marika Blossfeldt, director of Polli Talu Arts Center in Rame küla, has made a name for herself as a natural foods chef. She makes sure all food served to her guests is made from fresh local produce, some of which she grows herself in her garden and some of which she shops for at the farmer’s market.

Photo: Jaan Heinmaa

Photo: Jaan Heinmaa

She believes eating natural foods that have not been processed in factories, deliver the most life force, nutrients as well as flavor. There is nothing more pleasurable than eating herbs, lettuces or vegetables that just an hour before were harvested from the garden. After eating these delicious natural foods one feels completely satisfied, energized and uplifted. The body literally feels happy and so does the soul and heart. Marika’s recipes are simple and down to earth – allowing you to fall in love with each ingredient. For those of you who would like to sample her food prior to a trip to Estonia, she has written a beautifully designed cookbook illustrated with gorgeous photos all taken at her farm featuring easy to recreate natural foods recipes that are sure to awaken your taste buds.

Photo: Jaan Heinmaa

Photo: Jaan Heinmaa

ESSENTIAL NOURISHMENT, Recipes from My Estonian Farm is available on Amazon in Europe and the USA as well as on Marika’s website at www.MarikaB.com/book
Please visit her book’s page on www.facebook.com/EssentialNourishment

For more information on the activities at Polli Talu Arts Center visit www.pollitalu.wordpress.com and www.facebook.com/PolliTalu

Photo: Marika Blossfeldt

Eesti köögi tutvustamine

2011-11-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

Peame oma loodusreiside korraldamisel väga oluliseks koostööd kohaliku kogukonnaga. Vahetu kogemus, mille külastaja saab ehedal talupiknikul maainimesega juttu ajades ja temalt käsitööd või aiasaadusi ostes, ei ole võrreldav ühegi gurmeerestorani lõunaga. Seepärast kutsume Teid üles osalema rahvuskööki iseloomustavate roogade tooteesitlustel. Loe tutvustust allpool:

Maarjamaad on tähele pandud. Olgugi et Eesti on tibatillukene ja suure ilma mõõtkavas mikroskoopilise majandusväärtusega.

Meie, eestlased, saavutame tähelepanu sestpeale kui suudame olla mitte ainult sõbralikult avatud, vaid sealjuures ka meeldivalt meelde jääda.

See on meie ülemaailmseks märkamiseks ilmtingimata tarvilik, kuid ilmselgelt mitte piisav - aga kas on võimalik armastusväärselt meelde sööbida?

Kuidas saavutada usaldusväärsus ja maandada risk, et äritegevusele ruumi teha?

Kuidas oleks kui prooviks rahvusliku köögi kaudu? Meie oma rahvusliku maitse esitlemise kaudu!

Nüüdsest pole vaja enam unistada välismaa rahvaste maitsemeelte vallutamisest - seekord me oleme otse kutsutud seda tegema...

Eesti Konkurentsieeliste Konverentsisarja raames korraldavad Libertas Instituut MTÜ, meie rahvuskööki iseloomustavate roogade praktilised tooteesitlusi võimaldavad üritused neile, kes sooviksid pakkuda oma retsepti järgi valmistatud rahvusliku aktsendiga toitu tutvustamiseks välismaa klientidele.

Esitlusele tuleva rahvusliku aktsendiga roa loomise eelduseks on, et Teie esitatud retsept valituks asjatundjate poolt, misjärel peaksite olema valmis esitlema Eesti rahvusliku kööki esindava roa valmistamist ise(inglise keeles).

Osalema on teretulnud kõik - nii asjaarmastajad kui profikokad, nii kodused turismiköögid kui restorani-köögid. Meie üritus ei ole ainult niiöelda eliidi või tippkokkade asi. Me otsime autentset Eesti köögi rahvusliku maitse ainuomast sähvatust...

Esitlemiseks valitud rahvusliku köögi sugemetega roa osisained võiksid olla võimalikult lihtsad, roog ise lihtsalt valmistatav ning selle valmistamise õpetamine samuti vähemalt niipalju lihtsalt arusaadav, et see innustaks võõramaalasest huvilist sellise toidu valmistamist ise proovima. (Iga osavõtja võib välja pakkuda 2-3 rooga - rohkemaks ei ole esitlusel aega.)

Tulemus peaks olema mugavalt ning käepäraselt söödav. Ärge ainult ajage pakutavat rooga liiga keeruliseks.

...ja siis - kellegi jaoks Teie hulgast võib osaks saada pakutava rahvusroa välisesitlus "Taste Award 2012" üritusel Ameerika Ühendriikides - ei vähem ega rohkem kui kõikide maailma staaride mekas Hollywoodis!

Eestis esitatud road ei võistle - me saame oma kööki tutvustada.

"Taste Award 2012" auhindade hulgas on nädalane tutvumisreis Eesti rahvusliku köögiga ühenädalase tutvumisreisi kujul Eestisse.

Ootame julget pealehakkamist Eesti köögikultuuri ja rahvuslike roogade tutvustamiseks kõikidele maitsemeeltele, mis suures ilmas leida on

Huvilistel paluvad korraldajad registreerida osavõtt ja küsida lähemalt lisainfot:

Aarne Toomsalu, Libertas Instituut, Sünergia üksus
(aarnetoomsalu@gmail.com ; telefon: 8802869)

The Winners of the Questionnaire in British Birdfair 2011

2011-10-31T03:39:00.000-07:00

For the first time Estonian Nature Tours offered a possibility to win a dream wildlife holiday to Estonia in British Birdfair 2011 and on our webpage as well.

Estonian Nature Tours wishes to thank everyone who completed our questionnaire and took part in the prize draw.

We are delighted to announce the winners:

Grand Prize: Birdwatching holiday Estonia in Spring. Price 1150 € - Mr
Rodger
Lot 1: Beaver photography. Price 180 € - Mr Brink
Lot 2: Flying Squirrel Study trip (1). Price 100 € - Mrs Francis
Lot 3: White-tailed Eagle Photograpy. Price 75 € - Mr Foley
Lot 4: MATSALU TICKET (for 2 person). Price 2 x 40 € - Mr Chew
Lot 5: Brown Bear tracking and watching. Price 105 € - Mr Cropper

Congratulations to everyone!

Titchwell Marsh

2011-10-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

The Estonian Nature Tours team also visited the Norfolk area during the British Birdfair 2011 for some birding. Our main destination was Titchwell Marshes where we encountered nice flocks of waders - including Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlins, Avocets, Ruffs and many other wetland birds. Even a rare vagrant - a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen at Titchwell that day. It was an interesting visit not only for birds but also for the great opportunity to see successful nature conservation efforts in action. We were also delighted to see the very modern hides at this wetland which allow birdwatchers to get really close to the birds without disturbing them. We also went to Hunstanton to see Fulmars - a bird which is rather common in Norfolk, but not present in Estonia.

View to the Titchwell Marshes
Photo: Tarvo Valker

Titchwell Marsh is an exceptional nature reserve on the north Norfolk coast. It is a part of a network of outstanding wildlife sites across Europe called Natura 2000. A walk from the visitor centre down to the sandy beach takes you past reedbeds and shallow lagoons, which are often full of birds. You can sit on benches or watch from spacious, wheelchair-accessible hides. Read more...

Hiking trail before entering the hide
Photo: Tarvo Valker

RSPB Titcwell Marsh nature reserve is under pressure. The sand dunes along
the beach are being eroded by the sea. The ersosion of the dunes would
ultimately threaten the sea walls that prtect the reserve´s valuable
freswater habitats. These habitats are home to spectacular and rare breeding birds such as bitterns, mars harriers and bearded tits.

Inside view of the birdwatching hide
Photo: Tarvo Valker

In autumn 2009, the RSPB started work on the Titchwell Marsh Coastal Change
Project.

Find out more about the project here...

View to the mudflats from the hide
Photo: Tarvo Valker

British Birdfair 2011

2011-10-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

The world’s largest birdwatching fair, British Birdfair, was raising funds this year to protect the African-Eurasian flyway. The constantly expanding Sahara Desert and deterioration of habitats in wintering areas is causing problems for many bird species that breed in Europe and winter in Africa. Many common species such as Barn Swallow, Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and others are rapidly dedlining, a trend that is happening in Estonia’s breeding birds as well. To support the Birdfair's important conservation project Estonian Nature Tours put up a 6-day birding tour ‘Estonia in Early Spring’ to a charity auction. Bidding on the day took the price to £455, which will be donated in full to one of the most renowned bird conservation organizations - Birdlife International. Our congratulations to L. Lowdnes, the winner of our birding tour in the auction!

Birdfair’s auction raised over £17,000 which is a Birdfair record! The money raised goes directly to the project Birdfair is supporting - Birdlife International’s Flyways Project.

Bristish Birdfair 2011
Photo: Tarvo Valker

The 2011 Birdfair took place at Egleton Nature Reserve, Rutland from Friday, 19th till Sunday, 21st August. This is the fourth time Estonian Nature Tours (ENT) has participated in the bird tourism fair as an exhibitor.

White-tailed Eagles near feeding site
Photo: Mati Kose

Tarvo Valker, a member of council of the Estonian Ornithological Society, made a presentation „Nature protection highlights in Estonia“. A small country with quite a few naturalists has much to share with the rest of Europe. It is successful in protecting wildlife and carrying on valuable mammal and bird studies, as well as raising public awareness. The presentation was illustrated with many pictures showing highlights of all their work. There were about 150 visitors listening to his presentation.

Yellow-browed Warbler
Photo: Uku Paal

There was considerable interest in Estonian Nature Tour’s stand with almost 700 people visiting us during the weekend. In addition to this there was a clear increase in the number of tourists wishing to visit Estonia. There was great excitement among our visitors about our mammal-watch tours, but also our early spring birding tours and nature photography safaris.

For the first time Estonian Nature Tours offered a possibility to win a dream wildlife holiday to Estonia in British Birdfair 2011 and on our webpage as well. Read more...

White-backed Woodpecker
Photo: Sven Zacek

Estonian Nature Tours team also visited Norfolk area for short birding. Read more...

ENT team is eagerly looking forward to meet you next spring in Estonia and of course at the Birdfair 2012!

The project MATSALU TICKET was launched unexpectedly well

2011-10-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

During this season (from June till September) 226 nature lovers visited Matsalu. Among the groups there were visitors from foreign countries as well, including Finland, Holland, Belgium, Turkey, Moldova, France, Germany and more.

MATSALU TICKET was successfully sold to their clients by the travel agency Estravel, several hotels in Tallinn and Tallinn Tourism Information Point. The most popular option among the clients was the Cherry.ee campaign – 50 canoeing trips for two were sold within two and a half days.
Beginning from 2012 it will be possible to buy a discounted ticket from Tallinn to Matsalu with the Tallinn Card. Buses will depart on Saturdays from Tallinn, Pärnu and Haapsalu.

White-tailed Eagle
Photo: Harry Vähk

The Matsalu Ticket is a very new and environmentally friendly brand meant for anyone who wants to travel sustainably and knows how to respect nature as well as local people. The project teaches about wildlife and coordinates visits to the Matsalu National Park helping to avoid excess disturbance of both animal and plant species, as well as the local population. Bus tours and canoe trips are lead by local Estonian and English speaking guides.

Lunch at Local Farm
Photo: Kristi Kevvai

The Matsalu Ticket is benefiting several companies including about 20 different service suppliers – tour guides, transportation companies, boatmen, tourist farms, caterers, museums, nature centres and many local craftsmen.

See photos here...

More info here...

Ryanair Magazine will soon issue an 8-page feature about Estonia

2011-10-28T01:18:00.000-07:00

In the middle of September several European top journalists visited West-Estonia (Läänemaa County). The promotional tour was organized and managed by Estonian Nature Tours and it was partially financed by the Environmental Board (Matsalu National Park) and partially by EU. The main aim of the tour was to introduce to the whole world, with the help of motivated journalists, our wonderful network of unspoiled wetland habitats, different birding and mammal watching opportunities, our unique wildlife and to promote Estonia’s rich history and the options of sustainable tourism.

Photo: Greg Funnell

During the 4-day promotional tour several nature reserves as well as the Matsalu National Park were visited. In addition the guests received a comprehensive overview of the local history. Participants in the tour were almost exclusively top journalists from several leading travel magazines of Great Britain, Finland and Russia and a travel agent from the Netherlands.

Photo: Greg Funnell

Ryanair Magazine with over 4.5 million readers will publish an 8-page feature about Estonia in their upcoming Nov/Dec issue. A professional travel magazine from Finland Ikkunapaikka – Window Seat Travel Trade Magazine (15 000 readers) already issued a story in their Oct number. World Voyager Magazine ("Всемирный Следопыт"/ St.Peterburg) from Russia will publish a 2-page story in their first issue of 2012, that will reach almost 250 000 readers. Another Russian publication – Time Out Moscow (www.timeout.ru) with 50 000 readers will also publish an article soon. The travel agent from the Netherlands promised to start to sell two separate tours – in May and in October.

Photo: Greg Funnell

On 17 September the guests had the opportunity to meet Ms. Kaja Lotman, the director of the State Nature Conservation Centre, Ms. Nele Sõber, leader of the NGO Terra Maritima and the crew of Matsalu Nature Film Festival. It was soon followed by the festive final ceremony of the Matsalu Nature Film Festival and collective watching of the Grand Prix film.

Photo: Greg Funnell

Photo: Greg Funnell

Here is some first-hand feedback from the participants:
There is still a good taste in my mouth from the trip I had the privilege to participate with you! (And that is not only because of the excellent and tasteful Estonian food!)
I am writing to thank you and Ivar once again for this wonderful trip and this new experience. It was a very interesting and eventful program.
We got back fine yesterday and with many happy memories of a great time in Estonia! Thanks so much for everything you did to ensure we had such an enjoyable few days – I loved it all.
It had a big impression on me. Now I love the beautiful town of Haapsalu and I like looking to cranes of course!

Photo: Greg Funnell

Additional information:
Marika Mann, CEO
Estonian Nature Tours
Ph: +372 477 8214, +372 5349 6695
info@naturetours.ee

Photo: Greg Funnell

Estonian Nature Tours viib Teid Euroopa metsiku looduse parimate näidiste juurde

2011-10-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

Estonian Nature Tours (ENT) kui ühenduse PAN PARKS kohalik koostööpartner annab Teile garantii, et Te külastate Euroopa metsiku looduse parimaid näidiseid. Alates 2011 aasta maikuust teeb ENT koostööd sihtasutusega PAN Parks, mis kujutab endast Euroopa metsiku looduse kaitseks loodud organisatsiooni. ENT korraldab retki Soomaale, Eestis seni ainsale sertifitseeritud PAN Parks’i alale ning selle vahetusse naabrusse. Need retked on parim võimalus avastada Euroopa metsikut loodust keskkonda sääsval viisil ning toetades kohalikke äriettevõtteid.

Kohalikud äriettevõtted on sertifitseeritud vastavalt keskkonnastandarditele ja nende pühendumusele loodust kaitsta. PAN Parks kohalikke partnereid, kes pakuvad kõrgekvaliteedilisi teenuseid ning tegutsevad kaitsealadega käsikäes, tunnustatakse PAN Parks’i logoga, mis on tagatiseks, et teie külaskäigust saab kasu ka looduskaitse. Need partnerid on looduskaitseala tegemistest ja väärtustest teadlikud ning nad aitavad külastajatel tutvuda metsiku loodusega vahetu kogemuse teel. Nad pakuvad teile põnevaid praktilisi võimalusi kogeda Euroopa metsikust loodusest ainulaadsete elamuste abil.

Eestis, kus mitmed olulisemad looduskaitsealad on moodustatud kaitsmaks poollooduslikke alasid, pole PAN Parks’i nõuetele vastavate mõõtmetega kaitstavad looduslikud massiivid kuigi sagedased. Üks niisugustest aladest on Soomaa, mis sai endale PAN Parks staatuse 2009 aastal.

PAN Parks on üleeuroopaline organisatsioon, mis keskendub meie kontinendi kõige vähem rikutud loodusalade kaitsmisele. PAN Parks ehitab üles kindlaksmääratud kvaliteedistandarditele vastavat Euroopa kaitsealadest koosnevat võrgustikku, mis hõlmaks piisavalt esinduslikku loodusalade valimit, kuid arvestaks ka sotsiaalsete, majanduslike ning kultuuriliste aspektidega. Need kaitsealad säilitavad väärtuslikke loodusalasid erakordselt suurtel puutumatutel maa-aladel, kus looduslikud taime- ja loomakooslused saavad segamatult ja jõudsalt areneda ning inimesed hindavad sel moel saadud võimalust neid väärtusi nautida, suhtudes loodusesse just niisuguse lugupidamisega, nagu see väärib.

PAN Park võrgustikku kuuluvatel kaitsealadel võib leida silmapaistvalt kauneid maastikke, nende erakordne looduslik väärtus kuulub reeglina Euroopa kõige hinnatuma looduspärandi hulka. Hoolsalt kaitstud alade mõõtmed võimaldavad nii ulukitel kui lindudel vabalt edeneda. PAN Parki tüüpi kaitsealal on nauditav loodus kaitstud parimate Euroopa näpunäidete järgi. Loomad saavad mööda territooriumi vabalt ringi liikuda ning taimedel on täisväärtuslikuks arenguks kõik looduslikud võimalused. Kaitseala juhtkond teeb territooriumil elavate inimestega tihedat koostööd.

Tekst: Peeter Vissak

With Estonian Nature Tours you are visiting the certified best of Europe’s wilderness

2011-10-28T01:10:00.000-07:00

Estonian Nature Tours (ENT) as a local partner of PAN PARKS ensures that you are visiting the best of Europe’s wilderness. Since May 2011 Estonian Nature Tours cooperates with the PAN Parks Foundation, the European wilderness protection organization. ENT is developing tours to Soomaa – so far the only certified PAN Parks area in Estonia - or in the regions around the park. These tours provide an opportunity to discover Europe’s wilderness in a way which fully respects the natural environment and supports local businesses.

Local businesses are certified, based on environmental standards and their commitment to conservation. Local PAN Parks partners, offering high-quality facilities and working together with the park, are recognized by the PAN Parks logo; this guarantees that your visit contributes to the protection of nature. These partners are knowledgeable about the park and help visitors discover wilderness firsthand. They offer exciting activities to enable you to have a unique experience of European wilderness! In Estonia, where quite a number of most important parks consist of species-rich seminatural communities, vast unaltered purely natural areas are not so frequent. Soomaa, which became a PAN Park in 2009, is one of such areas.

PAN Parks is a European-wide organization focusing on the protection of the continent’s most undisturbed wilderness areas. PAN Parks creates a network of European protected areas certified in accord with PAN Parks quality standards, covering relevant wilderness protection, social, economic and cultural aspects. These parks offer a remarkably extensive wilderness area with undisturbed nature where natural systems of animals and plants are safe to thrive and people appreciate the pleasures offered by wilderness with the respect it deserves.

In a PAN Park the landscape is of outstanding beauty, its extraordinary natural values are among our most valuable European treasures and heritage. The well-protected area’s size gives wildlife a real space to thrive. In a PAN Park, the nature you enjoy has been protected according to the best European practices. Animals can roam free and plants are safe to thrive in true wilderness. The park management co-operates closely with the people who live around the park.

Text: Peeter Vissak

Võida unistuste looduspuhkus!

2011-10-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

Loosime oma Facebooki uute ja vanade sõprade vahel kaks imelist auhinda:

Auhind 1 Karuvaatlus. Hind 105 €
Auhind 2 Merikotka pildistamine. Hind 75 €

Vanad sõbrad osalevad automaatselt.
Uutele on see väga lihtne. Järgi neid kahte sammu ja võidki võita:

1. Mine meie Facebooki lehele http://www.facebook.com/EstonianNature
2. Klikka “meeldib”

Kaks võitjat loosime kõikide meie Facebooki uute ja vanade sõprade vahel.
Räägi sellest ka oma sõpradele! Alati värsked loodusuudised ja parimad pakkumised – kõik on oodatud osalema ja meid jälgima!

Estonian Nature Tours tänab Sind meiega veedetud aja eest!

Pakkumine kehtib 4. novembrini 2011. Võtjate nimed teatame oma Facebooki lehel 5. novembril.

Head loosiõnne!

Pilte varjest näed siin...
Vaata videot, mis tehtud merikotka varjest siin...
Vaata videot, mis tehtud karjuvarjest siin...

Disain: Tuuli Mann

Win a dream wildlife holiday in Estonia!

2011-10-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

Win a dream wildlife holiday in Estonia!

Two amazing lots are available for lucky persons who will follow us on Facebook:

Lot 1 Brown Bear tracking and watching. Price 105 €
Lot 2 White-tailed Eagle photography. Price 75 €

It is easy indeed. Follow two simple steps and you may be a winner:
1. Go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EstonianNature
2. Click on “like”

The winners will be chosen completely by random from among all our friends –both the new ones and people, who already are our followers.

Please, tell your friends about it! For the latest news and the best travel offers - everybody is welcome to follow us and participate!

The Estonian Nature Tours team would like to thank all our followers and we look forward to spend more time with you in the future!

This offer ends on November 4, 2011.
Drawing lots will be held on 5th November and then the winners will be announced on our Facebook page.

Good luck!

See photos of the hide here...
See the video taken at White-tailed Eagle hide here...
See the Brown Bear video here...

Design: Tuuli Mann

Sügisesed linnuvaatlustuurid 2011

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sel sügisel toimunud nädalastel linnuvaatlustuuridel vaadeldi enam kui 130 linnuliiki. Reisid sattusid sookurgede läbirände kõrgperioodile ning mitmed linnuturistid said jälgida tuhandete sookurgede kogunemist Matsalu lahe ööbimispaikadesse. Samal ajal olid siinsed rannaniidud ja põllud täitunud kümnete tuhandete valgepõsk-lagledega, kelle rahu rikkusid pidevalt ringitiirutavad merikotkad. Ei möödunud ainsatki õhtupoolikut või hommikut kui Matsalu luhtades pole nähtud võimsaid põdrapulle.

Veelindude kõrval moodustasid suuremaid parvi lõunasse kiirustavad värvulised, eriti metsvindid and rästlased. Nende sadadest ja vahel koguni tuhandetest lindudest koosnevaid parvi võis näha väljaulatuvatel poolsaartel rännet jälgides kui ka teeäärsetel põldudel toitumas.
Põnevamatest linnuliikidest kohati sügisestel linnuvaatlusreisidel: väike-konnakotkas, teder, hallrähn ja väike-kirjurähn, punaselg-õgija, hallõgija ja mänsak.
Tekst: Tarvo Valker

Tagasisided

"Täname Teid, et pakkusite võimalust külastada Matsalu Rahvusparki hilissuve ja sügisealguse saabudes. Kogunesime Lihula mõisa parki meile registreeritud kuupäeval kõigi lootuste ja ootustega. Veetsime alanud sügispäeva kanuudel ja kuulasime kohaliku retkejuhi igati asjalikku teejuhist looduspargis ning mida vaadata ja tähele panna. Meeldivad hetked koos vahepeatustega piknikukorvi tühjendades möödusid kiirelt ja peagi olime päikselisest hommikust jõudnud õhtuhämarusse. Täname kogu töökat kollektiivi selle imelise päeva eest Matsalu linnuriigis."
L.L. / Sept 2011

Sookurg
Foto: Remo Savisaar

"Suur tänu hästi organiseeritud ürituse eest. Linnuvaatlus oli väga põnev ja täitis meie ootusi. Nägime erinevaid linde esimeses vaatluskohas ja hiljem vaatlesime pikemalt sookurgi nende kogunemiskohas. Kurgedega oli nii, et nad hakkasid kogunema vastavalt sellele, kuidas päike madalamale langes ja siis ühel hetkel otsustas suur osa, et parem koht on lähedal oleva metsatuka taga ja lendasid sinna. Nii et liikumist oli kogu aeg kahes suunas. Linde oli märgata taevas ka veel suurte gruppidena lendamas peale päikese loojumist.

Sookured
Foto Remo Savisaar

Giid andis meile huvitavat infot laiemalt ja vastas kenasti küsimustele. Piknikukorvist leidsime väga maitsvad söögid ja kuumad joogid. Suur tänu kokkadele! Buss oli mugav ja bussijuht tõi meid kenasti tagasi ning meie rahvas sai linna sisenedes kõikides vajalikes kohtades oma peatused, mis marsruudi peale jäid. Üritus läks meie hinnangul igati korda, eriti vedas ilmaga, sest oli tõeliselt päikeseline ja ka tuule eest olime hästi kaitstud. Veelkord tänan, et sellise ürituse olete välja mõelnud ja meile kättesaadavaks teinud. Loodetavasti kohtume veel edaspidigi."
SEB finantsdivisjon / Sept 2011

"Laupäev oli väga tore. Giid oli asjatundja, rääkis kõigest ja vastas kõigile meie küsimustele. Eestimaa loodus on väga ilus ja seda vaadata koos giidiga, kes suudab rääkida mis on mis ja miks see nii on, on suurepärane ajaveetmise viis päiksepaistelise ilmaga. Teised grupi liikmed olid ka väga rahul üritusega ning me kõik tuleme Matsallu veel, ehk siis väiksemates gruppides ning muul aastaajal -- loodetavasti näeme siis ka rohkem linde ja loomi ;) Mind nature häiris, et vahemaad olid pikad, kuid see oli enne juba teada. Järgmine kord saab ehk miski väiksema ala võtta ja seal tutvuda loodusega ;)

Nii et kõik oli väga tore ja jõudu ja jaksu edaspidiseks!
PS. Lõunasöök oli väga maitsev!!!"
R.F. / Sept 2011

Merikotkas
Foto: Harry Vähk

„Läks väga hästi.Linde oli palju,ilm oli ilus.Giidi jutu järgi oli peale tormi tõeliselt hea päev.Laps nägi merikotkast, nagu oli soovinud.Ja põdrad udus sookurgede keskel.“
P.P / Sept 2011

Luht põtradega
Foto: Tarvo Valker

Autumn tours 2011

2011-10-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

During the one-week birdwatching tours this autumn more than 130 bird species were encountered. The tours coincided with the high time migration of Cranes and several birding tourists were lucky to watch thousands of Cranes gathering at roosting places around the Matsalu Bay. At the same time surrounding coastal meadows and fields were filled with tens of thousands of Barnacle Geese, which were constantly disturbed by White-tailed Eagles - a fabulous sight.

Neither a morning nor afternoon went by without spotting some powerful Elk bulls in the floodplains of Matsalu. Besides waterfowl the largest flocks of birds were of passerines, in particular Chaffinches and Thrushes hurrying southwards. These flocks, built up of hundreds or occasionally even thousands of birds, could be observed from various peninsulas and feeding in the fields by the roadside.

The most exciting bird species encountered this autumn on the birdwatching tours were Lesser Spotted Eagle, Black Grouse, Grey-headed and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Red-backed and Great Grey Shrike and Nutcracker

Text: Tarvo Valker

Forest Dawn
Photo: Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

Client Comments:

“Thank you for organising a great week for us. It was a privilege to get to know your wonderful country better during our stay. We were initially attracted by your high quality advertising, especially the full page spread in BBC Nature Magazine. Your "Estonia" brochure was also eye catching and very well put together. I first become interested in Estonia and its wildlife a few years back but the rest of my family had been reluctant to join me until they saw your product and were able to fully appreciate what your exceptional country has to offer! We were a bit limited as Sinead is pregnant at the moment but were able to enjoy most of the tours. The guides were very knowledgeable and keen to show us everything. The only limit was our energy!

Unfortunately we did not see the bears from the hide but were treated with excellent views of the raccoon dogs and the next days tracking rewarded us with bear and wolf prints and good views of capercaillie, black grouse and hazel grouse so we were not disappointed. Matsu Talu guest house was comfortable and the food excellent. We will have to come back in spring!”
N.C. / Sept 2011

Bog
Photo: Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

“Estonia, its people, landscapes and wildlife were truly captivating. I'm already looking forward to returning and I hope to be able to share the country's wildlife riches and photography potential with guests on future trips.

Saaremaa was particularly impressive - the landscapes, sunsets, coast and forests were all remarkable. To be able to walk out of the door at the guest house and watch swallowtail butterflies, fall asleep listening to corncrakes and see in the dawn from the top of the 26m high tower in Viidumae was something special. That said, literally losing count of the number of beavers Remek and I saw on the Emajogi River probably ranks as the highlight of the trip in terms of wildlife watching.

Saaremaa
Photo: Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

While it was a shame that the weather made it impossible to see the flying squirrels, the study trip gave me the ideal impression of how good the opportunities would be at other times of the year. The quality of the guides in Remek and Uudo was impressive. They both went to great lengths to make sure that I had a great experience, had the chance to get whatever shots I was after and came away with an in- depth understanding of the species and habitats that they know so well. I'm looking forward to working with them both in the future and developing ideas.

All of the accommodation was comfortable and secure (important for a photographer travelling with expensive equipment) and the reception was always warm and friendly. Thank you to everyone at Estonian Nature Tours for your help organising trip and I'm looking forward to working with you closely again.”
Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

"We had a lovely holiday, everything went smoothly and I thank you again for organising. We did not manage to see bear, but that's ok, it was an experience to stay in the forest. We can leave that for another day!

The country is beautiful and easy to navigate and the people although somewhat shy are helpful and nice. We stayed in some really nice place and I would not hesitate to recommend or return at a differen time of year. We knew it was not peak time for the birds, but plenty of butterflies and flowers, frogs, fox, elk (brief glimpse) and the peace and quiet were more than enough for us. We also enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Tallinn."
A.B. / July 2011

Common Blue
Photo: Peeter Vissak

“First of all we want to tell you how much we enjoyed our 3rd trip to Estonia! Mati tried his best to find woodpeckers, but without success, but we did see thousands of cranes and geese and lots of other birds. We also saw 2 elks, which was very exciting! Poor Mati was suffering with toothache, which was fixed in Parnu, and then he was his normal self again.
Thank you for organising a wonderful tour, especially the lunches at farms and guesthouses, we had a real taste of Estonian food!”
K.B. / Sept 2011

Cranes
Photo: Ivar Ojaste

“Thanks very much for another superb holiday. As ever, we were delighted with all that we saw and heard. Nothing beats the sight and sound of thousands of Cranes coming in to roost on an autumn evening! Thanks especially to Mati for his expertise and good humour and for ensuring that we missed nothing. Our accommodation was just right and it was lovely to meet up, once again, with all the ladies who provided such delicious lunches for us in their villages. Hope it won't be too long before we're back again. We still have to see all those wonderful spring and summer flowers."
P.R. and R.R. / Sept 2011

„I am writing to thank you and Ivar once again for this wonderful trip and this new experience. It was a very interesting and eventful program. I hope that your amasing journey still proceeds, and you will return to me after the rest with details.

P.S. I successfully send a postcard before departure and enjoyed the cake I taked away in the cafe which was great like everything we had during our stay in Haapsalu.“
L.G / Promotional Tour 2011, West-Estonia in Autumn tour Fri16September – Mon19September.

Storks
Photo: Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

„Thank you so much for this amazing tour! I have no doubt that all participated will confirm this. It had a big impression on me. Now I love the beautiful town of Haapsalu and I like looking to cranes of course )) Special big thaks to Ivar!"
A.V. / Promotional Tour 2011, West-Estonia in Autumn tour Fri16September – Mon19September.

„Just a quick email to say that we got back fine yesterday and with many happy memories of a great time in Estonia! Thanks so much for everything you did to ensure we had such an enjoyable few days – I loved it all.“
J.P. / Promotional Tour 2011, West-Estonia in Autumn tour Fri16September – Mon19September.

Autumn is here...

2011-10-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

Photo: Tuuli Mann

I spent my weekend watching birds together with 3-years-old Anette. Saturday afternoon in Rannajõe watchtower was the real “bullseye”. We had our picnic-basket with us and we also asked Laura, the girl next door, to join us.

There were White-tailed Eagles sitting on hay rolls and Black Grouse was lekking in high grass. Hundreds and thousands of Cranes were gathering from the fields. They flew over our heads and landed on the flood-plain meadow. Laura said that even she hadn’t seen so many of them before!

Pretty soon kids got tired of this mess and started playing hide and seek. What a nice idea – not many kids have played hide and seek with such a whooping soundtrak. When we were leaving they still continued to gather, all together there could be more than 6000 birds eventually.

In the Sunday morning dozens of Barnacle Geese flocks were flying straight over my house. While the flight was almost nonstop, Anette and me decided to drive to the bay to find out, where they had landed. It was a good idea – there were more than 5000 birds in Keemu coastal meadows. The weather was warm, so I opened Anette’s window and she could stare at them with a binocular and with a naked eye. We also climbed up the tower and watched the cattle. Driving back I switched on music and Anette played drum in her safety seat with some sticks ...

In the Monday morning I had my morning coffee in the backyard watching a White-Backed Woodpecker who was bustling about on a dry branch of the giant poplar about twenty meters away. It was a crisp morning, barnacle geese were hurrying off above my head and gossamers were glittering on the clumps of late flowers. What a splendid moment before the beginning of the upcoming busy week!

Autumn has arrived at last ... Most of the cranes started off to South on Sunday.

Text: Marika Mann, executive manager, 19Sept

Sügis on nüüd kohale jõudnud...

Käisin nädalavahetusel 3-aastase Anettega linde vaatlemas. Laupäeva õhtupoolik Rannajõe tornis oli „kümnesse“. Võtsime piknikukorvi ühes ja kutsusime naabritüdruku Laura ka kaasa. Merikotkad passisid heinapallide otsas ja tedred mängisid kõrge rohu sees. Sajad ja tuhanded sookured lendasid põldudelt üle pea ja laskusid luhaniidule maha. Laura ütles, et isegi tema pole enne nii palju neid korraga näinud! Lapsed tüdinesid varsti mäsust ära ja hakkasid peitust mängima. Tore mõte oli see neil – sookurgede kruuglemise taustamuusikaga ei ole just väga paljud lapsed peitust mänginud :) Meist jäi neid sinna veel ja veel kogunema, kokku võis luhale maha tulla ligemale 6000+ sookurge.

Pühapäeva hommikul lendas üle kodukatuse kümneid valgepõsk-laglede parvesid. Ülelend kestis ja kestis ja me otsustasime Anettega sõita lahe äärde vaatama, kuhu nad maandusid. Mõte oli õige – Keemu rannas oli neid maas rohkem kui 5000. Ilm oli soe, keerasin Anettele akna lõpuni lahti, ta sai uudistada neid nii palja silmaga kui binokli abiga. Ronisime torni ka ja uurisime lehmasid. Tagasitulles panin muusika mängima ja Anette lõi lõbusasti oma turvatoolis puupulkadega trummi...

Esmaspäeval jõin hommikukohvi õues ja valgeselg-kirjurähn toimetas taas minust mõnekümne meetri kaugusel hiigelpapli kuivanud oksaharul. Oli karge hommik, lagleparved lendasid üle pea, ämblike härmalõngad helkisid hiliste lillepõõsaste küljes. Milline kaunis hetk enne töise nädala algust!

Sügis on nüüd kohale jõudnud... Suurem osa sookurgesid alustas teekonda lõuna suunas pühapäeval.

Tekst: Marika Mann, tegevjuht, 19 sept

Crane Monitoring Results in Matsalu - Autumn 2011

2011-10-04T03:25:00.000-07:00

Photo: Remo Savisaar

On the evening of September 21st, from half past five till full darkness Estonian conservationists and birdwatchers were busy counting Cranes on the both shores of Matsalu Bay.

Kaarel Kaisel, nature photographer and bird ringing specialist of the Läänemaa region of the Environmental Board, mentioned the following best crane sites: Sassi-Põgari Peninsula with almost 9000, Haeska with 2000 and area around Munarahu Islet with 1500 birds. Where the 6000 cranes from Rannajõe plain flew just before dark, remains unknown. According to the estimates by Kaarel Kaisel the number of cranes in the surrounds of Matsalu Bay exceeded 15 000, which is well above average. The counting day happened to be at the most favourable time – lots of birds had just arrived from Finland and most of them left after a couple of days.

Photo: Remo Savisaar

According to data from the Environmental Board the peak number of cranes occurred here in 2006, when 23 000 birds were counted in Matsalu area and 55 000 as the total in Estonia. Presumably it was an extraordinary year for migrating birds and the count must have coincided with the peak number of birds.

Read about one lovely weekend with children and birds...

Photo: Remo Savisaar

Sookurgede loendus Matsalus

21 septembri õhtul, kella poole kuuest kuni täispimedani loendasid Eesti looduskaitsjad ja linnuvaatlejad traditsiooniliselt Matsalu lahe põhja- ja lõunakaldal sookurgi.

Photo: Remo Savisaar

Keskkonnaameti Läänemaa regiooni rõngastuse spetsialist ja loodusfotograaf Kaarel Kaisel nimetas kurgede lemmikpaikadena Sassi-Põgari poolsaare randa ligi 9000 linnuga, Haeskat ligi 2000, Munarahu ümbrust 1500 ning Rooglaidu 1300 linnuga. Kuhu lendasid Rannajõaelt pimeda hakul sealsed 6000 kurge, jäigi teadmata. Kaiseli hinnangul ületas Matsalu ümbruse sookurgede arv 15 000 piiri, mis on tublisti üle keskmise. Pealegi sattus loendus optimaalsele ajale – enne loenduspäeva saabus Soomest tublisti lisa ning enamik kurgedest lahkus järgneval nädalavahetusel.

Keskkonnaameti andmete kohaselt oli sookurgede tipparvukus 2006. aastal, mil Matsalu piirkonnas loendati 23 000 ja kogu Eestis 55 000 sookurge. Tookord oli arvatavasti tegemist rändlindudele erakordselt hea aastaga ning ka loendusaeg sattus rände haripunkti.

Photo: Remo Savisaar

Loe ka ühest armsast nädalavahetusest koos laste ja lindudega...

See hääl kriibib hinge marraskile. Meiega näed rohkem...

2011-09-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

Loodusega sina peale saab mitut moodi. Kõige kindlam on alustada varakult, lapsepõlves. Käia ringi ja palju lugeda. Kes on selle hetke juba maha maganud ja ei usu headesse juhustesse, võiksid tulla koos Estonian Nature Tours’iga. Meie oleme võidukaart teie varrukas ja lühiühendus teie ning looduse vahel. Pealegi meie usume juhustesse ja aeg-ajalt korraldame neid ka ise.

Sookured / Arne Ader

Sookurgede sügisene ränne ja kogunemine pole meie korraldatud. See leiab aset juba aastatuhandeid. Augustis-septembris saab pesitsuspaikades toit otsa ja kümned tuhanded kured saabuvad Lääne-Eesti lagedatele põldudele toituma ning madalaveelistele rannikutele ööbima. Siin veedetud nädalad kuluvad enda nuumamisele ja ettevalmistustele pikemaks lennuks. Inimene, kes on enamuse ajast nelja seina vahel vangis, vaatab sügisel lõunasse liuglevaid kurgesid, kui lihaks (ja sulgedeks) muutunud unistusi. See on üks põhjuseid, miks ta tahaks nende lahkumisest osa saada. Estonian Nature Tours’i kompetentsed giidid oskavad teid viia õigel ajal õigesse kohta - ööbimispaikade lähedusse, kus õhtune või hommikune ülelend on väga hästi vaadeldav. Samas piisavalt kaugele, et linde nende privaatsuses mitte häirida. Varem usuti, et kured viivad kaasa lahkunute hinged, aga nende karedavõitu hääl kraabib ka mahajääjate hinge marraskile.

Kured laulavad Saksamaal Eesti loodusest kiidulaule. Autor Martin Miethke. Klikka ja kuula... (Allikas: www.xeno-canto.org)

Sookurg / Remo Savisaar

Lisaks kurgedele on nendel sügisretkedel võimalik jälgida ka teiste linnuliikide rände-eelseid või rändeaegseid toimetamisi – salkkondade või parvedena rannikule ja lahesoppidesse kogunevaid parte, varte ja hanelisi või viimaseid lahkuvaid kahlajaid ehk kurvitsalisi. Roostikuservades, teede ja kraavide äärsetes puu- ja põõsaridades, parkides ja metsatukkades käib vilgas liikumine – värvuliste salgad otsivad putukaid, keda soe sügispäike pole veel talvituma lasknud ja küpseid punetavaid marju, et organismi varuainetega täiendada. Sõltub ju sellest nende rände edukus ja isegi ellujäämine. On häid vaatluskohti, kus binoklite ja vaatetorude abil võiks lausa õppetunde korraldada. Nii võib suurtes hulkades jälgida enamikku meie vetes peatuvaid veelinde: tuttvarte, merivarte, sõtkaid, viuparte ja paljusid teisi. Samuti hanesid, laglesid ja lõpuks ka laulu- ning väikeluiki. Põnev vaatemäng võib olla värvuliste kannul liikuvate ja nendele jahti pidavate röövlindude kohtamine. Raudkull, kanakull, karvasjalg-viu, pistrikud ja hallõgijad on ehk tavalisemad. Suurte lagleparvede läheduses passivad saaki merikotkad.

Vaata videot: Haned lähevad, hallad maas...

Valgepõsk-lagled / Valeri Štšerbatõh

Merikotkas / Harry Vähk

Kui sel sügisel kibe töögraafik hõlpu ei anna, tasuks teha plaane tulevaks aastaks. Algavad ju meie loodusretked juba varakevadel kakuliste kuulamisega, talvituvate kirjuhahkade, tedremängu ja esimeste saabuvate luigeparvede vaatlemisega. Kevadel lähevad uuesti käima ka imetejatele keskendunud retked. Ekspertidest giidid garanteerivad teile võimaluse näha oma silmaga hunti, pruunkaru, lendoravat, kobrast, ilvest ja põtra. Sooje riideid tagavaraks ja soov ohverdada oma kallist uneaega – nii lihtne see ongi.

Karuema poegadega / Valeri Štšerbatõh

Ja juba läheb lahti rändlindude kõrghooaeg – luiged, haned, lagled, aulid, vaerad ja kaurid. Ikka tuhandeid ja veel enamgi. Arktikas pesitsejate iga-aastane ränne on ju ühtekokku mitu miljonit tiivapaari. Metsades elavnevad rähnid, keda on meil lausa 8 liiki, hõiguvad valjult ja teevad oma trummisoolosid. Ja ongi algamas orhideede aeg. Eestis leiduvad orhideed (kokku 36 liiki) on oma õitsemisaja ilusti maist juulini ära jaganud ja botaanikutest eksperdid viivad teid sinna, kus nad parasjagu õites uhkeldavad, ühtlasi kannavad hoolt ka selle eest, et poleks liigset tallamisohtu. Lilled pakuvad teadupärast huvi ka liblikatele (Eestis elab ligi 900 liiki suurliblikaid!). Nii ongi ekspertide abiga võimalus vaadelda ja püüda liblikaid ja kiile, neid pildistada ja hiljem uuesti vabadusse lasta.

Kollatähn-loigukiil / Peeter Vissak

Lisame siia mugavad ööbimispaigad ja hõrgutava toidu ning suurepärane looduselamus ongi käes!

Veel on kohti! Kutsume Sind sookurgi vaatlema: 15.09, 16.09 või 17.09. Pane ennast kirja epp@naturetours.ee. Rohkem infot...

Tekst: Peeter Vissak

Sookured kogunevad

2011-09-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

Remo Savisaar

Kui peaksin valima kõige südamelähedasema kevadise loodushääle, jääksin tõenäoliselt hätta. On see lõokeste läbi päeva kestev lõõritamine, laululuikede kontserdid lumest sulavatel põldudel või tedrekukkede kudrutused varahommikuses rabas? Need helid on minu jaoks kõik ühtviisi tähtsad. Kui peaksin aga valima sügishääle, vastaksin kindlalt ja veendunult – need on kogunevate sookurgede kurblikud kruuksed.

Kevadel märkamatult, paaride või väikeste salkadena saabunud suursugused linnud hakkasid juba augustis suuremaid parvi moodustama. Alguses kogunesid veel mittepesitsevad paariaastased noorlinnud. Aegamööda liitusid nendega ka ümbruskonnas pesitsenud paarid ühes oma samasuviste järglastega.

Tarvo Valker

Septembriks sai sookurgede kogunemine aga uued mõõtmed. Kui karged põhjatuuled ilma jahedamaks muutsid ning ennetavalt talve tulekust teada andsid, jõudsid siia ka Soomes pesitsenud linnud. Nii koondus neid parimatel päevadel Läänemaale – Matsalu ja Haapsalu lahe äärde – üle 30 000.

Sookurgede sügispäevad möödusid põldudel. Siin jälgisin ma linde vaatetoru abil eemalt. Eeskätt lootuses leida mõnd rõngastatud lindu. Mõlemas jalas kandsid nad kolmest värvist koosnevat rõngast – vasakus riiki ja paremas jalas lindu eristada võimaldav värvikombinatsioon. Nii sattus vaatlustoru ette sageli ka vanu tuttavaid, keda olin mõnel suvisel varahommikul verdimevaid sääski taludes põõsas passinud.

Arne Ader

Kiirete sammudega oli veel lennuvõimeta poegi võimalik rõngastamiseks kinni püüda. Peamiselt leidis kurgi rohkem viljapõldudel, kus viljakoristuse järel pudenenust jätkus külluslikuks toidulauaks ka sookurgedele. Siin kogusid nad energiavarusid, mis oli rände jätkamiseks ülioluline. Edasi tuli puhkepausita lennata tuhatkond kilomeetrit. Seal oli neid ootamas Hortobagy märgala Ungaris, kust mõnenädalase puhkuse järel taas edasi rännati.

Kui päike madalamale vajus, hakkasid sookured vähehaaval lendu tõusma. Seekord polnud põhjuseks lähedalt möödunud põllutöömasin ega mõni ringihulkuv külakoer. Lühikese sügispäeva lõppemisest märku andev päikeseloojang oli sookurgedele tähenduslik. Ööpimedat ei tihanud linnud siin vastu võtta. Küllap oli seal metsas peidus neid, kes ööpimeduses vaikselt lindude kõrvale oleks hiilinud ja mõne magava sookure ära napsanud.

Ivar Ojaste

Nii hakkasid sookured väikeste salkadena lahe suunas siirduma. Siin ümbritses neid vesi. Jalgupidi madalas merevees puhates oldi rebaste ja teiste suuremate kiskjate eest kaitstud. Vaikselt linnutornis oodates võisin vaadelda nende suursugust ööbimislendu.

Juba siis, kui päikeseloojanguni oli jäänud ligi kolm tundi, hakkasid esimesed sookured lahe äärde ilmuma. Mida madalamale vajus päike, seda suuremaks muutusid ülelendajate parved. Vahel möödusid nad minust imelähedalt. Kui nad üle minu pea lendasid, võisin vabalt kuulda nende tiivalööke.

Siin käin septembriõhtutel nende lakkamatuid kruukseid kuulamas. Need kruuksed on ühtaegu nii veidi nukraks tegevad kui ka ilusad. Just nagu sügise tulek isegi, mis muudab meid kurvaks järjekordse suve lõppemise tõttu, aga pakub samas silmailu lehtede värvidemängu kaudu.

Kuigi on pimedaks läinud, ei tahaks ma siit mere äärest veel lahkuda. Ehkki mu silmad ei seleta ööpimeduses enam ainsatki lindu ning külm sügistuul teeb tornis olemise jahedaks, ei taha ma siit ära minna. Kõrvu kostev kontsert on niivõrd võimas. Ma tahaksin siin hommikuni olla, et need suursugused linnud päikesetõusu aegu jälle teele saata.

Varahommikul, kui päike on vaevu üle horisondi jõudnud, tõuseb kogu ööbimisseltsing ühekorraga lendu. Tuhandetest tiivapaaridest koosnevad seltsingud suunduvad eri suunas järjekordset einelauda otsima.

Ühel oktoobrikuu varahommikul nad enam põldudele ei lenda. Ma vaatan, kuidas nad üle Matsalu lahe lõuna suunas liiguvad. Looduskalender on halastamatult oma päevi tiksunud. Ma tunnen, et täna nad lähevadki. Ma vaatan märkamatult minuteid mööda lastes neile järele. Suurtest lindudest on hallis sügistaevas saanud vaevumärgatavad täpid. Kuni kaovad needki. Midagi suurt on looduses lõppenud ja midagi uut algamas.

Tarvo Valker / Postimees 13.09.2008

Kutsume Sind sookurgi vaatlema: 15.09, 16.09 või 17.09. Pane ennast kirja epp@naturetours.ee. Rohkem infot...

Läbi hommikuse udu...

2011-08-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

Imekombel teel püsides pressin ennast läbi tihke udu Kasari sillale. Midagi muud ei näe, kui Janari auto vilkuvaid tulesid. Lähedalt paistab ka kanuutreileri siluett. Kell on viis hommikul. Silla kõrval lammivõserikus alustavad punarinnad oma kutsehäälitsustega, muidu on vaikne ja tumehall. Nii algab tellitud varahommikune Kasari jõe kanuuretk Kasari maanteesilla alt Suitsu sillani.

Sekeldamiste peale kulub pisut aega ja ilm heleneb pisut. Läbi udu ja pilvede kumab kolmveerandik kuu, mis annab loota ka päikest. Millalgi ehk. Vesi paistab, kaislapuhmad ka. Seega on näha, kuhu sõita tuleb ja nii me laveerime veetaimede ja madalamaid kohti ning kive näitavate vooluvirvenduste vahel, aeg-ajalt ligedates ämblikuvõrkudes kaislatesse takerdudes. Kaldaid palistavad pillirood ja kohati tappudesse mattunud puud. Kolmanda käänaku taga kuuleme kaldal sookurepere trompetiduetti. Neljanda taga ka. Varsti lendab kaks peret otse meie peade kohale, ehmudes kohe kahele poole ja haihtudes udusuppi. Jälle on vaikne, ainult paremal luha ja metsa taga kostab Laiküla-Haapsalu maantee hääli. Korraks.

Sooja söögi termos kanuu ninas on tasakaalust väljas ja kolksub pisut mõlatõmmete rütmis. Kui luhas metsapeatuse teeme, kohendan varustust ja viskan ülearuseid vatte seljast, sest juba immitseb päikest läbi udu, pannes kastetilgad, ämblikuvõrgud ja kogu jõeluha atmosfääri sillerdama. Kõik on justkui unes ja matkajate elevil näod on justkui sünnipäeva hommikul kingitust avades. Ronime tagasi kanuudesse ja mõlatame edasi. Õnneks aitab meid ka vool, nii et aeg-ajalt saab triivida ja pildistada ja pildistada ja alles siis sõidame raginal kaislatesse.
Juba paistavad kaldalt erkpunaste marjakobaratega lodjapuud ja varakult vanaks jäänud näoga hõberemmelgad. Kurgesid enam pole, aga korraks lehvitab udu tagant loorkulli pikk tiib. Kaldaroostikus tukuvad pääsukesepojad. Ei, mis – noored pääsukesed ikka. Mürsikud juba, kuigi sabad alles lühikesed. Vanalinnud vurtsatavad lendu, kui mööda sõidame. Madal päike kuldab veest nõretavaid mõlalabasid. Hakkab palav.

Paremas pardas avaneb uttu Rõude jõe haru, meie keerame vasakule – Kloostri harusse ja olemegi varsti Kloostri silla all. Keerame kaldasse ja ronime torni. Ehk näeme mõnda hilja peale jäänud põtra ka, aga ei! Ainult kolm priskete külgedega metskitse üsna siinsamas, teisel pool jõge niidetud luhast suutäisi otsimas. Üleval kohtame ka kahte varahommikust kalameest, kes soovitavad meil hoopis Penijõele keerata, et näha ja kuulda solistavaid kopraid. Arvame liiga hilja olevat ja lepime ainult kobraste tegutsemisjälgedega kallastel – näritud puude ja okste ning liuradadega. Siinsed jõed on piisavalt sügavad ja vaiksed, siin ei pea nad tammitama ja paisutama.

Penijõe nurgas välibaasi trepil naudime hilist hommikukohvi koos kolksuvast termosest välja kougitud soojade pannkookidega. Lausa luksus!

Kasari kanal on sirge nagu püssitoru. Ei saagi täpselt aru, kas ikka edasi liigume. Allpool on vool vaibunud, sest meres vesi ilmselt tõuseb. Ja juba ongi Suitsu jõe suue. Keerame vasakule, näoga vastu tuult ja vastu voolu ja alustame lõpuspurti. Enne sillale jõudmist naudime ridamisi jõekäänakuid ja hoiame väsinud pilgu kindlalt Suitsu vaatetorni tipu küljes, mis ka üle kõrgemate põõsaste ilusasti kätte paistab. Ja siis oleme kohal. Ümberringi on värskemate ja mitte nii värskete rookatustega vanad võrgukuurid ja parkla ja täna veel ei saa seljalihased arugi, et selja taha jäi paarkümmend kilomeetrit veeteed.

Fotod ja tekst: Peeter Vissak
Vaata pilte ka maikuisest kanuumatkast

Butterflies & Dragonflies Promotional tour in Estonia

2011-08-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Representatives of Butterfly Conservation and British Dragonfly Society visited Estonia!

At the beginning of August, Estonian Nature Tours (ENT) was joined by representatives from Butterfly Conservation, BC “European Interests Group” and British Dragonfly Society for an invitational visit to Estonia. The main aim of the tour was to introduce to the world, with the help of motivated specialists and future partners, butterfly and dragonfly watching opportunities that our unique wildlife has to offer in the middle of Summer, but also to promote the Estonian Nature Conservation and the principles of sustainable tourism offered by Estonian Nature Tours. Participants of the tour were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the well-maintained hiking trails, semi-natural meadows, excellent roads, Estonian cooking and the comfortable accomodation. Descriptions of this positive tour experience will be appearing in articles, reports and nature films in various websites, newsletters and magazines during the coming months. Estonia as an attractive butterfly and dragonfly destination will be showcased to over a 30 000 nature enthusiast around Europe. ENT will start selling the new tours in European markets by late autumn 2011. This Promotional tour was donated by Estonian Nature Tours with co-operation to NGO Lääne-Eesti Tourism. Many thanks to Erki Õunap, Wilf Powell, Peeter Vissak, Urmas Tartes, Tarvo Valker, Agu Leivits, Rita Miller, Mike Williams, Roger Wasley and Dave Smallshire!

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus / Peeter Vissak

Butterfly Conservation was formed in 1968 and have more than 16,000 members in the UK and 31 volunteer Branches throughout the British Isles.

The European Interests Group of Butterfly Conservation was established on 2006 and aims to promote the enjoyment, conservation and study of butterflies, moths and their habitats in Europe.

The British Dragonfly Society (BDS) was founded in 1983 and the current membership of about 1,500 is spread the length and breadth of the country, as well as into Europe and beyond.

Yellow–winged Darter, Sympetrum flaveolum / Peeter Vissak

Despite its small size and northern position Estonia is a wonderful place to see butterflies and dragonflies. Because of its history, large parts of the country have remained completely wild, while farming methods in many areas are unintensive resulting in a mosaic of excellent habitats such as numerous flowery meadows, natural forests and massive bog areas. As a result we have many insect species which are rare elsewhere in Europe, such as Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne), Moorland Clouded Yellow (Colias palaeno), Large Copper (Lucaena dispar), Siberian Winter Damsel (Sympecma paedisca) and Lilypad Whiteface (Leucorrhinia caudalis).

Common Hawker male, Aeshna juncaea / Peeter Vissak

There is a large overlap of southern and northern species here. Many species with a more northern distribution reach the southern part of their range including butterflies such as Baltic Grayling (Oeneis jutta), Lapland Ringlet (Erebia embla) and Northern Chequered Skipper (Carterocephal silvicolus) plus dragonflies like Bog Hawker (Aeshna subarctica) and Arctic Bluet (Coenagrion johanssoni). Weaver’s Fritillary (Clossiana dia), Woodland Brown (Lopinga achine) and many other species reach their furthest north, particulalry where limstone reaches the surtface. For other species this is the centre of their distribution in Europe including several of the delightful ’Whiteface’ dragonflies such as Ruby, Yellow-spotted and Dark Whitefaces (Leucorrhinia rubicunda, L. pectoralis and L. albifrons) as well as the coastal Baltic Hawker (Aeshna serrata) and butterflies such as Cranberry Blue (Plebejus optilete) Bog Fritillary (Proclossiana eunomia) and Cranberry Fritillary (Boloria aquilonaris).

See a video about the promotional tour...
Estonia Dragonflies and Butterflies checklist 2011

High Brown Fritillary, Argynnis adippe / Peeter Vissak

Yellow-winged Darter, Sympetrum / Urmas Tartes

Green Snaketail, Ophiogomphus cecilia / Urmas Tartes

Wasp Spider, Agriope bruennichi / Peeter Vissak

Briti kiili- ja liblikaspetsialistid külastasid Eestit

2011-08-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Augusti algul korraldas Estonian Nature Tours tutvumisreisi uuele välisturule suunatud tootele Butterfly Holiday in Estonia. Eestit külastasid liblika- ja kiilispetsialistid Butterfly Conservation (asutatud 1968.a. enam kui 16 000 liiget), BC „European Interests Group“ (asutatud 2006.a.) ja British Dragonfly Society (asutatud 1983.a. 1500 liiget) organisatsioonidest. Tutvumisreisi raames vaadeldi liblikaid ja kiile Põlva-, Võru-, Pärnu-, Lääne- ja Hiiumaal. Tutvumisreisil said osaleda õppimise eesmärgil Eesti amatöörasjatundjad, kohtuti ka Tartu Ülikooli Zooloogia Instituudi teaduri Erki Õunapiga.

Tutvumisreisi teema – liblikad ja kiilid – tõi taas kord hästi esile Eesti eripära teiste Läänemeremaade seas. Looduslikult on Eesti mitmekordne piiririik: mandrilise ja merelise vahel valitseb meil üleminekuline paraskliima, diagonaalis üle Eesti läheb piir lubjakivi-aluspõhja ja vaesema liivakivi vahel, lisaks asume okasmetsade vööndi lõunapiiril. Tänu oma asendile elavad paljud liigid meil oma levilapiiril – näiteks kolmandik soontaimedest. Erinevad sookooslused katavad Eestis ligi kümnendiku ning kaitsealuste soode poolest oleme samuti maailmas esirinnas - pindalaliselt umbes pooled meie sookooslustest on võetud kaitse alla. Intensiivse põllumajandusega ning tihedalt asustatud Euroopas on peaaegu kõik sood hävitatud ning looduskaitsjad tegelevad nende taastamisega. Ligi pool Eestist on kaetud metsaga ning rannaniite, loopealseid ja puisniite on Eestis samuti rohkem kui üheski teises Euroopa riigis. Siin asub ka Euroopa üks suuremaid luhtasid – 4000 hektari suurune Kasari luht. Paljud eelpoolnimetatud elupaigad on üliolulised haruldastele liblika- ja kiililiikidele.

Niidutäpik – Argynnis laodice – Pallas' Fritillary / Peeter Vissak

Osalejad:

Mike Williams Butterfly Conservation “European Interests Group”; Vice-chair and Tour organizer (UK)

Roger Wasley Butterfly Conservation's West Midlands Branch newsletter, The Comma; editor and professional journalist (UK)

Dave Smallshire Naturetrek; Tour leader, also author of field guide “Britain´s dragonflies” (UK)

Wilf Powell Butterfly Conservation (member), Wildlife Trust (member), Bedfordshire Natural History Society (member of Counsil,UK)

Roger Wasley, professionaalne ajakirjanik, kirjutab tutvumisreisist artikli liblikahuviliste ajakirja Comma ning monteerib kokku tuuri ajal tehtud filmimaterjali hiljemalt oktoobrikuu lõpuks. Filmi näidatakse libika-, kiili- ja looduskaitse organisatsioonidele Inglismaal, lingitakse kodulehtedele ja uudiskirjadele ning antakse ka meile kasutada. Filmis said sõna Eesti tuntud looduse- ja linnusõbrad nagu Erki Õunap (liblikad, TÜ), Urmas Tartes (loodusfotograaf), Mati Kose (linnugiid ja looduskaitsja), Tarvo Valker (linnugiid, EOÜ nõukogu liige) Peeter Vissak (loodusgiid), Marika Mann (ENT). Filmis räägivad Eestist häid sõnu ka Mike Williams, Dave Smallshire ja Wilf Powell.

Eestit tutvustavad artiklitega liblika- ja kiilihuviliste ajakirjades ning kohalike huvigruppide uudiskirjades ka teised osalejad.

Kollatähn-loigukiil – Sympetrum flaveolum – Yellow-Winged Darter / Peeter Vissak

Estonian Nature Tours alustab Butterfly & Dragonfly Holiday müügiga Euroopa turgudel juba käesoleva aasta hilissügisel, selleks ajaks on uued reisipaketid viimase lihvi saanud. Mike Williams soovib tulla esimese grupiga Eestisse 2012.a. juunis. Dave Smallshire planeerib Naturetrek´i uudiskirjas tutvustada uut reisipaketti Dragonfly Holiday in Estonia 2012.

Kollatähn-loigukiil – Sympetrum flaveolum – Yellow-Winged Darter

Tutvumisreise rahastasid Estonian Nature Tours (Kumari Reisid OÜ) ja Lääne-Eesti Turism. Reisi juhendasid Peeter Vissak ja Marika Mann, kaasa aitasid Erki Õunap, Urmas Tartes, Mati Kose, Tarvo Valker ja Hannes Pehlak. Eriline tänu Mooste Viinavabrikule ja Osmussaare saarevahile Aili
Bergströmile!

Ristikheina-taevastiib – Polyommatus icarus – Common Blue / Peeter Vissak

Uue reisipaketi ettevalmistustöödega alustati juba 2009.aastal. Estonian Nature Tours tänab kõiki, kes meid abistanud on – Agu Leivits, Rita Miller, Jaan Luig, Hille Viigipuu, Marja-Liisa Meriste, Erki Õunap, Peeter Vissak, Urmas Tartes, Tarvo Valker ja Wilf Powell.

Niidutäpik - Argynnis laodice - Pallas' Fritillary / Urmas Tartes

Vaata videot tutvumisreisist...
Tutvumisreisi ajal nähtud liblikate ja kiilide nimekiri...
Allpool Peeter Vissaku kirjeldus ühest imelisest päevast reisi kestel.

Kui juhtub olema komme aeg-ajalt tundmatus kohas vette hüpata, siis võib juhtuda, et silme eest hakkavad läbi jooksma ammu unustatud pildikesed. Nii leidsingi ennast praktikumide aegseid ladinakeelseid nimesid sõelumas ja sealjuures tõdemas, et aeg on halastamatu igal pool: ei lähe minu mälu aastatega nooremaks, ega jää vanad nimed alatiseks kestma. Jutt käib muidugi liblikatest ja kiilidest. Kuna Eestist võib leida umbes 900 liiki suurliblikaid, üle 1000 liigi pisiliblikaid ja “kõigest” pisut üle poolesaja kiililiigi, siis on tegemist ikkagi päris tundmatu veega, mille pinnavirvendust olen juhtunud aeg-ajalt imetlema.

Rohe-vesihobu - Ophiogomphus cecilia - Green Snaketail / Urmas Tartes

Kollatähn-loigukiil - Sympetrum flaveolum - Yellow-winged Darter / Urmas Tartes

Augusti alguses külastas Estonian Nature Tours’i kutsel Eestit mitu briti tunnustatud liblika- ja kiilispetsialisti, kelle tutvumisreisilt ongi pärit alamal toodud pildid ja muljed.
Kõigepealt olgu tõdetud, et arusaadavalt on augustiks kõige magusam liblika- ja kiiliaeg juba möödas ja selle teadmisega me kõik välja läksime. Sooviks oli vaatamata kõigele saada teatav rekognoospilt sellest, mida võiks siinkandis parimatel päevadel leida.

Liblika- ja kiilispetsialistid / Urmas Tartes

Et tutvumine libedamalt läheks, olid appi palutud mitmed pterügootide ehk tiibputukate asjatundjad, samuti külastatavate alade eksperdid. Kiilide ja liblikate leidmise eelduseks on ju ikkagi see, et tuleb olla õigel ajal õiges kohas. Hiljem selgus, et erandjuhtudel piisab ka lihtsalt õigest kohast, kui on tellitud suurepärane ilm.

Pääsusaba – Papilio machaon - Swallowtail / Peeter Vissak

Sisejuhatuseks viisime Ryanairi vintsutusi talunud külalised pimeduse katte all teise Eestimaa otsa – Mooste viinakööki, mille luksust polnud kahjuks kuigi palju aega nautida, kuna järgmine päev mahutas retke Piusa ümbrusse ja Vana-Vastseliinasse ning pärast õhtusööki veel Puhja kanti kopraid vaatlema.

Leinaliblikas - Nymphalis antiopa - Camberwell Beauty / Peeter Vissak

Juba enne hommikusööki nabis meie kiiliekspert viinaköögi tagant järvekaldalt kinni läik-hiilgekiili, kelle metalselt roheline värvus pani kõigil silmad hasartselt hiilgama.
Vahepeal saabusid eksperdid Erki Õunap ja Urmas Tartes, kelle juhatuse all tundsime endid kindlalt.

Pronkskõrsik - Sympecma paedisca - Siberian Winter Damselfly / Peeter Vissak

Kuna Veski ja Piusa raudteejaamade ümbrus on hästi tuntud oma eripärase taimkatte poolest (paljud sealsed liigid on meile sisse rännanud Venemaa avarustest ega pole mahti saanud kaugemale Euroopasse liikuda), esitlesin külalistele sininukku, käokulda, võsu-liivsibulat, suurt kukeharja, palu-põisrohtu, roomavat öövilget ja muudki põnevat. Paraku pakkusid need taimed kõige suuremat huvi ikka vaid siis, kui neile oli laskunud mõni liblikas, näiteks hiiglamõõtu pääsusaba, niidutäpik, nõgeseliblikas (mida inglased miskipärast maakaardiks nimetavad), nurmikusilmik või siilak-sinitiib. Kesasilmikust ja lapsuliblikast said meie järgnevateks retkedeks alalised tuttavad.

Herilasämblik (Eestis kohatud viimaste aastate jooksul väga harva ja seni ainult saartel) - Agriope bruennichi – Wasp Spider / Peeter Vissak

Ilm oli muidugi (nagu) tellitud ja nii võis lendamas näha ka kiile.
Retk jätkus Vahtseliina lossi varemete all Piusa jõe luhal. Enne nautisime muidugi uhket vaadet, mida pakkusid varemete tipus pesitsevad toonekured, kes (õigemini kelle esivanemad) tegid oma esimese pesa sinna juba 1841. aastal (olles esimesed pesitsevad valge-toonekured Eestis). Luhas leidsime mitmesuguseid kiile ja liblikaid. Kuigi öölased ja vaksikud polnud selle retke teema, ei saanud karvasest helevalgest pajulainelasest siiski mööda minna. Jõe kohal oli mitmeid rohe-tondihobusid, kelle nimi tuleneb peamiselt rindmiku värvusest. Tagakeha on isastel lausa sinisekirju. Siis jäi meile ette üks saagijahil olev jäälind, kes üritas ennast kaldavõsastikku peita, samuti väike-kiirgliblikas. Uurisime, kuidas teha vahet kollatähn-loigukiilil ja harilikul loigukiilil ja saime kätte ka hõbetäpiku.

Suur pärlmuttertäpik - Argynnis adippe – High Brown Fritillary / Peeter Vissak

Õhtune pikk teekond Moostest Puhja kanti võttis väsinud retkelistel silmad juba pisut looja, kuid reibastav sõit kahe paadiga õhtuselt karge tumedaläikelise jõe peale äratas kõik uuesti üles. Pisut sõitu nobedate väikemootorite jõul ja siis õiges kohas miinimumgaasil peaaegu triivi ning seal nad olidki – küll paremas küll vasakus pardas, ikka kalda ääres askeldamas. Vahetevahel paistis ainult nina või peanupp, vahetevahel kükitas loom kaldal nagu mütakas. Korraks silmasime ka ema koos pojaga ja nii mõnigi kord otsustas huviobjekt efektse veeplartsatuse saatel sukelduda, et tüütutest turistidest lahti saada. Loomi ei olnud vähe, aga valgus oli kiire kaduma ja lõpuks ei aidanud enam teravamadki silmad. Kaamerad olid juba pisut varem teenitult nurru hakanud lööma. Lõpuks tuli muidugi ka tagasi sõita, aga sellise elamustekoormaga läks tee väga libedalt.

Ja see oli alles esimene päev...

Kobras - Castor fiber - Beaver / Peeter Vissak

Photographer Neil Aldridge visited Estonia

2011-08-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Estonia, its people, landscapes and wildlife were truly captivating. I'm already looking forward to returning and I hope to be able to share the country's wildlife riches and photography potential with guests on future trips.

Saaremaa was particularly impressive - the landscapes, sunsets, coast and forests were all remarkable. To be able to walk out of the door at the guest house and watch swallowtail butterflies, fall asleep listening to corncrakes and see in the dawn from the top of the 26m high tower in Viidumae was something special. That said, literally losing count of the number of beavers Remek and I saw on the Emajogi River probably ranks as the highlight of the trip in terms of wildlife watching.

While it was a shame that the weather made it impossible to see the flying squirrels, the study trip gave me the ideal impression of how good the opportunities would be at other times of the year. The quality of the guides in Remek and Uudo was impressive. They both went to great lengths to make sure that I had a great experience, had the chance to get whatever shots I was after and came away with an in-depth understanding of the species and habitats that they know so well. I'm looking forward to working with them both in the future and developing ideas.

All of the accommodation was comfortable and secure (important for a photographer travelling with expensive equipment) and the reception was always warm and friendly. Thank you to everyone at Estonian Nature Tours for your help organising trip and I'm looking forward to working with you closely again.

Read more about the trip from Neil's blog...

Neil Aldridge, Conservation Photojournalism & Safaris

All photos by Neil Aldridge

Estonian Nature Tours on ainus reisikorraldaja Euroopas, kes pakub võimalust näha üliharuldast lendoravat

2011-07-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

Lendorav / Rainar Kurbel

2011. aasta kevadel alustas Estonian Nature Tours vanu loodusmetsi ja
nende elustikku tutvustavate õppereisidega. Alutagusel asetleidnud
retkedel õpiti tundma erinevate imetajate (kährik, põder, valgejänes) tegevusjälgi. Retke eriliseks huviobjektiks oli, aga salapärane
ööloom lendorav. Seda üliharuldast imetajat võib Euroopas kohata üksnes
Eestis ja Soomes.

Lendorav / Rainar Kurbel

Pärast lendorava elupaikade ja tegevusjälgede tundmaõppimist mindi
päikeseloojangu ajal ootama kohtumist ka looma endaga. Üliarmsate
silmadega lendorava väljumist pesaõõnsusest õnnestus jälgida kõigil
gruppidel. Paljudel oli õnne valgetel suveöödel näha ka looma liuglemist
puult-puule. Viimasel ajal on lendorav Teisi koguni nii edevaks läinud, et näitab end vahetevahel isegi päevasel ajal.

Lendorav / Rainar Kurbel

Vaata videot lendoravast

NB! Et mitte liigselt loomakesi häirida, on kauaaegse lendorava uurija Uudo Timmiga kokkulepitud kindlad retkede kuupäevad, kuhu saab ükshaaval liituda. Selle aasta viimased retked toimuvad 28.07 ja 30.07. Veel on kohti! Loe lähemalt...
Registreeru siin: info@naturetours.ee

PS! ELF on ühtlasi käivitanud ka heategevuskampaania, et koguda vahendeid lendorava uurimiseks vaja mineva varustuse hankimiseks. Iga osaleja eest meie imetajate vaatlusretkedel annetame nimetatud projekti heaks 15 €, kuivõrd meie veendumuse kohaselt on see ülioluline, et kaitsta seda äärmiselt sümpaatset looma. Läbiviidavate uurimistööde tagajärjeks võib väga tõenäoliselt olla lendorava arvukuse suurenemine, mille vahetu kogemine looduses teeb meile kõigile kindlasti suurt rõõmu.

Värviline Osmussaar

2011-07-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

Tööleminek väikesaartele on alati loonud pisut erilise meeleolu, Osmussaar on aga tõeline pidupäev. Hommik algab alati vara - Dirhami sadam pole väga lähedal – ja päevane varustus tuleb hoolega läbi mõtelda. Tuleb arvestada pika matkaga, kindlasti üle 10 kilomeetri, muidu jääb osa saare väärtustest „järgmiseks korraks“. Muidugi on grupil ja grupil suur vahe. Taimehuvilistega oleme roomanud, küürutanud ja põlvitanud esimesi lõunapoolseid järvi ümbritsevatel loopealsetel ja madalsoodes ja pole kaugemale jõudnudki. Spordilembesemad matkaseltskonnad tahavad aga kindlasti turnida pankrannikul ja pikkadel hallidel ning helevalgetel klibuvallidel, mis vahetevahel lausa kriiskavad punases, sinises ja kollases lillemeres, tunda õõvastavat judinat piiludes vanade rannakaitsepatareide maa-alustesse kambritesse, kus võib nüüdki veel leida II maailmasõja aegseid laudu, elektrikilpe ja koikusid ning orienteeruda kasarmute varemete, sajanditevanuse rannarootsi külaaseme, tuletorni, suurte rändrahnude ja muude maamärkide vahet.

Skaldide lugulaulud pajatavad ka sellest, et saarele on maetud viikingite peajumal Odin. Igatahes on Osmussaar alati otsekui värskelt laetud patarei ja justkui säriseks tasakesi jalgade all. Põhjuseks võib olla seismiline aktiivsus (NB! Viimane maavärin leidis siin aset alles 1976 aastal!) või eelajaloolised katastroofid, näiteks Neugrundi meteoriidiplahvatus.

Kui kotti mahuvad nii binokkel, kui vaatetoru, jätkub huvitavat vaatamist terveks päevaks. Juba enne maabumist tervitavad „Arabellat“ Lõunasadama abajat piiraval kivisel neemel istuvad kormoranid või tiirud-kajakad, merel aga salguti hahad ja sõtkad. Ükskord, kui linde ei paistnud, hõikas kapten Jaak roolikambrist: „Kord on majas, vanamees on ise kohal!“ Ja passiski merikotkas suurel kivil saaki. Osmussaare kadastikud, metsatukad ja järved on enamasti lindude päralt. Tavapäraste täkside, kärbsenäppide, põõsa- ja lehelindude seltskonnas pakuvad ehk suuremat huvi kadakates käristav vööt-põõsalind, aeg-ajalt jalgade eest lendu vuristav teder, järvekaldal ootamatult trompetit puhuv sookurg ja mitmed teised veidi eksootilisemad asukad.

Tõeline vaatlusparadiis on aga Sanna Sia ehk avaralt laiuv madal abajas saare edelaküljel, kus võib pea suvi otsa näha jalgupidi madalas toidurikkas rannavees solistavaid kahlajaid, vahel lausa suurte salkadena. On seal tildreid ja rüdisid, tülle ja veetallajaid. See on paik vaatetoru jaoks. Pisut edasi-tagasi jalutamist ja uusi vaatenurki ja kuigi kaugele polegi vaja minna.

Järved on suuremalt jaolt kajakate ja partide koduks, aeg-ajalt teeb madalaid patrull-lende ka roo-loorkull. Soome lahe veed võivad pakkuda ka tõelisi eksoote – kui veab, võib vaatetoru naelutada otse lainetel ulpivale krüüslile. Klibuneemedel asuvate tiiru- ja kajakakolooniate juurde ei maksa kondama minna – on viisakam ja tervislikum kindlasti ka!

Ja siis need taimed! Kuigi erksiniste õitega ussikeel, varakult leekivpunaseks muutuv haisev kurereha ega kuldkollaselt ja hõõguvoranžikalt särav koldrohi pole omaette võetuna mingid haruldused, palistavad nad ainukordse panoraamina pea kõiki saare rannavalle. Loopealsetel lisavad värvi kollased hobumadarad, karutubakad ja kukeharjad, veripunane koldrohi, sinised hundihambad ning ümaralehised kellukad. Orhideesid ehk käpalisi maksab jahtida pisut niiskemates kohtades. Niidulapid on tulvil kahkjaspunast sõrmkäppa, hiljem ka soo-neiuvaipa ning kärbesõit, soostunud järvakaldad ja vallitagused peidavad väikest kasvu ja valkjasrohelisi soohiilakaid ning muguljuuri. Jalgupidi vees võib kasvamas leida ubalehte, millel on roosakasvalged pitsilised õied ja mida leidub kohati lausa massiliselt. Paenukkide peal võib kohata Eestis väga haruldast madalakasvulist valgeõielist taani merisalatit.

Kui makro- ja mikrofotograafiast juba villand on, tasub foto- või filmikaameraga püüdma minna paepanga panoraame. Murdunud ja varisenud paekamakad, rannavees roomavad moondekivimist „krokodillid“, tormide uuristatud grotid ja murrutuskulpad veepiirist veidi kõrgemal ja suured rändrahnud, mis on mööda randa laiali pillutud. Õhtu tabab enamasti ikka ootamatult ja siis tuleb hoolega jalgu sirutada, et õigeks ajaks jälle sadamasse jõuda. Suvine meri madalas õhtupäikeses ja laisad lained paadivööris jahutavad pisut ülesköetud meeli ja Dirhamist tuleb ju veel koju sõita.

Rohkem pilte leiad meie Facebooki lehelt
Tekst ja pildid: Peeter Vissak

The Executive Manager of Estonian Nature Tours represented Estonia at a conference in Zambia

2011-06-30T05:20:00.000-07:00

Estonian Nature Tours presented a report about Estonia and company’s contribution to the development of Estonia’s sustainable tourism in the 5th IIPT African Conference: Meeting the Challanges of Climate Change to Tourism in Africa and the Developing World. The international conference was taking place from May 15 to 20 in Lusaka - the capital of Zambia. The main organizer of the conference was IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism) in cooperation with UNWTO (United Nation’s World Tourism Organization).

Different “Best Practice” models from all around the world were presented in the conference to find solutions of mitigation the influence of climate change to tourism and to reduce poverty via promoting sustainable tourism. Among the most colourful presenters were Mr. Zoltan Somogyi, the Director General of UNWTO, Mrs. Catherine Namugala, the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Zambia, Mr. Ben Sherman, the President of Native Tourism Alliance, Mr. Jürgen Thomas Steinmetz, the President of World Travel Industry News and many others.

Nearly 440 delegates from 36 countries were participating in the Conference (incl. Africa, Asia, Europe, North-America and the Caribbean). Reports were presented in more than 20 different workshops. Ms. Marika Mann, the Executive Manager of Estonian Nature Tours was giving a presentation in the workshop of Strategies for Marketing and Tourism Investments. The report was followed with great interest, while the final slide being the element of surprise, pointing out how important is the future cooperation between African and Northern European countries. In the nearest future the most content-rich reports will be published as a separate book with the financial support of UNWTO. The presentation about Estonia is among the chosen ones. See the presentation here...

The Zambians were offering exceptionally warm and friendly welcome. Mr. Rupiah B.Banda, President of Zambia, was the patron of the Conference. The Conference was also honoured by the presence of the first president of Zambia, Mr. Kenneth Kaunda, who began his address to the audience … with a song of freedom. See the video clip...

A separate outing to Livingstone was organized for th presenters to admire the power of the Victoria Falls. It was a great honour to participate in the Vioctoria Falls benediction ceremony, that was conducted by the elder of the local tribe Toka Leya. Some trees were also planted in corporate. See the video clip...

The conference was deciding, that the World needs more aggressive changeover to sustainable energy sources and more progressive waste management, also responsible management plans in vulnerable areas, as coasts, wetlands and mountain areas. For the first time it was decided, that inculcation of fair trading in tourism industry is indispensable (sustainable is not cheap!) and that media can help to educate the travellers. It was pointed out that collaboration between separate Ministeries (tourism, transportation, agriculture, environment etc.) is extremely important. Read the Declaration here...

The invitation by the President of IIPT, Mr. Louis D’Amore to present a report in the Conference is so far the greatest appreciation to the company’s work.

IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism) was founded in 1986 (the UN International Year of Peace) with the vision to develop tourism as the industry, which supports and promotes the standpoint, that each and every traveller is a potential “ambassador of peace”. Nearly 5000 persons from more than 120 countries have shared their experience in regional and international conferences. Read more...

IIPT President Mr Louis D´Amore: We are pleased to advise you that our June newsletter reporting on the 5th IIPT African Conference is currently being distributed to more than 220,000 travel and tourism professionals throughout the world by our Media Partner eTurboNews.

You can access it directly at: http://www.iipt.org/newsletter/2011/june.html.

See the gallery...

Incredible Trip to Russia

2011-06-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

Estonian Nature Tours visited Russia in the middle of June to find new
destinations in birdwatching tourism.

Day 1, Polistovsky Nature Reserve

After arriving at Pskov, and short rest at the hotel, we had several hours drive to the Polistovsky Nature Reserve. This nature reserve is the largest raised bog in Europe. Access to this area is very limited which has helped to preserve the area without human interference. The total area of the nature reserve with buffer zone is 635 sq. km. Beside bog habitat one can find here decidious and mixed forests, several lakes and winding rivers.

Our first aim was to explore forests which are the nesting sites of the rare Great Grey Owl. Although it was late breeding season and midday, the selection of bird song was superb. As we went out, a River Warbler was singing just next to the car and we heard many Marsh Warblers which seemed to be particularly numerous here. In the atmospheric Silver Birch forests we heard several Golden Orioles and a Greenish Warbler. The same spot has also been the nesting site for a pair of Great Grey Owl but unfortunately the eggs was eaten by Hooded Crows earlier this year.

White-winged Terns / Tarvo Valker

After exploring forests we had several hours boat trip on the Tsevla river and lake Tsevlo. River banks with reedbeds and dead trees formed a rich habitat. and the evening was nice – sunshine with almost no wind. On the river banks Reed Buntings, Sedge`s Warblers and Scarlet Rosefinches were calling everywhere. Already after few minutes we spotted a small group of White-winged Terns. Later in the another spot, as a Marsh Harrier flew over, a party of 250 (!) White-winged Terns took off. On the river we saw several Greenshanks – a bird which you can see in Estonia only on migration. Suddenly a feeding Black Stork took off from the river bank and landed soon again. After few minutes, two individuals were circling to find suitable feeding spot, but this wasn`t to be our only sighting as soon afterwards, one Black Stork was observed sitting on the dead Silver Birch just next to our boat and it was photographable for at least 10 minutes. We also saw small group of Ruffs, which are very numerous here in late May and early June, but rare in breeding season.

Black Storks / Tarvo Valker

After arriving to the harbour we finished first day birdwatching with a roding Woodcock flying over our heads. This first day produced 70 bird species – not bad for a half of day birdwatching in the middle of breeding season.

Day 2, Sebej National Park

Our next birding destination was Sebej National Park with forests and wetlands close to the Belarus border. Unfortunately the weather was not supporting us today – it was rainy. But we still kept going.

We started our birding with another boat trip on the lake. Everywhere there were Great Crested Grebes with young chicks, sometimes climbing on the mother`s back. Among them we spotted also a pair of Red-necked Grebes in lovely breeding plumage. In the middle of the lake on the small islets was colony of Great Cormorants. Sometimes White-tailed Eagles come to hunt near them, and so it was today – one adult was waiting on a high tree. Among flying Grey Herons we also spotted a rarer species for this region – two Great White Egrets. The same lake is also a breeding area for Little Bittern but the weather was not promising for finding find any today.

After the boat trip we went to the another, smaller lake. Several pairs of Slavonian Grebes were breeding here and after few minutes search they swam out from a reedbed – and we saw altogether five nice adults.

Day 3, Lake Ilmen

After a half day drive we arrived to the one of the most popular birding destination in Western Russia – lake Ilmen. Having accommondation at small town Staraja Russa, we started our afternoon birding programme exploring the southern side of the lake. Lake Ilmen has several notable breeding specialities – like Lanceolated Warbler and also very rare Yellow-breasted Bunting, which is nowadays at the verse of the extinction in the area.

First we took a road which ended just near the lake. On the way to lake was cultivated grasslands and overflooded meadows with lots of birds just next to the road. Here, the density of Yellow Wagtails was amazing – in one spot, one can easily count more than 20-30 individuals. Most of the birds were Blue-headed but also Grey-headed individuals were not uncommon. Just few hours before sunset Great Snipes start lekking just at front of us. Later, we found small leks from several places near the lake and got brilliant views of this endangered European wader. Other evening sounds included Thrush Nightingales, Scarlet Rosefinches, a few Corncrakes and Spotted Crake and lots of River Warblers. Suddenly, something big and brown was slowly crossing the road. It turned to be a very big male European Beaver!

Great Snipe / Tarvo Valker

Day 4, Lake Ilmen

Another birding day at Lake Ilmen. We took another small road to explore the southern side of the lake. It had more dry cultivated grasslands which were used for hay cutting. Corncrakes were calling here from every field and Whinchats perching on the tall grass. As the weather was sunny, some raptors were also hunting nearby. We saw several pairs of Kesterls, several Marsh Harriers and a male Montagu`s Harrier. Suddenly, the first Bluethroat for the trip was singing on a telephone wire. Having nice views through binoculars, it was clear that it was the Red-Spotted subspecies.

As the road ended near the lake one Barred Warbler was singing in the willow bushes. This species prefers juniperus habitats in Estonia so it was interesting to see this bird in a different breeding habitat.

Later we took a 2 hours drive to the northern side of the lake to explore more agricultural landscape near town Novgorod. Before making our first stop a White-backed Woodpecker flew over just at the front of the car. We stopped quickly and spotted another adult sitting on the telegraph post. As we look more carefully, we also noticed a nesting hole in the pole!

The next birding spot was very productive. The field was full of Curlews – probably females already on their autumn migration. Also a group of around 30 Common Cranes were feeding in the same field and several Barnacle and White-fronted Goose standing further away.

Next day was mostly spent for travelling back home. The last bird – a singing Black Redstart was found on the boarder control area. We ended our trip with 117 bird species. Of course much time was spent driving and attending meetings, so more intensive birdwatching would have produced far more species.

Full bird list of trip to Russia: 18.06-22.06

Photos from the trip

Estonian Nature Tours would like to thank all very good people who helped us in Russia - Vladimir Borisov, Oksana Shemyakina, Mikhail Yablokov, Sergei Volkov, Sergei Fetisov.

Estonian Nature Tours esindas Eestit rahvusvahelisel konverentsil Aafrikas

2011-06-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

Estonian Nature Tours tegi ettekande Eestist ja firma panusest Eesti säästva turismi arengusse Aafrika kliimamuutuste ja turismi konverentsil (5th IIPT African Conference: Meeting the Challanges of Climate Change to Tourism in Africa and the Developing World). Marika Manni ettekannet kuulati huviga. Ettekanne tõi selgesti välja, kui oluline on tulevikus koostöö Aafrika ning Põhja-Euroopa riikide vahel. Ühinenud Rahvaste Maailma Turismiorganisatsiooni (UNWTO) toel ilmub lähitulevikus raamat konverentsi sisukamatest ettekannetest. Väljavalituks on osutunud ka ettekanne Eestist. Rahvusvaheline konverents toimus 15.-20.mail Zambia pealinnas Lusakas. Konverentsi peakorraldajaks oli IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism) koostöös UNWTO-ga (Ühinenud Rahvaste Maailma Turismiorganisatsioon). Vaata ettekannet siit...

Konverentsil presenteeriti erinevaid „Best Practice“ mudeleid üle kogu maailma, leidmaks lahendusi, kuidas leevendada kliimamuutuste mõju turismile ning vähendada vaesust säästva turismi arendamise kaudu. Värvikamaiks esinejaiks olid UNWTO peadirektor Zoltan Somogyi, Zambia Turismi- ja Keskkonnaminister Catherine Namugala, Native Tourism Alliance (Põlisrahvaste Turismiühendus) president Ben Sherman, World Travel Industry News president Jürgen Thomas Steinmetz jpt.

Konverentsil osales ligemale 440 delegaati 36-st riigist (Aafrikast, Aasiast, Euroopast, Põhja-Ameerikast ja Kariibidelt). Ettekandeid kuulati enam kui 20-s erinevas töötoas.

Zambialaste vastuvõtt oli äärmiselt soe ja sõbralik. Konverentsi patrooniks oli Zambia President Mr. Rupiah B.Banda. Konverentsi austas oma kohaloluga ka Zambia esimene President Mr. Kenneth Kaunda, kes alustas oma pöördumist rahva poole ... lauluga vabadusest. Vaata videot

Esinejatele korraldati eraldi väljasõit Livingstone´i imetlema Victoria joa võimsust. Suur au oli osaleda Victoria joa õnnistamistseremoonial, mille viis läbi kohaliku hõimu vanem Toka Leya. Ühiselt istutati ka puid. Vaata videot

Konverentsil leiti, et maailm vajab senisest agressiivsemat üleminekut taastuvatele energiaallikatele ning progressiivsemat jäätmekäitlust, samuti vastutustundlikke arengukavasid haavatavatel aladel nagu rannikud, märgalad ning mägipiirkonnad. Esmakordselt leiti, et hädavajalik on õiglase kaubanduse juurutamine ka turismitööstuses (säästev ei ole odav!) ning et reisija harimisele saab suuresti kaasa aidata meedia. Väga oluliseks peeti koostööd erinevate ministeeriumide vahel (turism, transport, põllumajandus, keskkond jpt.valdkonnad). Loe konverentsi deklaratsiooni siin

IIPT presidendi Louis D´Amore kutse esinema konverentsile Aafrikasse on olnud seni suurim tunnustus firma tööle.

IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism) asutati 1986.a. (ÜRO rahvusvahelisel rahu aastal) visiooniga arendada turismist majandusharu, mis toetab ja edendab seisukohta, et iga reisija on potentsiaalne „rahu suursaadik“. Ligemale 5000 persooni enam kui 120-st erinevast riigist on 20 aasta jooksul jaganud oma kogemusi regionaalsetel ja ülemaailmsetel konverentsidel. Loe lähemalt
Vaata ka pildigaleriid

The MATSALU TICKET is a new environmentally friendly brand

2011-06-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

Paadisõit Kasari jõel / Boat trip on Kasari river

On 28th May Estonian Nature Tours organized an introductory tour in Matsalu National Park to launch its new environmentally friendly nature-tourism project called MATSALU TICKET. People were invited from hotels, travel agencies, media publications and embassies and feedback has been very positive:

A vacation that clears your head (Bioneer / Agnes Männiste

Gallery from Matsalu: a day by bus and boat in this beautiful national park (Postimees online Tarbija24 / Eger Ninn)

Reisijutud.com (Kaido Einama) MATSALU TICKET video

Photos by Jekaterina Krausi in Go Maailm blog

Article by ambassador of Moldova T.E. Hr. Victor Guzun

Interest in the MATSALU TICKET is growing day by day and there are already bookings for June and July.

You can purchase MATSALU TICKET directly from Estonian Nature Tours, but also from Estravel, Kaleva Travel, Estonian Holidays, Reisiekspert, Go Travel and Wris travel agencies and from Piletilevi. You can get information from Maaturism, Terra Maritima, Matsalu.net, Reisijutud.com, Läänemaa Turism, Puhkaeestis.ee and Estonian Air websites. MATSALU TICKET flyers can be found at tourist information centres and accommodation facilities.

MATSALU TICKET is teaches about wildlife and coordinates visits to the national park helping to avoid excess disturbance of both animal and plant species, as well as the local population. Bus tours and canoe trips are lead by local Estonian and English speaking guides.

Giid Jaan Veltman / Guide Jaan Veltman

MATSALU TICKET is benefiting several companies including about 20 different service suppliers – tour guides, transportation companies, boatmen, tourist farms, caterers, museums, nature centres, and many local craftsmen.

MATSALU TICKET is meant for anyone who wants to travel sustainably and knows how to respect nature as well as local people.
Nature tours organiser Marika Mann asks hikers to think about this – “You can't get everything for free and it is not always sensible to travel around Estonia and look for the cheapest ways to camp. It is nice to contribute to and support the local communities. It shows appreciation. Cheap is not always best for those whose home you visit. With no income people cannot live here and then everyone is forced to move to the city, which would be a tragedy," she says.

Lõuna Männiku talus / Lunch at Männiku farm

Mann says that there is a lot of talk about developing sustainable tourism entrepreneurs. But she believes that you have to teach customers as well how to use sustainable tourism." If we want to have everything for free, we are not sustainable anymore. There has to be some input for local people - if you are getting something for free, you can't appreciate that." Therefore she encourages everyone to use local services... A.Männiste / Bioneer 31.05.2011

Kassikäpp / Catsfoot

MATSALU TICKET´ist on kujunemas uus keskkonnasõbralik bränd

28.mail toimus Matsalu rahvuspargis keskkonnasõbraliku loodusturismi projekti MATSALU TICKET avaüritus. Tutvumisreisil osalesid huvilised hotellidest, reisibüroodest, meediaväljaannetest ning välissaatkondadest. Tagasiside ja päeva kajastamine on olnud väga positiivne:

Puhkus, mis tuulutab pead (Bioneer / Agnes Männiste)

Galerii Matsalust: päev paadi ja bussiga looduskaunis rahvuspargis (Postimees online Tarbija24 / Eger Ninn)

Reisijutud.com (Kaido Einama) MATSALU TICKET´i video

Go Maailma blogis (Jekaterina Krausi) postitatud fotod

Moldova suursaadiku Victor Guzuni artikkel

Huvi MATSALU TICKET´i vastu päev-päevalt kasvab. Eelregistreerimisi on tehtud nii juuni- kui ka juulikuusse.

MATSALU TICKET´it saab osta pöördudes otse Estonian Nature Tours´i poole, aga ka Estravel, Kaleva Travel, Estonian Holidays, Reisiekspert, Go Travel ja Wris reisibüroodest ning Piletilevist. Infot edastavad Maaturismi, Terra Maritima, Matsalu.net, Reisijutud.com, Läänemaa Turismi, Puhkaeestis.ee ja Estonian Airi kodulehed. MATSALU TICKET´i flaiereid leiab turismiinfopunktidest ja majutusasutustest.

Paadisõit Kasari jõel / Boat trip on Kasari river

Loodusharidusliku MATSALU TICKET´i eesmärk on koordineerida rahvuspargi külastamist, hoides ära nii looma- kui taimeliikide, aga ka kohaliku elanikkonna liigse häirimise. Bussiekskursioone ja kanuuretki juhendavad kohalikud eesti-inglise keelt kõnelevad spetsialistid.

Metsülane / Snowdrop Anemone

MATSALU TICKET ei ole pelgalt ühe firma võimalus. Koostöövõrgustik koosneb ligemale 20-st erinevast teenusepakkujast – giidid,
transpordifirmad, paadimehed, turismitalud, toitlustajad, muuseumid, looduskeskused, käsitöötegijad jpt.

MATSALU TICKET on suunatud kõigile neile, kes soovivad reisida säästvalt ja oskavad lugu pidada nii loodusest kui kohalikest elanikest.

...Loodusturismi korraldajana kutsub Marika Mann matkajaid üles mõtlema sellele, et alati ei tasu tahta kõike tasuta saada ega ole mõistlik mööda Eestimaad rändamiseks otsida kõige odavamaid võimalusi. „On ju kena kulutada ja toetada kogukonda, kes kohapeal elab. See näitab lugupidamist. Odavaim ei ole alati parim neile, kelle kodu sa külastad. Siis ei oleks siin varsti enam midagi, kui kõik ära linna koliksid, sest siin pole millestki elada,“ räägib ta matsalulaste näitel.

Kuidas tehti meile lõunat Männiku talus / How our luch was made at Männiku farm

Manni sõnul räägitakse palju säästva turismi ettevõtjatest, kuidas neil tuleks end arendada. Kuid tema leiab, et õpetada tuleb ka kliente, et nad hakkaksid tarbima säästvat turismi. „Kõike tasuta tahtes me ei olegi säästvad. Kui sulle midagi tasuta antakse, siis sa ei oskagi seda hinnata,“ leiab matkakorraldaja. Seepärast soovitab ta kasutada kohapealseid teenuseid... A.Männiste / Bioneer 31.05.2011

One Week in Estonian Wildlife

2011-06-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

Our guests experienced something extraordinary during the mammal watching tour last week – in 8 days they saw 5 Brown Bears in different places all over Estonia!

Estonian Nature Tours' first mammal watching tours have been very successful. During the 8-days holiday people saw Flying Squirrels, Brown Bears, Lynxes, Elks, Wild Boars, European Beavers, Racoon Dogs and many interesting bird species for example Capercaillie, Hazel Grouse, Black Grouse, Black Stork, Great Snipe and various species of woodpeckers.

Roy Atkins visited Estonia last week and his first comments during the trip:

25th May. So far so good!

"We have had some great sightings and missed a few things - but basically it is great. We saw not just one but two Flying Squirrels with Uudo -
absolutley superb little things even if you don't get long to look at them!
I was absolutely thrilled. We saw both of them come out of the hole, climb
up the tree and then fly off - brilliant!

Flying Squirrel / Rainar Kurbel

Brown Bears were also good with two animals coming in to the bait at the
hide at around 22:50. They stayed for around 20 minutes before heading off
agin into the forest. I think the hide is superb - very comfortable indeed.
But more astonishing we saw two more on our night drive last night! One was
a beautiful creamy coloured one. We watched them for several minutes and
everyone was so excited.

The birds have been very good with a great selection including White-backed, Grey-headed and Three-toed Woodpeckers, Hazel Hen, lots of Black Grouse, River Warbler, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Nutcracker, Ural and Pygmy Owls, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Icterine Warbler, Thrush Nightingale and stunning close up views of Montagu's and Hen Harriers

We have seen tracks of Elk, Wild Boar, Lynx, and Raccoon Dog but sadly all
these animals have stayed hidden."

31th May. Final comments

"I think the tour went really well and we saw loads. I still can't believe
we saw not just one but two Flying Squirrels!! This meant everyone managed
to see one fly as well (some people lost concentration and missed the first
one!).

I am also thrilled with our bear sightings. Not just seeing two at the hide
but then two more the next day was wonderful - but then adding a final one
at the wild boar feeding site was simply crazy!!! Where did that one come
from?! Uku was clearly astonished - I have never seen him so excited. He
just couldn't believe we had just seen a bear so close to Tartu and kept
saying that you don't get them there!!! Even the guy who runs the feeding
station was astonished - he has never seen a bear there. How lucky were we
to see that... and what a wonderful finale. The Wild Boars were very good
here by the way and well worth including. We saw them from the van as they
were already there when we arrived. I am not sure how a whole group would
fit in the hide and tower - but you could always do it from the vans if
necessary - we got great views of them.

Brown Bears / Uku Paal

I still can't believe we never saw an Elk. That must be one of the easier species of mammals in Estonia and it is bizarre that we didn't see one. Did you know Uku saw four while we were there - three one morning when we went to retrieve his map after leaving it in Triin's bus by mistake and then he had one swimming in the flood when we were out beaver watching (he could not come with us as there was not enough space on the boat). He phoned us on the boat to try and guide us to it but we were watching the beaver at the time and by the time we were finished it had gone. So I think we were just unlucky - will be interested to see whether the group out there now see any.

We saw lots of foxes, got good views of beaver, glimpsed a single Raccoon Dog and saw lots of foxes. Also saw a single mountain hare as well as a couple of Brown Hares.

Birds were excellent to largely due to Uku's excellent birding skills and
local knowledge. We saw 2 Ural Owls, Pygmy Owl, Three-toed, White-backed
and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Marsh Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper,
Red-necked Phalarope, River Warbler, Hazel Grouse, Thrush Nightingale,
Common Rosefinch, Icterine Warbler, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Citrine Wagtail,
Black Stork, lots of White-winged Black Terns and lots more plus we even
managed to see the lekking Great Snipe! At first we thought we would not
see these as Uku said the water levels were too high but we went and checked and they had dropped and we saw several birds displaying - brilliant!"

All in all I think it was an excellent trip and am absolutely thrilled by what we saw - my first ever Flying Squirrels, Brown Bears (in Europe), Raccoon Dogs and European Beavers and my best views of many of the birds including Lesser Spotted Eagle, Thrush Nightingale, Icterine Warbler, White-winged Black Tern, Marsh Sandpiper and others. Many thanks for doing such a good job of putting it together and organising everything."

R.Atkins / May 2011 Speyside Wildlife /

Kinkekaardi võitis Olavi Lääne

2011-05-20T04:24:00.001-07:00

Viisime kodulehe külastajate seas läbi väikese küsitluse, mis sisaldas valikvastustega teadmiste kontrolli Eestimaa looduse kohta ning uuris samas ka eestlaste eelistusi loodusreiside osas. Küsitluses osalenute vahel loosisime välja kinkekaardi 70 EUR väärtuses. Võitjaks osutus Olavi Lääne. Palju õnne!

Täname kõiki küsimustikule vastanuid ja loodame Teid kohata meie matkadel juba sel aastal!

Juba järgmisel laupäeval toimub MATSALU TICKET-i esimene loodusmatk!

2011-05-06T02:29:00.000-07:00

Laupäeval 14. mail toimub esimene MATSALU TICKET-i sarja loodusmatk.
Pane ennast kirja www.naturetours.ee või osta pilet PILETILEVI-st

Kutsume Sind liituma rahvusvahelise grupiga igal laupäeval maist kuni septembrini!
Kellaaeg: 10.00 – 18.00
Kohtumine giididega: Lihula mõisa parklas

Retked toimuvad ettetellimisel. Registreerimine lõpeb reedeti kell 16.00. Registreeringu kinnitab ettemaks

Kohapeal saad valida järgmiste võimaluste vahel:

Bussiga, jalgsi ja paadiga 40 € / in. (Lapsepilet 4-15 a. 30 € / in.)
Hinnas sisaldub: giiditeenus (inglise keeles), kohalik transport, piknik-lõuna, paadisõit, muuseumi(de) külastamine.

Maikuus keskendume lindude rände jälgimisele Matsalu lahe lõunakaldal, paadiretke viime läbi roostikus jõe peal. Juunis-juulis pakuvad silmailu ranna-ja puisniitude õitsvad taimed (orhideed). Kui ilm lubab, sõidame paadiga Matsalu lahel (tuulise ilmaga roostikus). Suvekuudel külastame ka huvitavaid kultuuri-ja ajalooobjekte. Augustis-septembris jälgime linde Matsalu lahe põhjakaldal ja paadiretk toimub vastavalt ilmale, kas lahel või roostikus. Piknik-lõunasöögid kohalikes taludes on väljasõitude pärliteks.

Kanuumatk (2-le) 70 € / kanuu (Lapsepilet 6-15 a. 54 € / kanuu)
Hinnas sisaldub: retkejuhi teenus (inglise keeles), kanuud, mõlad, päästevestid, kohalik logistika, piknikukorv.

Rahuliku vooluga Kasari jõgi sobib ideaalselt kanuutamiseks nii algajatele kui ka pere väiksematele liikmetele. Kanuumatkad kulgevad kõrge roostiku vahel. Rooväljad on koduks mitmetele looma-ja linnuliikidele. Piisavalt vaikselt liikudes võib matkaja kohtuda kopraga, aeg-ajalt võib pillirooväljade kohal näha tiirlemas loorkulle või merikotkaid. Piknikukorviga kaasa pandud kodune söök maitseb imehästi.

Jalgratta rent 20 € / päev (Lapsepilet 10-15 a. 15 € / päev)
Hinnas sisaldub: jalgratta rent, instruktsioon ja matkakaart.

Matsalu rahvuspark on suur ja avastada on siin palju. Jalgrattaga matkades saad otsustada ise kui kui kauaks, kuhu ja mida vaatama jääd. Loodushääled ja kaunid vaated, päike ning piisav füüsiline koormus - elamus on garanteeritud.
Iga matkaja saab kaasa matkakaardi, kuhu on märgitud marsruudid ja vaatamisväärsuste lühitutvustus. Lõunasöögi eest tuleb hoolitseda ise ja jalgratas tuleb tagastada hiljemalt kell 18.00.

Hinnad ei sisalda transfeere linnadest Matsalu rahvusparki ja tagasi.
Tallinnast väljub buss igal laupäeval Sokos hotell Viru eest 8.30 ja jõuab tagasi hiljemalt kell 20.00. Transfeeri hind on lisaks 20 € / in.
NB! Buss ei välju kui registreeringuid ei ole.
Registreerimine lõpeb reedeti kell 16.00.

Aitame sobiva majutuskoha leidmisel.

Lisainfo ja registreerimine: kristi@naturetours.ee või tel: + 372 5695 0350

Estonia in Early Spring tour report by Steph Kimsey / Bird Holidays / April 2011

2011-05-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

Estonia trip 16 April – 23rd April 2011

Estonia is a small country on the Baltic sea with a population of around 11/2 million, capital Tallinn and is well forested, with the western end of the Taiga forest belt. Forests cover around 50% of the country with pines, spruce, birch, aspen, alders. My reason for visiting this country was to see a corner of Northern Europe, especially the owls, woodpeckers and stellas eiders, hence the interest in the early timing.

Last bird fair, I visited Estonian Nature Tours and was advised which company visited Estonia, and chose Bird Holidays as the one company going in early spring.

Day one Saturday 16th April

After a horribly early start (3 am) we arrived at Heathrow to take the flight to Tallinn via Helsinki and met our group. John Mcloughlin was the tour leader for Bird Holidays, and he turned out to be an outstanding birder. There were 11 people in the group; this number surprised me in these poor economic times. Some of the group had used Bird holidays before and we also had people from a local RSPB group.

Landing in Helsinki, we had to wait for our connecting flight; when called onto the plane, I was somewhat concerned to see propellers, the only other time I flew with propellers it was a somewhat buffeted flight, however my fears were ungrounded. We were met at Tallinn, around 2.30 pm by Mikko Virta a Finnish guide who spoke 5!! languages and was a fine birder, apparently his interest in birds was fostered by helping his father with a golden eagle ringing project as a boy. Our driver for the week was Aare and his driving throughout the trip was impeccable.

My first impression was of a grumpy looking Estonia, with grey skies, snow, evergreens and flat tired looking fields. We soon passed a stork on nest, deemed to by lucky by villagers as in central Europe. A goose flock was spotted in the fields, arriving at Parnu, after 2 hours driving and crossing the Parnu River. We noted ravens, hooded crows and rooks in town. Checking into the hotel around 5 pm, we enjoyed coffee with croissants and chocolate brownies.

Suitably refreshed, we visited Soometsa forest for our first trip. On our way, we spotted tundra bean goose in fields amongst the masses of white front. John explained how to tell Taiga from Tundra. There is so much suitable habitat here, the geese could go anywhere. Fields are not enclosed. A constant sound of burbling cranes.

Entering the forest, white headed long tail tits – the northern race – plus great grey shrike. Snipes displaying on tree stumps! Never seen that in UK. A nice white backed woodpecker in the trees. Due to the very cold winter, the woodpeckers in general were hard to find, maybe some had perished in the cold. This would also have an effect on owls, however more of this later.

Estonia has had many conquerors in its history, in particular the Germans and Russians (the latter during the USSR time.) The Swedish time is known as the ‘golden time’ preferable to the Germans, who treated the indigenous population as peasants. Many Russians still live in Tallinn and all around the country the German influence was obvious. The Estonian people have small holdings to grow vegetables; root crops were served at every meal, especially beetroot with potatoes. On the mainland, the animals were kept inside, because of the cold, however as the week went on, we saw cows in field and horses, but I never saw any outdoor pigs. My vegetarianism was catered for adequately, however the best meals served were away from the hotels.

Day 2 Sunday 17th April

A misty start – oh dear – how to view the birds!!! However the sun broke through during the morning and weather stayed bright and sunny all week, apart from a small front passing through Friday pm. Breakfast was self service. Cranes everywhere – Scandinavian and Russian cranes all apparently meet in Estonia during the spring and autumn, and then go on their separate ways. All Berwick swans meet here in spring, a constant chattering. Estonian people are not heavy into church going as in UK; there are various types of churches, more of this later.

Stop one in the Soometsa forests, we heard singing redwings, a song not known to me, they are our winter visitors. Mistle thrushes singing plus song thrushes, northern bullfinches and of course chaffinches everywhere, one of the top 3 summer birds the other 2 being We found some tracks, racoon dog and roe deer and all through the forest the poo of the elk. Rather huge it was too. Lesser spot w pecker drumming, nuthatch, jays responding to woodpecker sounds. Two white storks flew over. Exciting discovery was fresh bear tracks from this morning, along side the canal. Also, evidence of beaver and 3 toed woodpecker due to the bark stripped off the tree. Goosander and green sandpipers enjoying the water and a lovely willow tit in the trees, seemed greyer to me than ours back home. I was now taking pictures of each place we visited, so I could remember what the habitat looked like; I liked an old birch stump covered in bracket fungus. Some thrifty red ants in a tree stump, then in their own hump Estonia looks good today. A constant sound of distant cranes.

We took a walk around Parnu Park down to the beach, the sea is still icy. It was frozen, I have never seen a frozen sea before! The Parnu River brings fresher water to the Baltic than we have in our north sea; hence the sea is more liable to freeze. Hooded crows, starlings, siskin and greenfinches in the park. Herring and black headed gulls by the sea. A special ladies beach and a surfing beach, strangely as there is no tide, and the beach is flat and somewhat deserted. A few tree sparrows around a derelict sports centre and a nuthatch close to the hotel. Cups of tea…….

5 pm – the trip to the sea and enormously high tower hide! White fronted geese, grey heron, smew, goosander, goldeneye, merganser, curlew, little tern, white wagtails, and a strangely calling water rail. This place is Haademeeste. Snowflake flower found in the local ditch – very beautiful and rare in UK. Some local ladies had made us a lovely meal, a stew plus gorgeous raspberry cake, even nicely done for me. A sort of co-operative formed after collapse of USSR, due to work disappearing. Crafts were on sale, hats, gloves, jewellery, bags with lace. Because of the ‘dry toilet’ only, we made a stop at the local service station before starting the night owling session. Ural owls can sit out on the forest rides; this is what we hoped for. However the first bird ‘swish, swish’ was a gorgeous black wood pecker in all his glory. At dusk, the ural owl was spotted, yes, sitting out in view; we had great fly passes to and heard the bird. A woodcock fly over. Back to the hotel for a beer. Finish at 11.20 pm, happy to have seen that owl.

Day 3 Monday 18th

First transfer day. Estonians work in forestry and some technical jobs such as mobile phone construction. The houses are mostly made of wood, with corrugated roofs, plus some have thatching, horizontal at the top, then vertical – this is apparently to prevent avalanches. Double glazing on the windows. Even scaffolding made of wood! This country is cold and dark in winter, can have 1 m depth of snow, much television watching to pass the time. On nice days, they ski and Nordic walking was evident. The bird guides here, like our Mikko, are mainly Finnish. Dry hot summers with schools closed in July August and no rain, June can be pretty variable. A small wood stop in the hope of white back woodpecker, lesser heard drumming. Mixed geese flock in fields, skylarks, chaffinches singing, and some warmth in the sun today. First mute swan of the trip on local golf course. Audru village, with large gardens. Lots of stored wood about. Germans are now busy buying land for agricultural development; need to look after these forests.

At Tuhu bog, along with some French birders, we saw the golden eagle, these are always difficult. I learned that the length of the tail was diagnostic for these birds, and the way the wings are held in a shallow V. There are 25 pairs in Estonia, now none in Finland, it is now too agricultural. Mikko was involved in a ringing project with his father when young in S Finland. 2 white tailed eagles displaying, a great grey shrike. Estonia has a very short growing season.

A visit to the Manor house in Lihula, the home of Estonia Nature Tours, owned and managed by Marika. Most of these Manor houses found about Estonia were German built. This one had some ruins at the back and a local nesting white stork. We heard about the history of Estonia, occupied by Poles, Danes as well as Swedes, Germans and Russians. Estonia regained freedom from Russia by a peaceful protest in 1989, 150 miles of hand holding. The Russians sent in the tanks but the commander in chief who was Georgian, refused to fire. A statue of him resides in Tartu. In the second world war, Estonians fought with Germans against the Russians, however some hid in the forests, when discovered taken to soviet labour camps. On the ferry over to island of Saaremaa from Virtsu, via Muhu. Lots of long tailed duck, 500,000 scaup, artic terns, scoter with a few velvet scoters amongst them. They nest here in small numbers. Apparently the numbers of long tailed duck and stellas eiders have dropped off, no one knows why exactly. The ferry trip was half an hour. These were ducks on migration. Scoters can nest here, most go up to the artic tundra. Long tailed duck winter here, huge flocks.

Saaremaa is still wooded like the main land. We checked into the hotel, it seemed bigger and newer than the last. A more Scandinavian feel with a balcony by the coast. Sited at Salme. Because Mikko was not sure about the steller's eider numbers, he decided to take us to see them now, so we went to Undva bay, around Tagamsoisa, which is their winter stronghold. We found them eventually in a largish (around 300) flock; they all dive together, amongst the scoter. 2 Belgian birders accompanied us, and we were to meet them again on this trip. A cold wind doth blow! Oystercatchers, sandwich terns, common scoters.various gulls. Juniper bushes on the beach. A kestrel on top of a telegraph pole and sprawk on beach.

Day 4 Tuesday 19th April

A prebreakfast walk down to the beach, for shellduck, long tailed duck, sandwich tern and our first avocet of the trip. Fisherman in bay. Post breakfast trip to Sorve, meeting a Caspian tern noisily fishing a pond and observing a white tailed eagle basking on a rock, obviously post breakfast. Great views. An unmanned lighthouse next to a local place with a notice on the fence saying private in English!!! You could see Latvia off the coast. The place reminded me of Portland Bill in southern England. Which also has an observatory and a restaurant on the coast. Seaweed was being collected from the piles for use as a fertilizer. Now the Caspian tern had a mate and was arguing or displaying noisily. Who knows which! The next visit was to the Wall of war, Russian and German memorials. Beautiful blue flowers by the roadside, flower before leaf – liverleaf hepatica nobilis – we were to observe this again on this trip. This spot is for visible migration, cranes, chaffinches, wood pigeons, bramblings followed by sparrowhawks. Also seen, white tailed eagle, buzzard common and rough legged, kestrel. The two buzzards distinguished by the amount of white on the tail. Something new for me, there is a huge migration of chaffinches north from all over Europe. Apparently you can have a passage of 1 million per hour at peak time!!! Lunch at another (Loona) Manor house, C17. Lingen berries were in the water offered with the lunch. There are 132 different manor houses on the island; this one provides accommodation (18 beds). They can also provide meals, heritage tours, wedding parties and events. Again local crafts on show, this time I bought a tea pot stand made of juniper. Baltic Germans own these houses; Estonians were the peasants, developing more slowly because of the cold. This lady of the manor showed us the visitor centre and fossils found (in the limestone rock) and had a superb husky dog who was called out to say goodbye.

Apparently the sea increases (not tidal) when wind is from the west and goes down when from the east! After lunch we looked in vain for nutcrackers, and most of the party, sadly not me, saw a beautiful black stork fly over, they nest in the forest, and there is a web cam which I will check out stationed on a nest. We asked for a forest walk, and walked the Viidumae nature trail, which still had snow lying in places. Original cliff edge on west of island. Signs of elk, raccoon dog, black woodie, fox and wild boar. One native pony came to see us. The notes on all these nature reserves were in both Estonian and English fortunately. Another forest tower …………

The Finns come to the island by air or ferry and some own summer houses here, they also are like the Brits using Tallinn for stag parties, I was glad it was not just us! Estonians enjoy play football and Nordic football. All Estonians ski in winter. The Finns enjoy rallying, skiing and Nordic sport. Stellas eider is Estonia’s number one bird with the whooper swan being that of Finland as they breed there. One person will do the count. Lsr white front geese also come through here, around 30. Flying squirrel is an Estonian speciality, found in NE Estonia and active at night. Very rare. Found in old pine/spruce forest. Hunted by pine martins. Very fast mover.

Day 5 Wednesday 20th April

I had a light breakfast today. It was our day to transfer back to the mainland. Some cloud cover today. We drove through the capital Kuressaare, German built, a spa town with a medieval castle. It has the islands airport with flights to Finland. Most island people work here, making wooden bolts. There is an orthodox church. There is no German influence in Finland because of the Gulf of Finland, their influence stopped at the Baltic Sea.

Estonia’s dairy industry is centred in the middle of the country; the land is more fertile here. W Estonia (where we are) has stony thin soil, of limestone base. Glass houses are used to grow veggies, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Swallows and chiff chaffs have been known to over winter inside buildings/greenhouses. One village had an over wintering male stork, looked after by local ladies, donations were given to help feed him. Ferry crossing, now would you believe a white tailed sea eagle drowned a long tail duck and took off with him for his lunch!! An amazing sight. He did however; struggle to fly with the saturated duck. More velvet scoter and long tailed ducks. Apparently, the number of juvenile bewick swans are dropping, somehow they are being predated, something for me to research, I will check WWT sites for information as they monitor bewick swans. I had noted myself they are fewer in number at Welney now than in the past. Estonian school children have a 3 month summer holiday, none at Easter and 3 weeks at Christmas cos of the cold dark climate. It is inconceivable to me to live somewhere with a colder winter, I have enough trouble getting through the UK winter, the last 2 being particularly cold. And more darkness ………..

A white wagtail landed on our bus and we could photo it through the sun roof, a nice memory to take away from this trip. We were all snapping away.

Now to Laelatu wooded meadows, which are protected for flora, mown for the 23 orchids it contained. Some gorgeous looking northern long tail tits by the roadside with their white heads. A lot of the species here are ‘different’ to ours in the UK, song included. Folk can stay overnight in these forests and use them freely, unlike the UK. There are so many of these beautiful forest roads and so quiet. Cranes nest in the wet meadows – lakes surrounded by trees. Now some foals with their mums in a field. And a clever wood stack. A small waxwing flock feeding on juniper berries on their way to Lapland. Barnacle geese on the coast. The first visit to Matsalu bay, it looks icy and cold. Black grouse near the sea. Here the track goes through some snow. A pair of grey partridges crossed our path.

Our lunch today was at a farm house, Mõisaküla, where I had a splendid vegetarian lunch; our hostess was off dancing in local costume after lunch. I bought a pair of mittens here. The farmhouse was full of pelts and horns. There was an underground store for the potatoes. My lunch consisted of cheese, peas, carrots, potato, and beetroot with a mushroom sauce. Buns and coffee for afters. Then to Keemu for yet another watching tower. Greenshanks, be wick swans, white tailed eagle, common terns and many scaup. Off to Matsalu manor, German built, owned by a Swede, for the heronry, extraordinary how these birds balance in the huge nests in the tree tops. A frozen lake, livestock contained in a walled field. 2 cranes drifting over.

During a fuel stop near Lihula, we noticed a local rookery. Back to the manor house for tea and chat to Marika. We found out that 180 lynx and 135 wolves were shot in the last year. They can be easily tracked using dogs in the snow. Bears are shot using baited hides. Of course this goes on in all countries; there is big money in shooting – trophies – which few countries can ignore.

Our last stop of the transfer day was at Kasari Old Bridge, now not used, a lovely cobbled bridge. Storks, meadow pipits, geese flying in plus fieldfare, redwings and starlings. Empty roads, flat, forests and water, however less water than Finland. We arrived in Haapsalu in time for dinner – our room had a balcony outside looking over water, swans, black headed gulls, a post meal walk along the front was enjoyed finding Tchaikovsky’s bench.

Day 6 Thursday 21st April

Outside the window first thing, pochard, great crested grebe nest building, cormorants. First trip was to Piirsalu wood to see hazel grouse and I had my first glimpse. A nice pied flycatcher obliging sitting on a branch. We were looking for black cocks on the Russian polders where the forest had been cleared for collective farms and we found them, at Variku meadows. These areas were now left to grow wild. Willow tits were seen making a nest in a hole. Fieldfares, skylarks, rough legged buzzard, yellow hammer and possible spotted eagle, John’s famous speck in the sky. A chiff chaff was heard as the migrants were beginning to arrive. Everything seemed to be about a month or 6 weeks later than our area of UK. It seemed warmer today. Lots of circling cranes.

We took lunch at Roosta restaurant in the forest, near to the coast. This was a holiday camp with chalets and caravans. I bought some postcards here. We were to return for our evening meal. Our next destination was Poosaspea by the sea. There were Swedish summer houses here, seeming to have no boundaries. Around 2 million birds pass between the point and island in autumn, a Russian migration counting point. There was a hut with heating and armchairs used by 3 Finnish counters for 3 months each year, August September and October. They would use a summer house to live in. Scoters, eiders, velvet scoters, grebes, swans, long tailed duck, goldeneye, red throated diver and a white wagtail on the beach. Cruise boats going to St Petersburg come round this point to stop at Helsinki; it is where the Baltic Sea meets the Gulf of Finland. We took a coffee stop and saw a ring tail hen harrier our only bird of the trip. A black grouse was resting on top of a sapling. Great excitement, a pine martin dashed across the road. Back to Roosta for dinner. This place had entertainment, a large screen TV plus bowling. An evening woodland stop – a fierce pygmy owl came to see us, my first ever! I was impressed with this little man, a bird with attitude. He was defending his territory, never mind all these people!! This was my trip highlight. We looked for elk from another tower; meanwhile one of our group spotted a glimpse of beaver in the pond. The day ended by finding 2 juvenile elk.

Day 7 Friday 22 April

This was my sister’s birthday, so I had to remember to text her, difficult because we had an outdoor breakfast at the black grouse lek of yesterday. And they were strutting their stuff, even a fight, 2 males trying to impress one female. A hazel grouse flew on the edge of a wood on route. Willow tits again, wish they were so easy to find in the UK. Another chiff was calling then a spectacular kill by a merlin taking a chaffinch in the field. Tortoiseshell butterfly in flight. Lots of thrushes around. Taiga bean geese in the fields. Top three nesting Estonian birds are: willow warbler, redwing and chaffinch. Redwing breed easily around homesteads, just as blackbirds in UK. Fox dashing across the field. Cranes about. Always cranes about!! Fresh beaver signs of gnawed wood, signs of elk debarking trees.

I notice that this society is well mechanised, with transport to move wood, no horse and carts here. There is an ice road from Haapsalu in the winter up to 20 m long, the longest in Europe. A statue of a polar bear in the harbour. I wonder why. We walked to the castle in town, noticing that most of the houses were made of wood, with stone foundations. The castle was not open; however we could still look around. There was a play area in the middle. A visit to Haapsalu station, with a 210m platform, the longest covered platform in Europe, said to be built for the Russian czar. Huge steam engines on display, that had travelled 2 ½ million k in their lives. The station was built in 1805 and was closed in 1995. A visit to the north side of Matsalu bay, Puise, a Russian fishing village where they caught flounder and herring. We noted waders and bewick swans and there were said to be many cranes roosting in autumn. Two stops, one with a tower.

Haeska, a major international staging post, with lesser white front geese, and waders passing through, monitored by a Finn and a Swede. Lapwing, avocet and the sound of dunlin. Wigeon, pintail, shovelar and some good ice hills in the sea. Third stop was at a private farm with a shop selling crafts and there was accommodation for up to 8 persons. A restaurant was being built. Our last stop was a view over grassland, to look for elk and eagles. This hide had disabled access, rather steep ramps!! Last evening meal with gifts and discussions about what the group had enjoyed the most. Some of us, including me, liked the pygmy owl. The trip in total was around 700 miles.

Last day Saturday 23 April

A guided tour of Tallinn. After an early start we arrived in Tallinn (400,000 people) and were met by a lovely Estonian lady, who was our guide. Tallinn is to be the European city of culture in 2011. A medieval city with lots of churches, Estonian orthodox, Russian orthodox (very grand) Lutheran church – the main religion. The city was quiet at 8 am, however full of Finns at 10 am who had arrived on the 2 cruise boats spotted in the harbour. Street cafes and trams, like any other European city. We went to the high point to look over the city and landmarks were pointed out to us. A walled city with stall selling nuts/sweets, some street musicians of dubious quality, some time for shopping and then off to the airport. We said our goodbyes and left Estonia, having thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Beautiful forests and space - that will be my memory. Around 120 species were seen in all.

Estonia in Spring

2011-04-27T02:41:00.000-07:00

Wolf / Valeri Štšerbatõh

"What a weekend it was fantastic,the birdlife is brilliant and you have a beautiful country.

Oh yes a Wolf !!! what a supprise that was,will probably never see another one.

Also saw Elk and Mountain Hare which were new mammals for me.

The birdlife is astonishing and im sure lots of British birders will want to come to Estonia.

The hotels were superb and the food was exceptionally good.

Ivar is a fantastic guide great knowledge and personality hopefully will meet up again.

I got my last Woodpecker and we got five different species.The capercailie and Black Grouse gave fantastic views and was well pleased to see Hazel Hen.

Overall we managed to see a fantastic number of birds all with stunning views and i thought the seawatching at Poosaspea was wonderful with so many different birds on the water i particularly enjoyed the Black Throated Divers and Long Tailed Ducks.

It was a thoroughly good trip and we also had the best weather possible.

Many thanks for arranging this trip for me and hopefully will visit again soon.
PS. Will never forget seeing the Wolf (still can not believe it)"
/ B.G April 2011 (Client comment / Estonia in Spring tour)

Kevadine varahommik Matsalus

2011-04-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Eesti Naine käis Estonian Nature Tours´i asutajal Marika Mannil külas. Artikkel ilmub maikuu numbris. Vaata fotoreportaaži varahommikusest paadisõidust Matsalu roostikus (autor Kristjan Lepp)

Saa osa erakordsest elamusest!

2011-04-19T07:17:00.001-07:00

Liitu grupiga ja saad nautida tedrekukkede rituaalset pulmatantsu.
Retk toimub juba eeloleval laupäeval 23.04!

Hind: 41 EUR / in. (sisaldab linnugiidi ja korraldust + piknikukorvi)
Kohtumine giidiga: Tallinn-Haapsalu mnt. ääres Risti söögitare juures kell 6.00.
Registreeri siin: info@naturetours.ee

Paketi lühikirjeldus:

Retk algab meie kuninglike põlisasukate tetrede pulmamängu jälgimisega. Igaüks neist püüab olla neist kohevama sabaga ja kõvema kudrutusega. Tõeline tegija leitakse platsi keskelt – just siin on kõige tugevamad, kõige uhkemad ja kõige vägevamad tedrekuked, kes üldjuhul ka tedremammaga lähemat tutvust teha saavad. Edasi liigume Tuksi-Roosta kanti, kus õnnestub kohata ka laanepüüd. Metsise nägemiseks peab väga palju õnne olema. Paneme reisile kaasa piknikukorvi, teine võimalus on süüa peale linnuvaatlust Roostal.
Foto: Tedrekuked / Sven Zacek

Kana on kindlasti igaüks näinud ja nii mõnigi ilmselt ka maistnud. Aga on ka veel teistmoodi kanasid – need on metsakanad. Eestimaa metsades võib kohtuda kolme kanalisega – laanepüü, tedre ja metsisega. Linnuretkel näeme tetre ja kui õnne on, siis ka laanepüüd.

Linnuliigid: teder, laanepüü, musträhn, tutt-tihane jpt.

Vaata ka tedremängu videot

Võida kinkekaart!

2011-04-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Vasta küsimustele ja võida kinkekaart 70 EUR!
Küsimused leiad siit...
Salvesta küsimustik endale ja tee õige vastuse juurde x ning seejärel saada info@naturetours.ee.
Vastata võid kuni 30. aprill 2011.

Kui osutud võitjaks, võid valida kõikide meie retkede vahel 70 euro väärtuses kuni 20. oktoober 2011.

Thoughts of Recent Trips

2011-04-06T01:56:00.000-07:00

Hawk Owl Watching / Tarvo Valker

The birding season is at its peak. The first tours have been very successful – all enthusiasts who have been on the tours with us have had a unique opportunity to see many male Steller `s Eiders in ideal conditions.

On our 6-day trip last week, we saw more than 80 bird species. Due to late spring the activity of forest birds was relatively low, but now woodpeckers and owls have become much more vociferous. We found all of our Gamebirds, including Black Grouse and Capericaillie and now White-backed and Grey-headed Woodpeckers are very active as well. The crown jewel of our recent tours was certainly Hawk Owl.

Hawk Owl / Tarvo Valker

We are waiting for warmer weather sometime next week as the forecast predicted and then it will be the perfect time to observe the key species of forest birds. At the same time the spectacular migration of birds north should get underway!

Seawatching / Tarvo Valker

Client Comments

"Overall impressions
1.Excellent organisation as always from you.
2.Good value
3.Estonia is a lovely country. People friendly and everything runs to time. Buses etc. run on time.
4.Really pleased I went.
5.Would like to return in the springtime although I loved seeing all the snow. It was really magical like scenes from Dr Zhivago

Laiksaare Forest / Tarvo Valker

Very pleased I was in Tarvo’s group as he kept as closely to the itinerary as possible. I think this is important to most people. Trips and meals were on time. To my inexperienced bird watching eye he seemed good at spotting and hearing birds. His English was good if a little hesitant and he was very helpful. Steve was excellent and very patient with novice bird watchers. He also kept things to schedule and on time. Enjoyed guided trip around Tallinn." S.B.

Tallinn Old Town / Tarvo Valker

“The trip was a lovely experience. Our guide was brilliant and checked everyone had seen birds on the few occassions we saw any. Unfortunately it is a late spring so we dipped out a bit on some of the owls and woodpeckers… . Had great views of the Hawk Owl…. Cannot fault the guide he was superb. Hotels were very good as was the food. During the day we had superb meals. More like evening meals with meat, veg or salad and potatoes and pudding. Everyone commented how good the food was. The rooms were warm and staff friendly. ….Great trip, lovely country with hardly any cars. Nice to go round a medieval city on the last day and learn a bit about the country”. C.

Guided Tour in Tallinn Old Town / Tarvo Valker

“My feelings are very positive about the tour arrangements. The buses were very light and everyone had a good view from one side or the other. Food was excellent, mostly local and what I like. Hotels were very comfortable.” E.

Lunch at Local Farm / Tarvo Valker

“Here are our views and thoughts about the Estonia Bird watching Trip.
Travel Arrangement - No problems. Everything and everybody on time and we had a good journey. Accommodation - The hotels were good. Rooms warm and comfortable. Food - Very nice food. Varied and plenty to eat. Guide - Very nice and helpful and spoke good English. He had a plan of action already in hand. He tried his utmost to find the birds which were very thin on the ground but we all saw the target bird, Stellers Eider. Also, Matti had arranged for us to have some meals provided by local people. These were most enjoyable and enabled us to see another side to local life.

Overall view
Estonia is a very interesting country and we thought it would be nice to go back at a different time of the year, preferably when it’s warmer. It was nice to have the services of a guide in Tallinn who told us some of the history and this was followed by a good meal at a local restaurant. We did visit the headquarters of Estonia Nature Tours and met the very pleasant staff.” J. and J.

Lunch at Local Farm / Tarvo Valker

Birds seen at Estonia during last trip

ESTONIA – the heart of European Wildlife

2011-03-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

Trükise leiad siit...
Click here to see the brochure...
Klikkaa tästä esitteeseen...

Publisher: Läänemaa Turism MTÜ
Copyright (Design and Text): Tuuli Mann, Marika Mann

Läänemaa Turism MTÜ tellimusel on valminud inglise keelne trükis ESTONIA – the heart of European Wildlife. Esmakordselt tutvustatakse Eesti loodusväärtusi pilguga väljastpoolt sissepoole e. käsitletud alateemade juures on tähelepanu all liigid ja elupaigad, mis mujal Euroopas on kadumas või puuduvad. Selline lähenemine aitab meil eristuda ja toob välja põhjused, miks loodushuviline mujalt maailmast peaks just Eestit külastama. Tegemist on turundustrükisega, trükise intrigeeriv pealkiri on igati õigustatud ja sisuga kooskõlas.

In NGO Läänemaa Tourism order, a brochure named ESTONIA - the heart of European Wildlife has been completed. For the first time the value of Estonian wildlife is made clear to people outside the country. Various sub-topics are discussed including a focus on certain species and habitats that are disappearing or absent elsewhere in Europe. This approach helps us to differentiate ourselves and highlight the reasons why nature enthusiasts from around the world should visit Estonia. This is a commercial brochure, and the intriguing title is fully justified by the contents.

Trükise valmimine on hea näide koostööst. Kuigi Läänemaa Turism on trükise
tellija, leiti läbirääkimistel koostajatega, et terviklikuma tulemuse saavutamiseks tuleb käsitleda väljaandes kogu Eesti loodusrikkusi. Lääne maakonnale on pühendatud eraldi lehekülg ja seegi on tervikpildi juures loogiline, sest maakond tuleb esile oma liigendunud rannajoone ning massilise linnurändega igal kevadel ja sügisel.

This brochure is a good example of collaboration. Although NGO Läänemaa Tourism ordered the brochure, by working with knowledgeable companies to put the brochure together the result is more complete and mentions all the natural riches of Estonia. A separate page is dedicated to Lääne county which makes sense because the county is important for its coastline and the massive bird migration every spring and autumn.

Trükise koostasid Marika Mann ja Tarvo Valker ning kujundas Tuuli Mann.

Trükis valmis PRIA Leader projekti „Maaturismi turundamine ja arendamine
Läänemaal“ raames.

The brochure was prepared by Marika Mann and Tarvo Valker and designed by Tuuli Mann.

This brochure was made through PRIA Leader Project “Marketing and development of rural tourism in the West-Estonia".

Estonian Nature Toursi tegevjuhi Marika Manni intervjuud trükise teemadel Vikerhommikus 4.aprillil ning Ilmaparandaja saates KUKU Raadios 9.aprillil (Intervjuu algab 28 minutit 25 sekundit).

Täname kõiki häid abilisi!
Thanks to all those who helped with this project.

Tim Appleton, co-organiser of The British Birdwatching Fair (Birdfair) visited Estonia

2011-03-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

Photo: Tim Appleton / David Hasell

Tim Appleton - co-organiser of the world’s most reputed birdwatching fair, known by most people simply as The Birdfair - visited Estonia last week for a short vacation. The aim of Tim and his friends’ vacation was to see wintering in Estonia, but relatively rare in Europe, the Steller's Eider. They watched birds at Läane County and at Saaremaa and despite the bad weather conditions saw Steller's Eider, Three-toed Woodpecker, Pygmy Owl, Black Woodpecker, Nutcracker, tens of White-tailed Eagles, Snow Buntings, Waxwings, as well as Elk, Roe Deer, foxes and many other interesting species. Red Kite who is a rare vagrant in Estonia, was observed
as well. They saw more than 60 bird species in four days here.

Photo: Black Woodpecker / Musträhn / Tarvo Valker

Beside the birdwatching our wintery weather also offered excitement - snowy and icy roads were an interesting experience for many. They were very satisfied with Estonian Nature Tours organization and Tarvo Valker’s guide service. As usual, they were surprised by the good level of our accommodation and catering. Tim and his friends will definitely come back to Estonia at warmer times.

Photo: Eight in a row / Kaheksa rivis / David Hasell

Tim Appleton said that the Birdfair is also the world's largest ecotoursim fair. In addition to very good tour guide services, Tim also respects the involvement of local community in tourism services. Estonian Nature Tours will always offer our customers the opportunity to eat freshly prepared authentic Estonian food at local farms or a scenic picnic. Such an experience has been an undisputed gem of our trips and it was during this trip with Tim as well.

Photo: Birdwatching / Linnuvaatlus / David Hasell

Estonian Nature Tours has visited the Birdfair from the year 2003 and the last 3 years we participated at the fair with our stand. Here we have been able to show people what Estonia is like in terms of the habitats and wildlife as well as what our roads, hiking trails, hides and towers are like and show people our products.

Interview with Tim Appleton in Postimees newspaper
Interview translation by Estonian Nature Tours
Client comments from year 2003
Our philosophy

Birdfairi peakorraldaja Tim Appleton külastas Eestit

Möödunud nädalal viibis Eestis lühiajalisel puhkusel maailma mainekaima linnuturismimessi Birdfair peakorraldaja Tim Appleton. Timi ja ta sõprade puhkusereisi eesmärgiks oli ära näha meil talvituv, kuid Euroopas võrdlemisi haruldane kirjuhahk. Linde vaadeldi Läänemaal ja Saaremaal. Vaatamata halbadele ilmaoludele presenteerisid end hästi kirjuhahk, laanerähn, musträhn, värbkakk, mänsak, kümned merikotkad, hangelinnud, siidisabad aga ka põdrad, metskitsed, rebased jpt. huvitavad liigid. Muuhulgas kohati ka Eestis eksikülalisena esinevat puna-harksaba. Kokku kohati nelja päeva jooksul üle 60 linnuliigi.

Intervjuu Tim Appletoniga Postimehes

Photo: Three-toed Woodpecker / Laanerähn / Tarvo Valker

Linnuvaatluse kõrval pakkus elevust ka meie talvine ilm, lumes ja jäistel teedel ukerdamine oli paljudele huvitav kogemus. Estonian Nature Toursi korralduse ja Tarvo Valkeri giiditeenusega jäädi väga rahule. Nagu ikka, oldi üllatunud meie majutuskohtade ja toiltustamise heast tasemest. Tim ja ta sõbrad tulevad kindlasti tagasi soojemal ajal.

Photo: The View / Vaade / David Hasell

Birdfair on Tim Appletoni sõnul ühtlasi ka maailma suurim ökoturismimess. Tim peab lisaks heale giiditeenusele väga lugu ka kohaliku kogukonna kaasamisest turismiteenustesse. Estonian Nature Tours pakub alati oma klientidele võimalust süüa värskelt valmistatud ehedat Eesti toitu kohalikus talus või looduskaunil piknikuplatsil. Selline elamus on olnud vaieldamatult pärliks meie reisidele ja oli seda ka nüüd.

Photo: Lunch / Lõuna / David Hassell

Estonian Nature Tours on külastanud Birdfairi juba 2003.a. alates, viimased 3 aastat oleme messil osalenud oma ständiga. Messitöö ei ole kunagi piirdunud vaid enda toodete tutvustamisega, palju olulisem on olnud selgitada külastajatele, millised loodusväärtused on Eestis olemas ning millised on meie teed, matkarajad ja vaatetornid.

Robin Macdonald - Snow scene Saaremaa, oil on board / Robin Macdonald - Lumine Saaremaa, õlimaal
http://www.robinmacdonald.co.uk/

Klientide kommentaare alates aastast 2003 saab lugeda siin

Meie filosoofia

Linnuvaatlus õpetab tundma loodust

2011-03-17T02:47:00.000-07:00

Suur-laukhaned varahommikuses rabas / Tarvo Valker

Eestlane on end alati linnurahvaks pidanud. Küllap oleme kõik lugenud ennemuistseid jutte, kus positiivsed kangelased oskasid lindude keeles rääkida. Kevadine rändlindude ootamine oli meie maarahvale suure tähendusega. Lõokesed muutsid soojaks lõuna, pääsukesed päeva, ööbikud tõid kohale öösooja. Linnud ümbritsevad meid peaaegu kõikjal ja linnuvaatlus on kahtlemata elamus. Lindude ja nende elupaikade tundmaõppimine looduses täidab sarnast eesmärki koolitunniga, kuid on sageli palju tulemuslikum. Loodusharidusliku eesmärgiga linnuretk avardab ka täiskasvanute silmaringi, olles uudne vaheldus tubastele seminaridele.

Tänases kiirustavas maailmas võõrandume varahommikusest ärkamisest ja loodusetundmisest üha enam. Ometi on maailmas miljoneid inimesi, kellele on linnuvaatlus väga populaarne hobi või lausa kirg. Eesti on Euroopas tuntud kui väga hinnatud linnuvaatluskoht. Kuna Eesti paikneb arktiliste veelindude Ida-Atlandi rändeteel, rändab läbi meie rannikuvete igal kevadel ja sügisel miljoneid veelinde. Aprillikuu varahommikutel rõkkab metsaalune lindude laulust ning põldudel võib kohata metskitsi, sigu, põtru ja rebaseid. Matsalu ligi 3000 hektari suurused rooväljad muutuvad eriti atrak-tiivseteks mai- ja juunikuu õhtutel, kui pudelisse puhumist meenutava hüübi hüüetele siristavad lakkamatult taustaks roo-ritsiklinnud. Suvel linnud pesitsevad ja on peidulise eluviisiga. Septembri-kuus muutub aga meie “kuremaakond” Läänemaa rändeaegseks peatuspaigaks tuhandetele sookurgedele. Õhtuti mõne tunni jooksul vaadelda lahe äärde kogunemas üle viie tuhande sookure on elamus, mis ei unune iial.

Kas teadsid, et...

• Eesti on üks vähestest riikidest Euroopas, kus võib vaadelda 8 erinevat rähniliiki!
• Eestis pesitseb neli korda rohkem händkakkusid ja kuus korda rohkem valgeselg-kirjurähne kui Poolas.
• Eesti ühes rahvuspargis võib pesitseda rohkem valgeselg-kirjurähne kui terves Rootsis kokku!
• 1997.a. mais loeti Põõsaspeal rändevaatluste ajal ühe ööpäeva jooksul kokku miljon arktilist veelindu.
• Ligemale 10% kogu Euroopa sookurgede populatsioonist peatub igal sügisel Eestis.

Mis on linnuvaatlus?

Linnuvaatlus on lindude jälgimine erinevates elupaikades ja erineval moel. Linde võib vaadelda metsas või rannikul jalutades, päikesetõusu- ja loojangu ajal, aga ka keset päeva või koguni öösel. Linde saab vaadelda koduaias ja välismaal reisides, üksinda ja sõpradega, teadustööd tehes või hobikorras. Algajad vaatlevad linde liigi määramise eesmärgil, spetsialistid osalevad loendus- ja uurimusprojektides. Suur osa inimesi vaatlevad linde elamuse saamise eesmärgil. Paljud otsivad haruldasi linnuliike ja võistlevad omavahel. Lindude vaatlemise muudab atraktiivseks õige optika kasutamine.

Estonian Nature Tours tegevjuhi Marika Manni artikkel Postimees Koolituse Extras

Eesti metsade eest

2011-03-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Läänetaiga mets / Mati Kose

Estonian Nature Tours hoolib Eesti metsast ning annab edasi Eesti metsade eest üleskutse:

Head Eesti inimesed!

Ühinenud Rahvaste Organisatsioon (ÜRO) kuulutas aasta 2011 Rahvusvaheliseks Metsa-aastaks, mille eesmärk on suurendada inimeste teadlikkust metsade olulisusest ühiskonnale, säästlikust metsamajandusest ja looduskaitsest. Mets on ökosüsteem, mis koosneb metsamaast, sellel kasvavast taimestikust ja seal elunevast loomastikust. Üle poole Eesti maismaast on kaetud metsaga. Tänu metsadele on Eestimaa loodus liigirikas. Mets on meie kultuuri ja sotsiaalse identiteedi ning inimeste igapäevaelu loomulik osa. Kahjuks ei majandata hetkel veel Eesti metsi jätkusuutlikult, ohustades sellega tulevaste põlvkondade võimalusi nautida metsade hüvesid.

Eesti Riigikogu otsustas "tähistada" rahvusvahelist metsa-aastat omapoolse panusega: menetlusse võeti „Eesti metsanduse arengukava aastani 2020“ eelnõud. Riigikontroll andis sellele arengukava eelnõule väga kriitilise hinnangu:

"Riigikontrolli hinnangul on arengukava sisu olulisel määral vastuolus selle põhieesmärkidega, kuna raiemahtude suurendamine, raiet lubavate tingimuste lõdvendamine ja raievanuste alandamine ei paranda ühelgi viisil metsade jätkusuutlikku majandamist, keskkonda ja selle kaitsmist ega kindlusta metsasektorile pikaajalist tulu.

Riigikontroll peab vajalikuks juhtida tähelepanu arengukava eelnõu järgmistele puudustele:

a) arengukava eelnõus on riikliku metsainventuuri (SMI) andmeid tõlgendatud vääralt;

b) raiemahtude suurendamiseks kavandatud raievanuste alandamise ja raietingimuste leevendamise ettepanekuid ei ole analüüsitud;

c) raiemahtude suurendamine kahjustab riigimetsa jätkusuutlikku majandamist;

d) eelnõu on vastuolus Eesti ja ELi looduskaitse eesmärkidega. "

Vaatamata Riigikontrolli hinnangule võttis Riigikogu 15.veebruaril 2011 vastu „Eesti metsanduse arengukava aastani 2020“. Poolt hääletas 49 saadikut ja vastu 6 saadikut.

Head inimesed! Palun aidake peatada Eestimaa metsade hävitamine!

Palun tutvuge lisatud Riigikontrolli dokumentidega. http://www.riigikontroll.ee/tabid/206/Audit/2152/Area/15/language/et-EE/Default.aspx#results

Andke oma allkiri, et Riigikogu tühistaks oma otsuse, millega kinnitati „Eesti metsanduse arengukava aastani 2020“. Soovime, et Keskkonnaministeerium valmistaks ette uue arengukava eelnõu, mis tugineb tegelikele lähteandmetele ja arvestab Riigikontrolli, Eesti kodanike ja erinevate huvigruppide arvamuste ning ettepanekutega.

Allkirja andmise koht on siin:
http://petitsioon.ee/eesti-metsa-kaitseks/

Loe veel: http://metsad.vikerkaaresild.org/

Tourest 2011 kinkekaardi võitja on selgunud

2011-03-02T01:58:00.000-08:00

Estonian Nature Tours osales suurimal kodumaisel turismimessil Tourest 2011. Viisime külastajate seas läbi ka väikese küsitluse, millele vastas enam kui 300 inimest vanuses 9-78 eluaastat. Küsitluses osalenute vahel loosisime välja kinkekaardi 70 EUR väärtuses. Võitjaks osutus MERLE SILLA. Palju õnne!

Küsimustik sisaldas valikvastustega teadmiste kontrolli Eestimaa looduse kohta ning uuris samas ka eestlaste eelistusi loodusreiside osas. Kõige paremad olid külastajate teadmised selle kohta, kas Eesti on teiste Euroopa riikidega pigem hästisäilinud loodusega riik, millele vastasid jaatavalt pea kõik vastanud. Üsna hästi on eestlased kursis ka Eestimaa Looduse Fondi vapiloomaga – 90% inimestest arvas, et selleks on lendorav.

Küsitlusest selgus ka, et meie looduse suuri vaatemänge on kogenud väga vähesed eestlased. Küsimustele, kas oled kunagi looduses oma silmaga näinud rohunepi või tedremängu, karu, hunti, enam kui 5 000 sookurge korraga või 50 000 valgepõsk-laglet vastas jaatavalt alla viiendiku. Ka kobrast oli looduses kohanud alla poole vastanutest. Samal ajal on eestlaste soov looduselamusi saada väga suur – koguni 97% inimestest leidis, et eelmainitud looduselamuste kogemiseks oleksid nad valmis osalema tasulisel elamusmatkal.

Täname kõiki küsimustikule vastanuid ja loodame Teid kohata meie matkadel juba sel aastal!

Travel Fair Tourest 2011

2011-03-02T01:57:00.001-08:00

Estonian Nature Tours participated in the largest domestic travel fair, Tourest 2011, which was held in Tallinn for the 20th time. We carried out a small survey which was responded to by more than 300 people aged between 9-78 years. The questionnaire contained multiple-choice questions to assess Estonians knowledge of nature, while it also examined Estonians preferences of the nature tours in our programme. The visitors demonstrated a consensus of opinion that compared to other European countries, Estonia has managed to preserve a greater percentage of its natural habitats, to which all respondents answered in the affirmative. Estonians are quite well aware of the Estonian Fund for Nature heraldic animal - 90% of people thought that this is a flying squirrel.

The survey also showed that, our nature's great spectacles have been experienced by very few Estonians. To questions asking whether they had seen the wild Great Snipe, or Black Grouse, bear, wolves, more than 5 000 Cranes at the same time or 50 000 Barnacle Geese, less than a fifth answered yes. Also, less than half of the respondents had observed beavers in the wild. At the same time, the desire for nature experiences is very high among Estonians – 97% of people felt that they would participate in a paid nature trip.

Thanks to all who answered the questionnaire, and we hope to meet you in our trips this year!

Estonian Nature Tours kutsub arutlema säästva turismi arendamise teemadel

2011-02-16T05:39:00.000-08:00

Tsitaat Aleksei Lotmani 15.veebruaril Lääne Elus ilmunud artiklis „Läänemaa tee – roheline“:
...“ Lääne maakonnas asuv Matsalu linnuriik on maailmas ainulaadne loodusväärtus. Ökoturismi põhimõtteist lähtudes saame tuua maakonda raha ilma meie loodust kahjustamata. On aeg mõista, et riiklik poliitika peab soodustama säästvat turismi, mis kasutab meie kultuuri- ja looduspärandit neid kahjustamata. Tuleb aidata kaasa turismiettevõtjate koostööle ning meie maa loodus- ja kultuuriväärtuste tutvustamisele maailmas“.

See on Eesti poliitika ajaloos esmakordne säästva turismi arendamise tähtsuse mainimine. ***

Turismiarendus Eestis toimib kahtlemata poliitilistest otsustest lähtuvalt. Kuid siiani on otsustajateks suured tegijad (Spad, konverentsiteenused, linnahotellid jne.). Maaturismi ettevõtjad ootavad juba aastaid poliitilist otsust ning suunanäitamist ka Looduspuhkuse osas. Siin on vaja selget tahet ja koostööd Keskkonnaministeeriumi, Põllumajandusministeeriumi ja Majandusministeeriumi vahel. Maaturismi ettevõtjad teevad väga head koostööd juba ammu.

EAS Turismiarenduskeskus on võtnud riiklikku turunduskavasse järgmised teemad:

Linnapuhkus
Tervisepuhkus
Konverentsipuhkus
Looduspuhkus

Momendil läheb kogu aur ja EL raha peamiselt kolme esimese valdkonna arendusse. Ei olda nõus panustama riigi raha Looduspuhkuse tutvusmireisidesse, reklaami ega ka rohelistel messidel osalemisse.

Maaturismi ettevõtjad ei vähenda kuidagi teiste valdkondade tähtsust ega tulu, sest meie sihtgrupp on täiesti teine. Pigem vastupidi – iga loodusesõber välismaalt soovib kindlasti näha ka meie kaunist vanalinna ja paljud äriinimesed, kes viibivad meie linnades konverentsidel või tööasjus, on samaaegselt loodushuvilised. Küll aga viibiksid loodushuvilised Eestis kauem aega ja kulutaksid siin ka suuremal hulgal raha. Millest laekuks riigikasssasse arvestatav hulk maksuraha.

NB! Siinkohal käsitleme säästvat turismi kui väike-ettevõtjate pärusmaad. Ja räägime eelkõige Eesti loodusväärtuste turundamisest välismaal.

Kõik väike ongi säästev ja tasa ning targu on mõistlik...

Mida Teie arvate?

Marika Mann
Tegevjuht / Executive manager
*** ENT juhatuse esimees Marika Mann ei kuulu ühtegi erakonda.

International Travel Trade Fair - TOUREST 2011

2011-02-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

***

Have you ever been in the wild while others are still asleep? Have you heard the wolf howl, or met a bear in the deep woods? Have you seen the masses of Cranes flying in on a golden evening or out on a misty morning from their roosting places? Have you listened to the silence, or been in a romantic boat trip in the reed? Be open to new ideas, you will see more with us ...

The oldest and biggest International Travel Fair in the Baltic States - TOUREST - will be held in Tallinn on 18-20 February for the 20th time! Estonian Nature Tours is located in the Estonian domestic hall (Holidays in Estonia Hall), at Läänemaa fair ground. At Tourest we are sharing flyers, with which you can participate in our trips with 15% discount.

NB! For the first time there are gift cards available and the opportunity to book individual tours. Surprise your friend!

Print out free access ticket to Tourest

*** Special price does not apply to gift cards and printed Estonian Nature Tours flyers

Looduse vastu ei saa. Tourest 2011

2011-02-14T02:54:00.001-08:00

Estonian Nature Tours flaier

***

Kas oled kunagi viibinud looduses siis, kui teised alles magavad? Kas oled kuulnud hundi ulgumist või kohtunud karuga sügavas laanes? Kas oled näinud loojangu eel ööbimispaika lendamas 5000 sookurge? Kas oled kuulanud vaikust või viibinud romantilisel paadiretkel roostikus? Ole avatud uutele ideedele, meiega näed rohkem...

Eesti suurim ja vanim rahvusvaheline turismimess TOUREST 2011 toimub 18.-20.02.2011 Tallinnas Eesti Näituste messikeskuses Pirita tee 28. Asume Eesti siseturismi (Puhka Eestis) hallis Läänemaa pinnal. Messil jagame flaiereid, mille esitamisel saad meie retkedel osaleda 15% soodsamalt.

NB! Esmakordselt saadaval kinkekaardid ja võimalus registreeruda retkedele ka ükshaaval. Tee oma sõbrale üllatus!

Tasuta pääse Tourestile prindi välja siit: http://www.tourest.eu/index.php?cmd=kutsed

*** soodushind ei kehti kinkekaartidele ja väljaprinditud Estonian Nature Tours flaieritele

Lihula 800th Anniversary

2011-02-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

The year 2011 marks 800 years from Lihula's first mentioning in written sources. In the year 1211 the Riga's archbishop Albert appointed Dünamunde monastery abbot Theoderich to be the bishop of Lihula and later the bishop of Estonia, whose residence should be Lihula castle. The new diocesan centre and therefore the capital of Estonia was to become Lihula, however, the diocesan boundaries were originally undefined. This message marks the first mentioning of Lihula in written resources.

Lihula's 800th anniversary is very important for Estonian Nature Tours because our home is located in Lihula Manor. So - when you are coming to the anniversary events, then feel free to visit us as well. You can rent canoes or bicycles, order a boat trip or guided tour in Matsalu National Park. We also assist in finding suitable accommodation.

You might also wish to visit The Small Gallery which is open from May to September where you can enjoy a cappuccino, hand-made truffles, and all with elegant music. The Tourist Information Centre will always help you with friendly advice and of course the art gallery is open as well.

Estonian Nature Tours recommends following Lihula 800th anniversary events:

11. Feb. Nature Evening "Bird of the year 2011 - Barn Swallow" at Matsalu Nature Center, Penijõe
04. June Provincial Song Festival at Lihula Castle Hill
11. June Matsalu National Park hiking day
09. July The village and health day at the Lihula Castle Hill
14th-17th July III International festival of classical music "Lihula Music Days. " Lihula city, Mihkli Church
04. Aug. Movienight at Lihula Castle Hill
05. Aug. Tõnis Mägi concert at Lihula Cultural House
06. Aug. Theatre at Lihula Castle Hill
19 - 21 Aug. Medieval Days at Lihula Castle Hill
14th-18th Sept. IX. Matsalu Nature Film Festival
14.Oct.Nature Evening at Matsalu Nature Center, Penijõe
11. Nov. Nature Evening at Lihula Music and Arts School
10. Dec. Nature Evening at Lihula Music and Arts School

More events here...

Uudiskiri

2011-01-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

Türisalu pank
Foto: Anneli Palo

Sinuni on jõundud Estonian Nature Tours UUDISKIRI Talv / Kevad 2011

Uudiskirjas kajastatavad teemad:

ENT - kes me oleme?
Linnu- ja loodusuudised
KIK ja LEADER. Õppereisid
UUS! Talvised retked
TULEKUL! Kevadised linnuretked.
TOUREST 2011
Lihula 800
ENT turundab Eesti loodust Euroopas

Eestikeelne uudiskiri ilmub 2-3 korda aastas ja on suunatud meie klientidele, koostööpartneritele, turismiarendajatele ning ajakirjandusele Eestis. Uudiskirjades kajastame Eestimaa looduse ja firma arendustööga seonduvaid sündmusi ning üllatame oma kliente uudistoodete ja sooduspakkumistega loodusturismi valdkonnas.

Estonian Nature Tours tänab Sind meiega veedetud aja eest!

Lihula 800

2011-01-26T04:23:00.000-08:00

2011 aastal möödub 800 aastat Lihula esimesest teadaolevast mainimisest kirjalikes allikates. Nimelt määras 1211 aastal Riia peapiiskop Albert Lihula piiskopiks ning hiljem ka Eestimaa piiskopiks Dünamünde kloostriabti Theoderich'i kelle residentsiks, peale selle vallutamist Mõõgavendade ordu poolt, pidi saama Lihula linnus. See teade märgibki Lihula esmamainimist kirjalikes dokumentides.

Lihula 800 juubel on ka Estonian Nature Toursi jaoks väga tähtis, kuna meie kodu asub Lihula mõisas. Seega - kui tuled juubeliüritustele, astu julgelt meiegi juurest läbi! Meilt saad kohapeal rentida kanuusid või jalgrattaid, tellida paadisõitu roostikus või giidiga ringsõitu Matsalu rahvuspargis. Abistame ka sobiva majutuskoha leidmisel. Eriti mõnus on meie juures, kui on avatud ka Väike Salong (mai-september). Siis saad meiega koos nautida vahust capuccinot ja käsitsi valmistatud trühvleid ning seda kõike elegantse salongimuusika saatel. Turismiinfopunkt aitab sind alati sõbraliku nõuandega ja loomulikult on avatud ka kunstigalerii.

Lihula 800 üritustest soovitaksime järgmisi:

11. veebr. Loodusõhtu “Aasta lind 2011 – suitsupääsuke” Matsalu looduskeskuses Penijõel
04. juuni. Maakondlik laulupidu Lihula linnusemäel
11. juuni. Matkapäev Matsalu rahvuspargis
09. juuli. Küla.- ja tervisepäev Lihula linnusemäel
14.-17. juuli. III rahvusvaheline klassikalise muusika festival "Lihula Muusikapäevad". Lihula linnas, Mihkli kirikus
04. aug. Öökino Lihula linnusemäel
05. aug. Tõnis Mägi kontsert Lihula kultuurimajas
06. aug. Etendus Lihula Linnusemäel
19.- 21. aug. Keskajapäevad. Lihula linnusemäel
14.-18. sept. IX. Matsalu Loodusfilmide Festival
14.okt. Loodusõhtu Matsalu rahvuspargi looduskeskuses Penijõel
11. nov. Loodusõhtu Lihula Muusika ja Kunstikoolis.
10. dets. Loodusõhtu Lihula Muusika ja Kunstikoolis.

Rohkem valikut siin...

Terve August on sünnipäevakuu!

Lihula 800

1201. aastal olid ristisõdijad asutanud Riia linna ja loonud seal platsdarmi edasisteks vallutusteks. Peetigi sellekohaseid plaane ja pandi juba kirja tulevasi ametimehi. Nii pühitses Riia peapiiskop Albert von Buxhoeveden 1211. aastal Dünamünde kloostri abti Theodorichi algul Lihula, hiljem ka Eestimaa piiskopiks. See teade märgibki Lihula esmamainimist kirjalikes dokumentides.

Uue piiskopkonna keskuseks, seega Eestimaa pealinnaks pidi saama Lihula, piiskopkonna piirid jäid aga esialgu määramata. Miks valiti just Lihula? Põhja-Eesti rannik polnud ristisõda organiseerinud ja juhtinud Riia peapiiskopi kaaskonnale noil aegadel arvatavasti veel piisavalt tuttav. Ka puudus ilmselt vajalik informatsioon põhjaeestlaste organiseeritusest ja sõjalisest võimekusest. Lääne-Eesti, eriti selle rannikuala oli sõjakäikude ja luureandmete järgi kindlasti hoopis tuttavam. Sealsetest keskustest teati hästi nii Ridalat kui ka Lihulat. Haapsalu lahe äärne oli siis aga veel asustamata. Ridala tuumik jäi merest kümnekonna kilomeetri kaugusele, Lihula linnus Matsalu lahest ja kusagil seal asunud sadamast linnulennult vaid mõne kilomeetri kaugusele. Seal leidus sobiv kõrgendik tugeva piiskopilinnuse rajamiseks, ehitusmaterjal paekivi näol ning ka tööjõud. Lihula ümbrus oli nimelt tihedalt asustatud. Dokumentaalselt on linnuse ümber 13. sajandil mainitud kuut küla. Need olid Alaküla, Valuste, Sipa, Hälvati ja Parivere, linnuse ees (sellest lõuna pool) veel Lihula küla. Niisiis polnud piiskop Albertil Lihulast paremat kohta Eestimaa piiskopkonna asukohaks valida.

Ometi ei läinud kõik siiski piiskopi soovide kohaselt. Sakslased ja nende liitlased korraldasid küll mitmeid rüüsteretki Läänemaale, maa vallutamine läks aga raskustega. Albert käis koguni Taani kuningat palumas, et see Eestimaale sõjakäigu ette võtaks ning nii paganad kirikule alandlikumaks muudaks. Taanlased maabusidki 1219. aastal Lindanise all ning võitsid lahingus eestlaste malevat, surma sai aga nendega kaasas olnud piiskop Theodorich. Nüüd üritasid taanlased kogu Põhja-Eestit endale allutada. See ei läinud enam Alberti plaanidega kuidagi kokku. 1220. aastal sekkusid siinsetesse sündmustesse ka rootslased, hõivates Lihula ja hakates Läänemaale kirikuid ehitama. Nende vägi sai aga 8. augustil Lihula all saarlastelt lüüa. 1227. aastal tõrjuti ka taanlased Eestist välja ning kogu maa läks sakslaste kätte. Läänemaast, Saaremaast, Hiiumaast ja väiksematest saartest moodustati Saare-Lääne piiskopkond. 1238. aastal hakkas piiskop Heinrich I koos Orduga Lihulasse piiskopilinnust ehitama. Nelja aasta pärast valmis saanud kants jagatigi piiskopi ja Ordu vahel. See oli Saare-Lääne piiskopkonna esimene residents. Ordule jäi Saare-Lääne piiskopkonnast aga Karuse kihelkond ning osa Saare- ja Hiiumaast.

Vaata Lihulat tutvustavat videot...

Special Offer! Estonia in Early Spring

2011-01-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

Estonia in Early Spring SAVE 130 EUR!

Tour dates: Thu07Apr - Tue12Apr 2011

PRICE: 860 EUR

Special price: 730 EUR

An 6-day holiday in search of owls, woodpeckers and other wintering and spring-time specialities of Estonia. Read more...
HOW TO BOOK...
Tour dossier...

Spring birdwatching in Estonia begins in late March when woodpeckers start their drumming, Capercaillies become very active under the old pine forests at dusk and all the swamps and bogs resound with Black Grouses at sunrise. On shallow bays, their traditional feeding sites, there are thousands of Whooper and Bewick’s Swans and different duck species, on the fields gather tens of thousands of geese. When it gets dark you can hear the calls of owls in the forest and observe Woodcocks flying above you.

Steller's Eider Watching tour Special Offer!

2011-01-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

Special offer until 15th February! SAVE 70 EUR!

HOW TO BOOK...

PRICE: 495 EUR
Special price: 425 EUR
A 4-day holiday in search flocks of Steller´s Eider in their wintering grounds and other wintering specialities of West-Estonia.

Thu17Mar –Sun20Mar 2011

The most dangered seaduck in Europe, Steller`s Eider, is good reason to visit Estonia even in the winter time. The coast of our biggest island, Saaremaa, is the most important wintering area for Steller`s Eider around the Baltic Sea. These eye-catching birds arrive in December and leave around the beginning of April. The best time to observe Steller`s Eider is January and February when congregations may reach 1000 birds or even more.

NB! The beginning of winter offers good opportunities to observe Owls. A low number of rodents has forced Ural Owls to hunt during the daytime. Also with few rodents to the north, Estonia can expect a bigger invasion of Hawk Owls this winter. In October Hawk Owls have already been spotted in West-Estonia! The best time to observe owls is January-February.

Click here and see the Tour itinerary...

Estonian Fund For Nature (ELF) has launched a donation campaign to protect Flying Squirrel

2011-01-03T05:38:00.000-08:00

With the help of the donated money ELF will continue its research on this species particularly in forest near to areas where the species is already known. In recent decades intensive woodcutting has decreased the number of old forests and particularly old hollow aspen forests that are suitable for flying squirrels and research is needed to protect these rare animals. As Flying Squirrels are so secretive, their nesting trees and habitats can be damaged by woodcutter out of ignorance. Research helps foresters to avoid accidental killing of animals or damage of habitats as areas can be left out from woodcutting plans. Giving protective status to these areas will secure the right type of forest for Flying Squirrels.

Flying Squirrel expert Uudo Timm: "This year's monitoring data indicates that population of Flying Squirrels are still in poor condition and the number of species habitat is decreasing in Estonia. In Alutaguse region, which is Estonia's most important area of Flying Squirrels, the appropriate type of old hollow aspen forests are decreasing. Young Flying Squirrels who need to spread far from the place of birth, it is very difficult to find a safe residence, as woodcutting and related storm damage is a result of many habitats are isolated from each other. "

Flying Squirrels who live in small groups and in isolation, there are no possibility for them to spread to other suitable habitats. This kind of fragmentation of old forests can lead to decline of Flying Squirrels and their repopulation will be difficult or even impossible. We have to pay greater attention to conservation and recoverment of the forests Flqying Squirrel is living in to avoid fragmentation of the range of Flying Squirrels.

Highly endangered Flying Squirrel is ELF's heraldic animal. Protecting the Flying Squirrels is also associated with old forests and precious habitats.

Liis Kuresoo from ELF forest programs: "The year 2011 is the launched by United Nations as an international year of the forest. We hope that there will be increasing interest in protection of Estonian forests. In addition to Flying Squirrel there are other endangered species living in old hollow aspen forests, to whom woodcutting means a loss of habitat. If you protect the habitats of Flying Squirrels, it also improves the wellbeing the other species in old forests.“

The flying squirrel is a bit smaller than the ordinary squirrel and unlike other squirrels is nocturnal. It has received its name from hairy folds of skin between its fore and hind legs which help it to make jumps up to 35 metres from one tree to another. The flying squirrel is the pride of Estonian forests – in Europe they can only be found in Estonia and Finland.

More info: http://www.elfond.ee/en/flying-squirrel

For every person joining us on our Mammal Watching tour we will make a donation of 15Euros to this project as we feel it is extremely important to the future of this delightful animal...

To people who are intrested in Flying Squirrel, Estonian Nature Tours is organizing Flying Squirrel Study Tour. Upcoming trips 2011: 18th June, 9th July, 30th. More info

Eestimaa Looduse Fond kogub lendoravate kaitseks annetusi

Eestimaa Looduse Fond (ELF) korraldab koostöös partneritega Ida- ja Lääne-Virumaal, aga ka teistes lendorava varasema leviala piirkondades lendoravate pesapaikade väljaselgitamiseks vajalikke uuringuid. Kuna lendoravad elavad varjatult, võivad selle ohustatud liigi pesapuud või elupaigad langeda teadmatusest tehtud raietööde ohvriks, see muudab info kogumise väga oluliseks. ELF kogub annetusi lendoravate kaitse korraldamiseks vajalike uuringute läbiviimiseks.

Lendoravaekspert Uudo Timm: "Tänavused seireandmed näitavad, et Eesti lendoravate populatsioon on endiselt halvas seisus ja liigi elupaikade arv väheneb. Alutaguse piirkonnas, mis on Eesti tähtsaim lendoravate ala, jääb liigile sobivaid vanu haavametsi järjest vähemaks. Noortel lendoravatel, kes peavad levima sünnipaigast kaugemale, on väga raske leida turvalist elukohta, kuna metsaraiete ja nendega seotud tormikahjustuste tagajärjel on paljud elupaigad üksteisest isoleeritud.“

Väikeste rühmadena isolatsioonis elavatel lendoravatel puudub võimalus levida teistesse sobivatesse elupaikadesse. Selline vanade metsade killustumine võib viia lendorava hääbumisele ning nende taasasustamine on raskendatud või isegi võimatu. Lendoravate levila killustumise vältimiseks tuleks edaspidi senisest suuremat tähelepanu pöörata nende loomade asurkondi ühendavate metsaosade säilitamisele ja taastamisele.

Eestis väga ohustatud lendorav on ELFi vapiloom. Lendoravate kaitsmine on seotud ka vanade metsade ja vääriselupaikade kaitsega.

Liis Kuresoo ELFi metsaprogrammist: „ 2011. aasta on ÜRO algatanud rahvusvahelise metsa-aasta. Loodame, et ka Eestis suureneb huvi metsade kaitse vastu. Vanade metsadega on seotud lisaks lendoravale veel ohtralt teisigi ohustatud liike, kelle jaoks metsaraie tähendab elupaiga hävimist. Kui kaitsta lendorava elupaiku, siis paraneb ka teiste vana metsaga seotud liikide käekäik."

Lendorav on harilikust oravast pisut väiksem. Oma nime on ta saanud keha külgedel esi- ja tagajalgade vahel asuva karvadega kaetud nahavoldi järgi, mis lennusena võimaldab loomakesel teha kuni 35-meetriseid hüppeid puult puule. Lendoravaid elab Euroopa Liidus vaid Eestis ja Soomes.

Info: http://www.elfond.ee/lendoravale

Ka Estonian Nature Tours toetab haruldast lendoravat annetades iga loomaavaatlusretkes osalenud inimese pealt 15 Eurot ELF-i projekti.

2010-12-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

Polish people have great hopes on Estonian Lynx

2010-11-29T01:21:00.000-08:00

The Polish branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is hoping that lynx from Estonia will save the Polish local lynx population.

The lynx population in the Polish northeastern region of Mazur has significantly declined over the past 20 years and pushed the lynx population to the north. The lynx population is estimated at 200 and of that total population 60 are suspected to be living in the northeastern region. The Polish WWF is hoping to relocate lynxes from Estonia to the Mazuri region in an effort to restore their presence, according to the Polish Radio website.

WWF considers Estonian forests to be very similar to those in Mazur, therefore the relocation of the feline should not cause any major adjustment problems for the animals. However, it is still unclear how many lynx will be allowed the transfer to Poland and the timeline is still being worked out.

According to the Polish Radio website, the lynx has been an endangered species in Poland since 1995. In Estonia there is large population of lynx present across the country and they are not a protected species. In Estonia hunting for lynx is allowed.

Translation by ENT, original article from media channel postimees.ee
Read more: Lynxes from Estonia to repopulate Poland: WWF

Estonian nature is among the richest in Europe

2010-11-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

In celebrating Estonia’s nature conservation efforts 100th anniversary, the Ministry of Environment made some investigative summaries of our natural resources. The discoveries showcased Estonia among the forefront of natural heritage along with other Northern European countries.

Lilika Käis, Ministry of Environment nature preservation department main specialist, said that “The uniqueness of our natural environment as well as the diversity in our fauna is attributed to our geographical position.” Estonia in naturally a multiple border country: placed between a continental and a marine climate we have a temperate climate while across the whole of Estonia is a border between the limestone and poorer sandstone rocks. In addition we are located at the southern border of the coniferous forest zone.

“That is why Estonia has such diversity in natural conditions — we have the presence of conifer as well as broad-leaved forest and other natural sites such as coastal cliffs, dunes, sand- and stone beaches. Thanks to that positioning many species live only within these limits - for example a third of our vascular plants,” said Käis.

The dimensions and the presence of boulders in Estonia puts us in the forefront of the North-European glacier formation – an astonishing 90% of the gigantic boulders are located here.

The presence of meteor craters by area density ranks as number one in the world with 8 craters in: Ilumetsa, Kaali, Kärdla, Lasnamäe, Neugrund, Simuna, Tsõõrikmäe ja Vaidasoo.

Different bog communities cover nearly one-tenth of Estonia, and in terms of protected bogs, we are also at the forefront of the world - about half of the bog communities are under protection. "Intensive agriculture in densely populated Europe has destroyed nearly all the wetlands, and conservationists are involved in the restoration," said Went.

Particulary species-rich are Estonian meadow communities. For example, it has been counted that the Western-Estonian wooded meadow Laelatu has 76 different vascular plants in one square meter and that makes Laelatu special in the whole world. "If we take an example of Western and Southern Europe’s meadows that have impoverished flora then our semi-natural meadows give the opportunity to admire the plants that are destroyed or have become rare in Europe," said Käis.

Over half of Estonia is covered by natural forest and for that measure we are ranked 4th in Europe. Lahemaa has over 72 500 ha of natural forest and is one the largest preserves of its’ kind.

Estonia has more coastal meadows, alvars and wooded meadows than any other European country, and also one of the biggest floodplains – 4000 ha large Kasari floodplain.
Estonia protects 18% of its mainland and almost 1/5 of its’ aquatic terrain. “For example, we are ranked 5th in the EU by having a Natural network that covers 16.7% of Estonia, “said Käis.

There are over 26 000 known species in Estonia, but in reality that number may reach as far as 40 000. Over half of the species found in Estonia are invertebrates that inhabit forest. Species that are considered rare in Europe are wolves, bears and lynxes, but their populations are doing well in Estonia according to Käis.

Estonia is also a paradise for migrating birds – we are located on the East-Atlantic migration route of many species of waterfowl and in every spring and fall millions of birds pass through here. Our coastal waters are the most important stop for many birds between nesting and wintering areas. For example, approximately half of Greater Scaup stop in Estonian waters on their spring migration, as well as thousands of Long-tailed Ducks, Divers, Geese and Common Cranes.

Latvia and Lithuania have sea without islands, Finland and Sweden have generally high rock islands. Estonia has predominantly shallow marine islands and islets, there are more than 1,500 of them. Those are unique bird islands in the whole Baltic Sea and therefore Estonia is an internationally valued bird watching destination.

Limestone, which is mainly in the upper layers of rock, has been selected as our national rock because of the powerful shapes created where the cliff face erodes.

North-Estonian clint is part of the Baltic clint layer and the highest and most notable section covers about 300 km of the Baltic clint. This rock allows us to track the history of the Earth from about 80 million years ago. We can find waterfalls and cascades from the North-Estonian limestone and limestone is also associated with such landscapes as karst, secret rivers, caves and craters which are widespread in Estonian limestone area.

Translation by ENT, original article from media channel postimees.ee

Story About Marika Mann, the Executive Manager of Estonian Nature Tours

2010-11-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

First contacts with nature: childhood memories
I was born in the countryside near the woods and mires. Before school I was mostly raised by my grandmother, who lived some kilometres away in a small homestead. Grandmother lived alone and most of her time was spent on farm work. I had to learn early how to amuse myself. My favourite activity was playing “home” near the farm between the disintegrated stone walls that were overgrown with bushes. I cleared the surroundings of tree branches and decayed leaves then designed, from different moss patterns, “rooms” and “resting corners” for sitting and sleeping. Often I was so intent on my task that I forgot to involve my dolls and doll’s cookwares, time passed so quickly and interestingly...

Sometimes I sneaked away to the forest stream kilometre away. It was strictly forbidden, but I liked to watch the slow running water. I played barefoot along the shore with coloured stones, at the same time taking notice of not being away from home for too long. On the way back, I always gathered bunch of goutweed for the sheep - it helped to better cover up my mischief.

I remember a moment. It was a winter afternoon and my grandmother decided to go through the forest with me to visit my parents. The journey was only 4 kilometres long, but so much snow and stormy weather slowed our pace and it took much longer to arrive than grandmother had expected. Pitch-darkness made us scared of losing our way. When reaching the glade, grandmother remembered that there was a hay barn nearby and went to look for it. Minutes alone in the dark seemed to drag and I remembered that it never came into my mind to break my grandmother’s trust and wander away because I knew I would be totally lost. I was 4 years old, but still aware of the inevitability of the situation and supremacy of the wild nature. All’s well that ends well - my grandmother found the shed and we stayed the night and continued the journey in the morning. Grandmother caught a cold and fever that was hard to get over. Years later, grandmother recalled the moment with terror, what would have happened if I had moved even a metre from where I was told to stay!

At the present
I've spent many hours in the forest and the coast with my clients, colleagues, guides and therefore I have learned a lot about nature. I am like a child of nature -I have respect for all living things around me, including people. I can sit in my garden for many hours and look at the meadows towards the sunset. It is like a movie out there – Woodpecker’s making noises over my head, Golden Oriole singing beautifully, from the distance you can hear Bitterns booming, Tawny Owls hunt in the evening, Goats are bleeting, a Fox is coming closer to the garden...and there are many things you can’t even see or hear. A good and complete life is when you have an activity which grabs you, evolves you and having close people who encourage you. You have to know how to remember that the process itself is more important than the goal. You can’t be afraid to get lost and to be yourself, even if there is a danger to be left alone. And you can’t waste your time thinking about the things you can’t do, but you have to concentrate and put all your energy into things you can do. You have to occasionally remind yourself what really is important in life – having important people around you, moments, feelings, and so on. If you know how to carry these simple things in your life, then you will have a good and complete life.

Sometimes I have experienced this kind of life, but not always. I have to remind myself that the magic is to evolve. I have learned to have a good and complete life during entrepreneurship. I have faith in life!

Marika Mann

Estonia in Autumn

2010-11-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

Despite the cloudy, cold and windy days at the start, we only experienced rain on one afternoon and evening, and with the skies clearing leaving a beautiful final full day and a half, the changes helped move many migrants and provide us with some superb birding spectacles. The mass exodus of Common Cranes and mass arrival and passage of Barnacle Geese at the start, followed by large numbers of seemingly disorientated small birds over the Sõrve bird observatory and movement of small birds, especially those gorgeous white-headed Long-tailed Tits, at the Kabli ringing station were all excellent examples of the phenomenon of visible migration at this migration crossroads. Apart from these spectacles, I’m sure we’ll all have our own highlights, with the Racoon Dog running along the road, the surprise Eurasian Eagle-owl, or observations of both Grey-headed and European Three-toed Woodpeckers in the same tree, probably figuring among them. I hope so! And 142 bird species recorded on an autumn tour certainly can’t be bad going!
I look forward to seeing you again on a Travelling Naturalist tour, and wish to thank you all for helping make this such a rewarding, and indeed groundbreaking, holiday.
Very best wishes, John Muddeman / The Travelling Naturalist

Read the whole tour report

Weedon´s World in Bird Watching magazine

2010-11-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

I don’t know if you are the same, but I have a bit of a birdwatching routine. Apart from my regular cycle to work (which is getting darker by the day), I take some time at the weekends to visit certain favourite local spots, and there are certain birds in certain places and they are familiar. Things become habitual and cozy, though I am always on the look out for something new. In addition to the constant search for
the unusual, there is a comfortable knowledge that this species will be around here and that bird around there, and they will be doing their stuff as they do every week or every year. This is all well and good, but there is something thrilling about seeing the expected and commonplace in an unusual setting or context, or getting up to something brand new. I’ve just come back from a week in Estonia, which you could regard as unfamiliar in itself, and it was indeed my first trip to one of the former Soviet Baltic states. But the flat-lying damp forests, bogs, heath and sandy coast had more than an air of the known, like an unspoilt version of what much of low-lying
England may once have looked (though with fabulous roads and excellent facilities). The birding was excellent, with plenty of classic northern European birds on offer, such as Black Woodpecker and White-tailed Eagle, plus the odd Raccoon Dog and Elk (or Moose if you prefer) and a scampering Pine Marten to keep the other-wildlife-watching me happy. But perhaps the most striking was the familiar seen as unfamiliar.
Let me elucidate with a few examples. We hadhardly started out on our journey from the capital Tallinn (in the north) to the west of Estonia and were already in wild country and seeing our first Roe Deer. “Surely, those aren’t Roe Deer, are they?”, thought I. But, after a view through binoculars it was clear that they were Roes, but they didn’t look anything like the Roes over here: they were dressed in warm golden orange fur, not the rather dull grey-brown I naturally expect. We saw dozens of Roes over the course of the week and every time I was startled by their colour.
And to take matters to a more bird-related footing, as we drove around the country we flushed up flocks of thousands of Chaffinches, that most domestic of birds lifted to a new order of magnitude, almost becoming a new species simply by dint of numbers.
Similarly, while seawatching, the sheer numbers of birds was almost disorienting. I was impressed by the constant flow of migrant Black-throated Divers, the flocks of 30plus Velvet Scoter, the hundreds of Scaup and the smattering of scarcer birds such as half-adozen Red-necked Grebes. But I just did not expect to see dozens of Sparrowhawks spilling over the waves. Above the hawks, came more flocks of Chaffinches and White Wagtails, but there were other passerines,
too, such as Willow Tit. Willow Tit is a species which I have been watching in the UK for decades. Sadly, their numbers are hugely reduced in counties such as my own (Cambridgeshire) and these days I am lucky to hear or see one or two in my travels during the year; but their ‘chay chay chay’ call is engrained in my psyche since I was a young man. But the thing that really startled me in Estonia was hearing the call while seawatching on a northern shore. Well, not so much hearing the call from the pines next to our vantage point, but looking up to see a small pine packed with 30 Willow Tits together: migrants fleeing the harsh Fennoscandian winter to come.
In the western Estonian woods, Willow Tit was the ubiquitous voice, dominating everything else, even Great Tits. The forests tread a fine line between the familiar and the strange. The trees are narrowtrunked, like plantations in Britain, but they are wild, unplanted, old; just growing on poor damp soil. The vegetation is largely familiar, but the birds are subtly different in these Estonian trees: white-breasted
northern Nuthatches; neat, grey, sleek Chiffchaffs; Long-tailed Tits with wholly snow-white heads; Bullfinches with weird, ringing trumpet calls; and there’s the knowledge that there are White-backed and Grey-headed Woodpeckers out there. On our final day, when bad weather gave way to clear, bright skies, the migration floodgates
opened and the early morning sky became full of migrating passerines: familiar ‘viz mig’ but on a grand scale, drawing on depth of call-knowledge rarely employed back home. Overhead came flocks of Chaffinches and Bramblings, Tree Pipit with the Meadows, Hawfinch and Crossbill and Siskin; 20-strong flocks of Jays, and a steady stream of Nutcrackers. Classic northern European birds in the throes of deserting a freeze to come; something that just won’t happen at home. And talking of home, as I have hinted at in this column before, we now have Cranes breeding near
Peterborough, and one or two Cranes are part of my regular birding year. Perhaps the ultimate highlight of my time in western Estonia was something that I was expecting from the itinerary, but still elevated an accustomed experience to an extraordinary one. As we drove around, we kept encountering groups of Cranes, part of an army of tens of thousand passing through Estonia in autumn. On one evening, we set up camp on a birding tower and watched some 5,000 Cranes coming into roost in the nearby damp fields. But when I say ‘watch’, this is to diminish the experience; it’s more about simultaneously looking, listening and absorbing flocks of hundreds and hundreds of Cranes flooding in. The sound of thousands of Cranes elevates a haunting, lonely trumpet to a triumphant fanfare to raise the hairs on the most hairless nape – a reminder, if ever we need it, to unexpect the expected!
■ Mike would like to thank the good people of Estonian Nature Tours for inviting him to Estonia. Look out for more from his trip in our January issue

Lasteaiaõpetajate õppereis Matsalu rahvuspargis

2010-10-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

2010 aasta kevadel toimus lasteaiaõpetajate õppereis Matsalu rahvusparki. Projekti „Lasteaiaõpetajate õppereis Matsalu rahvuspargis” eesmärgiks oli keskkonnaalase väliõppe (õuesõppe) võimaluste tutvustamine ning võimalike suundade näitamine praktilise kasutusega. Sihtgrupiks lasteaiaõpetajad, kes edasiselt oleksid võimelised läbi viima praktilise suunitlusega väliõpet juba esmaselt lasteaia laste hulgas, kui ka võimalusega õpetajaid kasutada väliõppega seotud keskkonnaalaste õppepäevade läbiviimisel edasiste keskkonnateadlikkuse projektidega kavandatavatel õppepäevadel.

Õppereisi korraldaja leidmisel sai määravaks õuesõppe läbiviimise asukoht, vajaliku temaatika käsitluse oskused ja pädevus, varasemate tegevuste kvaliteetsus ning ka samalaadsete õppeprogrammide pakkujate vähesus. Eelnevat kokkuvõttes viis õppereisi läbi Kumari Reisid OÜ.

Õppereisi ülesehituses oli eelkõige käsitletav praktilise õppevormi suund, milles vaadeldi erinevate looduskoosluste, maastiku ning ka seadusandluste määratluste kasutuse võimalikkust väliõppe temaatikast lähtuvalt ning võimalusi selle viimisest lasteni ja seda just lastele huvitavaks ning arusaadavaks tegemist esile tõstes. Tutvuti lihtsamate praktiliste lahenduste ja vaatlusvormidega, mida on võimalik kasutada väliõppe käigus. Hilisema korraldatud küsitluse tagasiside oli äärmiselt positiivne ning paljus mainiti Kumari Reisid OÜ spetsialistide väga head kompetentsust ning huvitavat praktilist lähenemist õuesõppe temaatikas käsitletavale.

Piltide reas saab ka visuaalse, küll osalise, ülevaate tegevustest, mis toimusid õppereisi kestusel. Õppereisi raames õpitut kasutavad lasteaiaõpetajad juba igapäevaselt lasteaias õuesõppe tundides ning ollakse veendunud, et selliste õppereiside vajadus on tegelikkuses suurem ja seda nii õpetajatele, kui ka lastele. Loe edasi ja vaata pilte siit