First or record · 14.08.1910
Vaika, the Baltics' first bird sanctuary
Off the western tip of Vilsandi lie the Vaika islets, a scatter of low stony islets where eiders nest. In 1906 only six pairs of common eider were counted here, as egg collectors stripped the nests every spring. On 14 August 1910 the Riga Association of Naturalists, prompted by Artur Toom, the bird-loving keeper of Vilsandi lighthouse, leased the islets to keep them undisturbed. It is regarded as the first nature conservation area in the Baltics, and Estonian nature protection counts its birthday from that lease. By 1938 the eiders numbered in the hundreds. Toom himself died in a Gulag camp in 1942. The islets now lie within Vilsandi National Park.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Vilsandi läänetipu taga asuvad Vaika laiud, madalad kivised saarekesed, kus pesitsevad hahad. 1906. aastal loendati siin vaid kuus hahapaari, sest munakorjajad tühjendasid pesad igal kevadel. 14. augustil 1910 rentis Riia Loodusuurijate Selts Vilsandi tuletorni linnuarmastajast vahi Artur Toomi õhutusel laiud, et lindudele rahu tagada. Seda peetakse Baltimaade esimeseks looduskaitsealaks ning Eesti looduskaitse arvestab oma sünnipäeva sellest rendilepingust. 1938. aastaks pesitses seal juba sadu hahku. Toom ise suri 1942. aastal Gulagi laagris. Laiud kuuluvad nüüd Vilsandi rahvusparki.