Lake Engure

Engures ezers lies a short way behind the coastal dunes, a shallow lagoon of around forty-five square kilometres, the third-largest lake in Latvia, cut off from the sea by a sand bar, fringed with reed and holding islands used by nesting birds. Around a hundred and eighty species breed and many more pass through, which makes it one of the most important bird sites in the region, with a long-running research station and one of the oldest ringing programmes in the Baltic. Wild cattle and horses graze the coastal meadows to keep them open. Observation towers, a boardwalk and a nature trail give access to the reedbed and the shore, and orchids grow on the calcareous meadows nearby.

The landscape

• Breeding waterbirds - the ducks, grebes, terns and waders on the lake.
• Observation towers - the platforms over the reed and open water.
• Grazing herds - the wild cattle and horses on the coastal meadows.
• Meadow orchids - the flowering on the calcareous ground in early summer.

When to go

April to June for breeding birds and orchids, and August to October for passage waders and wildfowl. Early morning is best. Winter freezes the lake and empties it of birds.

Good to know

A scope or binoculars are needed; birds are distant from the towers. Trails are wet and mosquito-ridden in summer. There is no visitor centre at most access points. Signage is mainly in Latvian.

Nearby

Talsi lies northwest; Riga is east along the coast.

Key facts