Audru Polder Nature Reserve

Audru Polder Nature Reserve lies about 4 km northwest of Valgeranna beach, where the Audru River meets Pärnu Bay. The reserve protects a mix of shallow coastal lagoons, reed beds, wet meadows, and remnant polder farmland — a mosaic that attracts an impressive variety of birds, especially during spring and autumn migration.

In May and September the lagoons fill up with waders: ruffs, dunlins, curlews, spotted redshanks, and the occasional rarity. Breeding species in summer include marsh harriers, common cranes, and various duck and wader species. The reserve has a birdwatching tower on the coastal meadow side that gives good views over the lagoon. There is no formal visitor centre, but the paths are accessible and signed from the road between Audru and the coast.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
The Audru Polder was created in the Soviet era when coastal marshlands were drained to create agricultural land. After independence and the collapse of collectivised farming, the fields gradually reverted to wetland, and the area was designated a nature reserve in the 1990s. What was once drained farmland is now one of the most important staging points for migratory waders and wildfowl on the Eastern Atlantic Flyway.