Łęg Korea Nature Reserve

Łęg Korea Nature Reserve covers 79.29 hectares of riverside forests and wetlands on the western bank of the Oder, just below the mouth of the Kaczawa. It lies within two municipalities and counties: Ścinawa in Lubin County and Prochowice in Legnica County. It was established in 2001 to protect riparian forests with rich birdlife.

Location and boundaries

The reserve's terrain is hard to access, and its boundaries are formed by the Oder, the Kaczawa, its branch known as the Kaczawa Canal (Bobrek), and an old river channel. The reserve lies within two Natura 2000 areas of the same name, "Łęgi Odrzańskie" (Oder Riparian Forests): a bird sanctuary and a habitat sanctuary. On the other side of the Oder, about 1.2 kilometres to the south-east, lies the Odrzysko Nature Reserve.

Forests and plants

The largest area here is occupied by ash-elm riparian forest, accompanied in less moist spots by Central European oak-hornbeam forest. Smaller areas are covered by willow-poplar riparian forest, while unforested land is taken up by old river channels and flood meadows. In closed depressions in the terrain, black alder-currant carrs occur in places, a rare plant community. Among the protected plants growing here are Siberian iris, snowdrop, broad-leaved helleborine and bird's-nest orchid, and among the plants that are rare in the region, though not protected, water-soldier and marsh spurge.

Birds and other animals

The reserve stands out for its very high density of breeding birds. In the last decade of the 20th century, 68 breeding species were recorded here, including 61 associated with riparian forests, with a density reaching 8.85 pairs per hectare. Species seen here, though not every year, include black stork, white-tailed eagle, red kite, black kite, honey buzzard, goosander, crane, turtle dove, kingfisher, black woodpecker, grey-headed woodpecker, middle spotted woodpecker and collared flycatcher. Among mammals, beaver lives here, along with rare bats: barbastelle, greater mouse-eared bat, Bechstein's bat and the pond bat, associated with surface waters. In the surrounding streams and old river channels there are protected fish: bitterling, weatherfish and spined loach.

Management and protection

The reserve lies on State Treasury land, managed by the Legnica Forest District, with oversight by the Regional Nature Conservator in Wrocław. There is no protection plan, but protective tasks are in place, under which the whole area is subject to active protection.

Practical information

• Location: western bank of the Oder at the mouth of the Kaczawa, Ścinawa and Prochowice municipalities
• Getting there: nearby also lies the Oder Viewpoint
• Accessibility: no tourist trails cross the area, and some breeding bird species are subject to zonal protection, which rules out opening the site to visitors