Benkove ostrovy is group of twelve islets (0.6 ha) which are located in the Gabčíkovo water reservoir south of

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, west from

Kalinkovo Kalinkovo ( hu, Szemet) is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Senec District in the Bratislava Region. History The village was first mentioned in 1258 as Dénešdi village and later in 1288 as Šemet. In 1948 the name was changed ...

village. They were built in the years 2006 and 2007 as part of flood protection for the Slovak capital,

. The islets, and their structure, were proposed and built to facilitate breeding waterbirds which have few possibilities for breeding after the construction of the Gabčíkovo water reservoir in 1992.

Geography

* a group of 12 small islets * a majority of the islets are without vegetation, or with ruderal vegetation * the coastline is rocky and islands of a gravel consistency * a majority of the islets are about 10 meters wide, approximately 50 meters long and are around 1-2 meters high

Importance for birds

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

s, little ringed plovers, wagtails are all common visitors to the islets during the breeding season. * The common tern also tried to breed here as well, though not as successfully as the above birds. * Little egrets, greenshanks and other rare species were observed migrating in the area as well.

References

B Uninhabited islands of Slovakia {{Slovakia-geo-stub River islands of Slovakia Islands of the Danube Danube