Iernut - Cipău Ponds

Iernut - Cipău Ponds are located in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania. The ponds were created by damming, initially the water was pumped from the Mureş River located in the vicinity. In recent years the rains are raising the water level regularly, especially at Iernut Pond. The Iernut ponds were created in 1975 - two ponds with an area of 108 ha, and the Cipău ponds in 1983 - 4 ponds with an area of 57 ha.

Photo: Neluţu

Importance: Natura 2000 protected site, C4 - large gatherings of water birds. The two farms are an important resting place for migratory birds in Transylvania, and regularly host between 35,000 to 48,000 water birds. In recent years, at Iernut the willows grew in the midst of one of the lakes and there formed a small colony of night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), which, with a proper management, could increase in coming years. The human impact is more pronounced at Iernut due to disturbance created by the large number of fishermen and hunters in some periods, and due to some management issues of the fisheries.