A ''Windwatt'' is a

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

exposed as a result of wind action on water. They occur especially in the

Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
at www.naturefund.de. Ac ...

on Germany's

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

coast. The term is German.''Was ist Windwatt?''
at www.nordmole.de. Accessed on 17 Feb 2013. Unlike the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

along Europe's

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

coast, the shallow water zones of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park are largely unaffected by oceanic tides. When there are strong winds in a certain direction, however, water is driven out of the lagoons (the so-called ''

bodden Bodden are briny bodies of water often forming lagoons, along the southwestern shores of the Baltic Sea, primarily in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These lagoons can be found especially around the island of Rügen, Usedom an ...

'') into the

, so that several particularly shallow areas of mud become exposed and dry out. The water flows back when the wind turns again. These ''Windwatten'' are a major source of food for

migrating birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

in the

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

. For the Crane, which cross Western Pomeranian bodden country during migration, the ''Windwatten'' are one of the most important resting areas in Western Europe.

References

{{Coastal geography Ecosystems Biogeography Landforms Coastal geography Oceanographical terminology