Lakes and Rivers in Belarus: Sporovskoye Lake

Sporovskoye Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in Brest Oblast and in Belarus, is located on the border of Beryoza District and Drogichin District, on the territory of the Sporovsky National Biological Reserve which has the international status of the Ramsar site and is known as the venue for the Sporovskiye Senokosy annual scything championship.

The area of Sporovskoye Lake is more than 11 km2. It makes a single natural complex with the lowlands of the reserve and the Yaselda River, a tributary of the Pripyat. The local nearshore and aquatic fauna are very diverse: there are 20 species of mammals, 6 species of reptiles, 8 species of amphibians and 112 species of birds (17 listed in the Red Book of Endangered Species)! The water area of the lake is home to birds that are common for lowlands such as marsh harrier, corn crake, Eurasian bittern, Short-toed snake eagle and aquatic warbler. Sporovskoye Lake is Europe’s biggest habitat of this rare singing bird.