Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik (russian: заказник Мшинское болото) is a federal

zakaznik Zakaznik (russian: зака́зник, зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznik, zakazniki''; uk, singular: заказни́к or зака́зник; plural: заказники́ or зака́зники, transliterated: ''zakaznyk'', ''zak ...

, a nature protected area, in the northwest of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, located in Gatchinsky and

Luzhsky District Luzhsky District (russian: Лу́жский райо́н) is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #65-oz district (raion), one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast and borders wi ...

s of

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...

, in the basin of the

Luga River The Luga () is a river in Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast of Russia. The river flows into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland. It free ...

. It was established in 1982 to protect the swampy ecosystems including pine forests. From 1994, it is a Ramsar Wetland.

Geography

Mshinskoye Boloto is located at the divide of the

Oredezh River The Oredezh (russian: О́редеж) is a river in Volosovsky, Gatchinsky, and Luzhsky Districts in the south-western part of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, a right tributary of the Luga. The length of the river is , whereas the area of its drainage ...

(east) and the Yashchera River (west), both being tributaries of the Luga River. In the center of the area there are Lake Vyalye, Lake Strechno (which are connected with each other) and Lake Mochalishche. The whole area is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

and hardly accessible. Swamps occupy about 40% of the area of the zakaznik. Woods occupy 49% of the area, 26% are coniferous forests.

History

In 1972, the area was designated as an important natural landscape. The federal zakaznik was created on August 30, 1982. In 1994, Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik, together with the adjacent regional North of Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik was classified as a Ramsar wetland (Mshinskaya Wetland).

Fauna

The wetland is a bird sanctuary. Rare species of birds include

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to e ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

, black-throated loon,

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/) (''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, pronounced ''hooper swan'', is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type speci ...

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

, and

Eurasian bittern The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe a ...

References

{{reflist Geography of Leningrad Oblast Protected areas of Russia Protected areas established in 1982 Ramsar sites in Russia 1982 establishments in the Soviet Union