Biebrza National Park

The symbol of the Park is the ruff. He used to be called a “freaky bird”. Maybe for the fact, that it is different from its relatives: lapwings, snipes, black-tailed godwits, dunlins or sandpipers, in which males and females look similar. And in the “freaky bird”, females are modest, while males put on unusual plumage at the time of mating. Feathers grow around their neck and head, forming a collar, called a ruff. They are different in each individual, from snow-white colours through the palette of browns to completely black. There are no two equally feathered ruffs, and breeding plumage is as unique as human fingerprints. Males present themselves to females by ruffling their feathers during simulated fights.
Ruffs cover a long distance during migration. In the spring, they return from wintering grounds (mainly in Africa), up to the Arctic areas of the tundra, where they breed. Their stop on the Biebrza River is a great attraction, and the show of ruffs dancing and jumping in the meadows attracts not only bird enthusiasts. Until the 60s of the 20th century, ruffs nested in large numbers in the Biebrza swamps, now they breed here only occasionally. To encourage ruffs to build nests in the Park, overgrown swamp meadows are mowed.