PL083
Middle Vistula River Valley This is an IBA in Danger! 


Country/territory: Poland

IBA criteria met: C1, C6 (2010)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 30,490 hectares (304.90 km2)

Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków
IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2019 not assessed very high not assessed
For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here


Site description (2000 baseline)
A large unregulated stretch of the Wis³a (Vistula) river, from Go³¹b village to P³ock town (226 km long), with numerous sand islands. Some islands are bare, others have a herb layer, and high islands have scrub of willow Salix and poplar Populus. There are sand-dunes. The riverbanks and flood terrace are used mainly for intensive collection of willow Salix stems (for planting on riverbanks, dunes, etc., and as material for crafts), and intensive cattle-grazing on meadows and pastures. The river is used by boat traffic.

Key biodiversity
An important site for staging migrants such as waders and passerines, and for wintering waterbirds, of which more than 20,000 occur regularly, mainly ducks. Breeding species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Aythya nyroca (two pairs), Crex crex (five pairs).


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Middle Vistula River Valley (Poland). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/middle-vistula-river-valley-iba-poland on 23/12/2024.