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.
The Sandwich tern is a large bird with a long and evenly pointed beak. In summer, the top half is light grey, the lower half is white, and the wings have a wide white rear edge. The outer 4–5 primary feathers darken over the summer, forming a greyish-black wedge on the wing tip. The legs and beak are black, the beak tip is yellow. In winter, the forehead and crown are white with only a narrow dark ‘face mask’ remaining.
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.
In contrast to the common redshank, which has a more slender build, longer legs and a longer, finer beak with a very small downward bend at the tip, the base of the beak is only red on the lower part of the beak. A white eyebrow is clearly visible in winter and juvenile plumage. The white stripe continues at the preen gland area as a narrow white ‘crack’. The male bird is completely black in summer, only the top part is slightly dotted and the legs are also black. The female bird has a lot more white dots on the belly and sides. In winter, both adult birds are light grey on the top side and pure white on the underside, the front of the neck and ‘face’ are dirty white. The juvenile bird’s underside is uniformly streaked, and the edges of the large coverts and tertials are finely streaked. The legs are red.
Similar to the green sandpiper but lighter brown in appearance, with larger spots on the top side, longer legs, a narrow-striped tail and sparse stripes on the chest and sides. A pale brow stripe extends behind the eye and the legs are yellowish-green. In flight, the wings’ pale undersides are visible and the toes extend entirely past the tip of the tail. In the summer, the top part of the adult bird is irregularly marked with little white and cream spots, whereas in the winter, the plumage is greyer and more uniform.