Quiet, water & forest
Vrbenské rybníky
By car 16 min
A short way from town, a system of four large ponds reachable even by city transport. A four-kilometre educational trail runs on the dams; 193 bird species have been recorded here.
On an islet of one of the ponds nest white spoonbills with spoon-shaped beaks — their only colony in Bohemia — and beside them one hundred to one hundred and fifty pairs of night herons. According to observers the birds here let themselves be watched from closer than elsewhere. It is liveliest from spring to summer; in winter mergansers arrive. Bring binoculars; without them it is only a walk by the water.
Practical details
- By car 16 min
- Opening hours: volně přístupné, zdarma, bez otevírací doby
On site
The trail follows the dams, always by water with views over the surface and littoral — where most birds are. Ten panels introduce species and habitats. You can compare the four ponds: different size, different shore vegetation, different birds. Without binoculars you see a fraction of what is there — the most practical advice for this place.