A large lowland bird sanctuary of forests, peat bogs, and floodplain wetlands along the northern edge of the Warta valley.
Ostoja Witnicko-Dębniańska
Ostoja Witnicko-Dębniańska is a designated bird protection area in western Poland, classified formally as a Special Protection Area under the Natura 2000 network. It lies along the northern edge of the Warta river valley, spanning parts of both the Lubuskie and West Pomeranian voivodeships, and covers almost 47,000 hectares of lowland forest, peatland, and floodplain wetland.
The area combines commercial forest stands with extensive sphagnum mires, dystrophic and eutrophic lakes, and the strongly meandering river systems of the western lowlands, including the Myśla and its tributary Kosa. Together these habitats support a remarkably rich community of breeding, migrating, and wintering waterbirds and birds of prey.
Its ecological importance is reflected in the presence of internationally important populations of white-tailed eagle, black kite, red kite, eagle owl, and greylag goose, along with a long list of Annex I species of the EU Birds Directive. The site is also one of the few strongholds in Poland for the endangered European pond turtle.