A small Lower Saxon lake reserve protecting waterbirds, amphibians, and alder swamp forest near Bad Bevensen.
Vogelfreistätte Jastorfer See
Vogelfreistätte Jastorfer See is a small nature reserve in Lower Saxony, located south of Bad Bevensen between the settlements of Jastorf and Heidbrack in the Uelzen district. Covering 16.5 hectares, it protects the western portion of the Jastorfer See, an artificial lake that was created during the construction of the Elbe-Seitenkanal in the Lüneburg Heath region of northern Germany.
The reserve combines open water with carefully shaped shallow-water zones and deeper areas, fringed by wooded shorelines and an adjoining alder swamp forest. These habitats together support an unusually rich bird community for such a small area, including grebes, ducks, a cormorant colony, marsh harrier, bittern, and kingfisher, along with amphibians that depend on the wetland margins.
The site sits within a wider landscape protection area along the Ilmenau valley, and is managed in cooperation with the local branch of NABU, the German nature conservation organization. Although modest in size, it represents one of the regionally significant wetland bird sanctuaries of the Uelzen district.