B R O S Z K O W S K I E

Brochure by 4 eco-teenagers from Siedlce

a place to remember

S T A W Y

Siedlce is a small town about 80 kilometres from the capital of Poland Warsaw. If we ask an average inhabitant of Siedlce he will say that we dont have anything special in our city. Of course we have a cinema, a museum, a university and many things like those, but that places are almost necessary in 21st century. They dont make our city special or unique. People think that all the most interesting things are in the heart of the city. Nothing more erroneous! If you want to see something incredible and unusual in Siedlce area you should pack a sandwich and a bottle of water into your backpack and go on a trip to the outskirts of Siedlce. There you will find an amazing place which is beautiful and unspoilt-nature at its best. A place which is unique but in order to stay that way it needs our protection and attention.

Stawy Broszkowskie- Nature reserve located about 10 kilometres away from Siedlce in a village called Broszkw
To present more information about this reserve we have done an interview with our friend Przemysaw Biardzkis grandfather, who is a nature enthusiast.

Hello. What could you tell us about Stawy Broszkowskie ?

Its one of the largest bird nest sites in the central-eastern part of Poland (about 266 ha). It has been a popular place for birds for nearly a hundred years, but this area has been protected since 1984.

So its quite old. What is protected in this reserve?

Its a faunistic, ornithological reserve mainly for water and mud birds, but there are many protected species of plants too.

Thats very interesting. How many species of birds are there in Stawy Broszkowskie?
There are about 100 species of birds, comprising many endangered ones.

Wow! Thats plenty of birds! Its hard to imagine for me.

But since 2005 the reserve has had some problems and not all birds come back there.

What is the rarest species which nests in Stawy Broszkowskie?

I think its a podrniczek. The reason is that it doesnt like our climate at all.

Tell us more about it, please.

Podrniczek (Luscinia svecica) is a small and a bit colorful bird which sets mainly in the Scandinavian Peninsula. Its very hard to see this bird in Poland, because it nests here very rarely. Stawy Broszkowskie is one of few settlements of this bird in our country. Podrniczek likes Stawy Broszkowskie because it prefers waterside places, for example boggy meadows. In Broszkw there are lots of them. It has a very characteristic voice. In Poland podrniczek is a proteced species.

Its a very original bird, isnt it?

What is the biggest Broszkowskie?

threat

for

species

from

Stawy

It depends on bird. For example nur czarnoszyi (very strange kind of bird) is an endangered species because many of them die in fishing nets. Nur czarnoszyi (Gavia arctica) is a bird which flies to Poland every autumn and sets here in winter. It makes itself a nest on the ground next to big and deep lakes. It eats mainly fishes. During hunting it can stay underwater for 3 minutes and reach depth even 50 meters. It also makes weird noise which reminds laughing, barking or yodeling.

It is an endangered species because many of them die in fishing nets. In Poland nur czarnoszyi is a proteced species.

Nur czarnoszyi has a observable, red eyes. It is a bit creepy, isnt it?

What kinds of problems does Stawy Broszkowskie reserve have?

Roughly 80% of our reserve is covered by ponds, lakes and a small river widnica, so our biggest problem is overgrowing. Its a natural process of water growing old, but its terrible when birds cant get into their nests.

That sounds terrible. What do people who work at the reserve do to prevent it?
Our activity is limited because we dont want to destroy natural habitats. We regularly do the revitalization of ponds - repair of ditches and remove selfsewing plants from the bottom of ponds. Everything is under the supervision of Nadlenictwo siedleckie.

Do all species of birds leave Stawy Broszkowskie in winter?

No, of course not. Majority of them do this, but there are a lot of species which stay here even in winter, for example: Perkoz rdzawoszyi (Podiceps grisegena) is a water bird who sets in East Europe, Asia and North America. It lives amongst water plants, its nest is floating on water. During courtshiping they are standing opposite themselves and making specific sound similar to pig squeal. Perkoz sets in Poland also during winter. When its cold it prefers seaside areas and of course our reserve. In our country Perkoz rdzawoszyi is a protected species.

Perkoz rdzawoszyi looks cute, doesnt it?

Why do you think people should visit and support Stawy Broszkowskie?
Its an exceptional place. Not without reasons its a protected area. Stawy Broszkowskie is a connection of breathtaking landscapes of ponds and beautiful spieces of birds. People seem to have forgotten about this place and dont take care of it too much. With our help it can become a trademark of Siedlce region a safe haven offering unforgettable green experiences.

It turns out that Siedlce has a lot to offer in terms of incredible sights. Stawy Broszkowskie nature reserve is our choice for a place worth protecting, visiting and remembering.
Brochure by Kinga Michaluk, Joanna Chromiska, Mateusz Sokoowski, Przemysaw Biardzki