Ventė Cape Ornithological Station

Ornithological stations are set up to study bird migration and ring birds. The world's first ornithological station was founded in 1901 on the Curonian Spit, at Rossitten (Rasytė), about 20 km south of Nida. It was founded by the famous German scientist Johannes Thienemann. The research he carried out at the Rossitten station (until 1944) was widely known around the world. Since 1955 the station has been staffed by Russian ornithologists. Regular bird ringing in Lithuania began in 1929 at Ventė Cape. According to available records, not a single bird was ringed in 1929 – that autumn, ornithologists who came from the Rossitten station only watched bird migration visually. Even so, 1929 is considered the year the Ventė Cape Ornithological Station was founded.