Bird Island on Poraj Reservoir

Bird Island came about by chance: when the Warta river was dammed in 1978 and Poraj Reservoir was filled, a raised section of an old local road from Kuźnica Stara to Masłońskie was left above the water. Today it is a natural bird sanctuary – a nesting site and resting place for migrating birds, where you may even spot a white-tailed eagle or an osprey. The island lies in the municipality of Poraj, on the edge of the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura.

A reservoir built for a steelworks

Poraj Reservoir was built for the steelworks in Częstochowa – the dam at Poraj was to supply industrial water, though recreation by the lake was planned from the start. At most the reservoir covers 5.5 km² and holds about 25 million m³; it is 4.9 km long, up to 1.4 km wide and has about 15 km of shoreline. The deepest point reaches 13 m, the average depth is 3.9 m.

Who lives here

The island is a natural refuge for waterbirds. You can see several species of ducks, grebes, herons, cormorants, gulls and swans, and occasionally a white-tailed eagle or an osprey. During migration large flocks gather here – according to the regional tourist portal, it is this spectacle that has made the island a sanctuary in its own right.

Tripto tip

You can reach the island by boat or kayak from Kuźnica Stara or Masłońskie, and when the water is low you can even wade across. It is better, though, to watch the birds from a distance with binoculars – especially in spring and early summer, during the nesting season, when any landing can disturb them. The island is accessible all year. Nearby sights include the ruins of a cardboard factory in Masłońskie, the Dębiński manor in Kuźnica Stara, the Marina Poraj harbour in Jastrząb, and the 1930s wooden villas and astronomical observatory in Żarki-Letnisko.