Europaschutzgebiet Untere Traun

The Lower Traun Valley between Gmunden and Wels has been designated a bird sanctuary of European importance. The river itself, the riparian forests along its banks and the adjoining cultivated landscape are breeding grounds and habitats for numerous species that have now become rare.

In this section, the Traun flows through a narrow valley. The alluvial forest belt to the left and right of the Traun reaches a width of up to 700 metres in places. Where the water has dug under the foot of the riverbank slope, gravel has slipped in. The slopes on both sides of the river are covered in mixed deciduous forests. This is followed by the man-made cultural landscape. This natural area is particularly important as a breeding ground for waterfowl. The goosander occurs here in a density that is unrivalled in Austria. The common sandpiper is also one of the largest in Austria. The kingfisher is just as much at home on the Traun as some rare specimens of the common tern, which favours extensive gravel banks on larger rivers as breeding grounds. For the first time in the whole of Austria, the goldeneye has also settled in this section of the Traun. An enormous variety of birds of prey circle above the Lower Traun: Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Hobby and Honey Buzzard. In addition to the Traun and the neighbouring forests, the region's gravel and crushed stone pits and, above all, the adjacent cultivated landscape with its old orchards are also part of this ecosystem. The green woodpecker, redstart, red-backed shrike and stonechat are native to the fringes of the Traun valley