Nature-lovers visiting the Beka Reserve at the Bay of Puck are welcome to take the educational trail created by OTOP. With the trail, you will explore the nature of Beka while avoiding disturbance and destruction of the valuable species and habitats.
The trail starts at the Zagórska Struga Bridge, which is the southern boundary of the Reserve. It continues northwards on the storm levee, which protects the meadows of the local farmers against floods from the Bay of Puck breaking into Beka during autumn and winter storms.
The levee ends at the base of the Kępa Pucka, where the trail turns left and continues on a dirt road until the mouth of the Mrzeziński channel.
There are 10 educational boards with a wealth of interesting information on plants, animals and natural processes that can be seen on the way. Three boards are devoted to birds which for many nature-lovers are the main goal of the visit in the Reserve. Although it has not been confirmed, Beka is likely one of the last places in Poland where the Dunlin breeds. Dunlins are numerous here also on migration. Besides, Beka hosts Lapwings, Redshanks and Snipes, and is one of the most important Polish site for the Citrine Wagtail. This species requires appropriate habitat for nesting, which is found in Beka thanks to, among other, active conservation activities coordinated by OTOP. In many locations, these activities allowed reconstruction of coastal saline plant communities which were overgrown by reeds some 15 years ago. In the northern part of the Reserve, you will find the rare flush mires and Molinia meadows. The most important plants include orchids, such as the Fen Orchid, protected by the EU’s Habitats Directive. Outside of the bird breeding season, you can see a seashore undisturbed by man, shaped by natural processes, such as abrasion or deposition of wash fringe (organic material left on the shore by waves).
The educational trail in the Reserve was created in the project “Obszary Natura 2000 skarbem naszego regionu. Oferta edukacyjna dla szkół” (“Natura 2000 sites – a treasure of our region. An educational offer for schools”), financed from the Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Gdańsk. 