The grey partridge is an uncommon breeding and wintering bird throughout Lääne County. Grey partridges are still more common in Matsalu’s agricultural areas, but they are difficult to spot due to their secretive lifestyle. Outside of the breeding season, grey partridges occasionally visit the sea coast to feed.
Grey partridges are easier to find during winter when there’s snow, as they tend to forage near houses and roadsides.
The great cormorant is a common migratory and breeding bird with a local distribution in Lääne County. In the spring and autumn, great cormorants can be seen in big flocks in Haapsalu and Matsalu bays. In Matsalu, it is best to watch them from Keemu observation tower or Cape Puise. The great cormorants are also abundant along the Kasari River during the spring fish spawning season.
While there were hundreds of pairs of great cormorants nesting on the coasts of Matsalu National Park around the turn of the century, their numbers have since declined. One reason is the large number of white-tailed eagles, which prey on great cormorant chicks in the nesting colony. This is why there are so few great cormorants nesting in Matsalu areas. However, the cormorant nesting colony can be seen from the observation tower overlooking the Sutlepa Sea.
The great crested grebe is a common breeding and migratory bird in Lääne County. Migrating great crested grebes tend to reside in inland bays, with smaller numbers observed at bigger lakes and the open sea.
The great crested grebe is best seen in the spring, between April and May, from the Haapsalu Promenade. At that time, the great crested grebe’s impressive courtship ritual can be observed. Saunja Bay and the Sutlepa Sea also have a large population of great crested grebes, with dozens of couples nesting. In Matsalu, they may be seen near Cape Puise or from Keemu observation tower.
The pied avocet is an uncommon breeding bird and spring migratory bird that lives along the coast of Lääne County. In Matsalu National Park, migrating pied avocets can be seen on the Põgari-Sassi beach and Cape Puise. In addition, these waders can be observed in Tagalaht Bay and Tahu Bay in Haapsalu. Pied avocets are best observed in Lääne County from April to June.
The whinchat is a common migratory and breeding bird in Lääne County. In Lääne County, it is primarily found in beach meadows with reeds and beach pastures with junipers and bushes. The whinchat also breeds in big numbers in the mosaic landscape, where bushes can be found in the fields.
The whinchat can be seen in Matsalu from late April until early September. They are a widespread bird species here and are commonly found around the Puise Peninsula, Penijõe hiking trail and Keemu Port. During the spring migration in early May, many whinchats stop in the Spithami village meadow, where dozens of them can be counted.
This is the largest tern, with a wingspan longer than that of the common gull. The beak of the adult is very stout and bright red; most have a dark spot on front of the tip, while the primary feathers are dark in all plumages. The legs are black with a dark head and a face mask.
The common tern is very similar to the Arctic tern. The common tern has a longer beak, legs, head and neck and slightly bigger wings. In summer, the beak is orange-red with a black tip, the underside is a pale grey with little to no contrast to the white cheeks, the tail feathers do not reach beyond the wing tips, the primary feathers are white below and the rear edge of the wing is widely or disjointedly darker. In winter, the forehead and underside are white, the front edge of the wing bend is dark and the beak is entirely black.
The Arctic tern is similar to the common tern but with a smaller body, a shorter beak, head and neck, a longer tail, shorter legs and narrower wings. In the summer, an adult bird’s beak is dark red, the throat, breast and belly are a pale grey and long tail feathers hang over the tips of the rectrices when the bird is standing. The top half of the wings is uniformly light grey, and all flight feathers are whitish.
This bird is a tiny tern with narrow wings and a very low tail fork. In the summer, the adult bird has a white forehead and a black lore, a yellow beak with a small black tip, orange-yellow legs and 2–3 grey-black outer primary wing feathers. In the winter, the lore turns white, while the front of the crown grows lighter. The beak of a juvenile bird is dark, the back and shoulders have a dark scale pattern and a faint dark line on the secondary flight feathers.
The common shelduck is a goose-like duck of medium size with a long neck and distinctive plumage. The body is stout, the beak is strong and has a noticeable forehead hump, the legs are quite long. The plumage has extensive white areas, the head is dark green, the beak is red and there is a wide rust-brown stripe across the breast. The shoulder and flight feathers, the tip of the tail and the stripe down the middle of the belly are black. The legs of an adult bird are dull pink, whereas those of a juvenile bird are greyish. The male bird’s beak is bright red with a massive red knob, but the female bird’s beak is often duller red with a little beak knob.