A short way inland from Poleg Beach, the small Winter Pond (Brekhat HaKhoref) nature reserve protects a seasonal pond that fills with the winter rains and dries out by early summer. The pond is one of the last fragments of a wetland ecosystem that once stretched along this part of the coast.
In winter and spring it attracts migrating birds and is home to several rare amphibians, including the marbled newt. A short, well-signed boardwalk loops around the pond. Combine it with a walk in the adjoining Iris Reserve in February, when the rare Coastal Iris (Iris atropurpurea) blooms.