  Gretagrund (Baltic Sea) | |
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gulf of Riga |
| Coordinates | 57°44′30″N23°18′00″E / 57.74167°N 23.30000°E |
| Administration | |
Estonia | |
| County | Saare County |
| Municipality | Ruhnu Parish |
| Settlement | Ruhnu village |
Gretagrund (or Greta-Grund) is a shoal located a few km southeast of Ruhnu island in the Gulf of Riga, Estonia.
Since 12 August 2010 the 146.50 km2 (56.56 sq mi; 36,200 acres) water area was taken under protection as being a habitat for the following migratory birds: Black-throated loon (Gavia arctica), little gull (Larus minutus), red-throated loon (Gavia stellata), long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis), velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca) and razorbill (Alca torda). [1] [2] During a survey in 2008, Paramysis intermedia (from genus Paramysis ) was found in Gretagrund as a new species in the Baltic Sea. [3]
Transport in Estonia relies mainly on road and rail networks.
Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia, though prehistoric species were more widespread.
Loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus Gavia, family Gaviidae and order Gaviiformes.
The common loon or great northern diver is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females. During the breeding season, loons live on lakes and other waterways in Canada; the northern United States ; and southern parts of Greenland and Iceland. Small numbers breed on Svalbard and sporadically elsewhere in Arctic Eurasia. Common loons winter on both coasts of the US as far south as Mexico, and on the Atlantic coast of Europe.
The black-throated loon, also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. This loon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and has two subspecies. It was previously considered to be the same species as the Pacific loon, of which it is traditionally considered to be a sister species, although this is debated. In a study that used mitochondrial and nuclear intron DNA, the black-throated loon was found to be sister to a clade consisting of the Pacific loon and two sister species, the common loon and the yellow-billed loon.
The Pacific loon or Pacific diver, is a medium-sized member of the loon, or diver, family.
The red-throated loon or red-throated diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. Ranging from 55 to 67 centimetres in length, the red-throated loon is the smallest and lightest of the world's loons. In winter, it is a nondescript bird, greyish above fading to white below. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive reddish throat patch which is the basis for its common name. Fish form the bulk of its diet, though amphibians, invertebrates, and plant material are sometimes eaten as well. A monogamous species, red-throated loons form long-term pair bonds. Both members of the pair help to build the nest, incubate the eggs, and feed the hatched young.
Ruhnu is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of 11.9 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) is administratively part of Saare maakond (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia than it is to any point in rest of Estonia. With less than 150 official residents, the Ruhnu vald (parish) has the smallest population of Estonia's 79 municipalities. Before 1944, it was for centuries populated by ethnic Swedes and traditional Swedish law was used.
Estonian euro coins feature a single design for all eight coins. This is a design by Lembit Lõhmus and features a silhouette map of Estonia together with the word Eesti (Estonia) and twelve stars, symbolic of the European Union, surrounding the map. This was the winning design in a public vote of ten announced in December 2004.
Ruhnu Parish is a municipality in Saare County, Estonia. It encompasses the island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga, together with a number of uninhabited islets. Its population is the smallest of any of Estonia's 79 municipalities, the parish being exempt from the usual minimum population size of 5000. There are 60 permanent inhabitants during winter time; in summer the number increases to 150. In 2015 the parish council approved Ado Tuuga's designs for the municipality's flag and coat of arms.
Pärnu Airport is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 2.4 nautical miles northwest of Pärnu.
Estonian Ruhnu sheep are a breed of native domesticated sheep found on the small Estonian island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea.
The yellow-billed loon, also known as the white-billed diver, is the largest member of the loon or diver family. Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin and foreneck white. Its main distinguishing feature is the long straw-yellow bill which, because the culmen is straight, appears slightly uptilted.
The Arctic coastal tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, an important breeding ground for a great deal of wildlife.
The Bay of Pomerania Nature Reserve is a coastal region east of the German island of Rügen in Germany's exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Baltic Sea. It was created on 15 September 2005 by the Red-Green federal government and, together with the Sylt Outer Reef Nature Reserve, is one of the few nature reserves established by the federation.
Ruhnu Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the island of Ruhnu, in Estonia.
The Walk Crisis was an episode in Estonia–Latvia relations over the territorial dispute along the border between the two countries, chiefly about the town of Walk and the island of Runö. The territorial dispute lasted from 1918 when both countries declared independence, until its settlement in a border treaty in October 1920.
Gavia howardae is an extinct species of loon from the Piacenzian age from United States. Fossils of this bird were initially found in 1947 by Clifford Kennell in the San Diego Formation, California and were given a name in 1953 by Pierce Brodkorb. These first specimens consisted of humeri bones, which Brodkorb indicated based on the distal end of the humerus were a smaller species of the genus Gavia, with a possible relationship with the pacific loon. More specimens were collected from the same deposits covering the entirety of the wing, some more complete than others. Chandler (1990) described and published these new materials and found G. howardae to be related to the red-throated loon instead. Additional material has been recovered from the Yorktown Formation, North Carolina where in addition more wing bones, there were also remains of the leg and shoulder regions. Based on the overall size of the remains, G. howardae was on average smaller than the red-throated loon, and one of the smallest species of Neogene loons from North America.
Gavia brodkorbi is an extinct species of loon from the Clarendonian age from United States. The holotype and only known specimen is a complete left ulna that was collected from the Monterey Formation in Laguna Niguel, California by Marion J. Bohreer in 1969. The ulna is shorter but more stouter in comparison to the red-throated loon and pacific loon. The area of attachment of the ligaments is different from the extant species, as it is shorter and less oval. Hildegarde Howard would described the bird in 1978 on a paper discussing the Late Miocene seabird fauna of Orange County named the species after Pierce Brodkorb for his contribution for the field of paleornithology including his review of Pliocene loons.
Gavia moldavica is an extinct species of small Late Miocene loon from Moldova.
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