Matsalu National Park

Matsalu is a shallow bay, a river delta and a wide band of coastal meadow and reed bed, and it sits directly under one of the main flyways between the Arctic and western Europe. Twice a year that geography turns it into one of the most important bird sites on the continent. The rest of the year it is a quiet, flat, slightly melancholy piece of coast with almost nobody on it.

What you actually see

• The reed beds - running to the horizon, with wet meadows grazed to keep them open.
• The bay - so shallow that the water and the land blur into each other.
• Five observation towers - Keemu, Haeska, Kloostri, Suitsu and Penijõe, each looking over a different habitat.
• Migration numbers - barnacle geese in flocks that darken a field, whooper swans stacked on the bay, and cranes gathering before crossing the sea, with counts into the tens of thousands on a good October morning at Haeska.

When to go

April to May is spring passage, with geese, swans and waders over wet, loud meadows. September to October is autumn passage and usually the bigger spectacle, with cranes and barnacle geese. Summer is the breeding season: far fewer birds, but corncrakes calling at night in the meadows. Winter is largely empty, and worth it only if you want the emptiness.

Honest expectations

This is a birding site first. Without binoculars you will see a flat landscape and some distant specks; with them you will see why people plan trips around it. A scope makes a real difference at the bay towers.

The towers are open, unheated and exposed - in spring that means wind off the water, and the walk in to some of them crosses wet meadow. Rubber boots are not optional in April.

Nearby

Haapsalu, with its castle ruins and long wooden promenade, is the natural base. The Noarootsi peninsula and the ferry ports for Vormsi and Hiiumaa are all within an hour.