Bird's Eye Views of Wetlands

Florida's Everglades is one of the world's most well known wetlands.  As the Everglades came under pressure from the explosive growth of the Florida population, it became one of the first areas which became the subject of intense concern from the emerging worldwide environmental movement.  Contributor Tapp Channel used a DJI Phantom drone combined with ground footage to give us this look at an important and endangered resource, which covers almost 1.5 million acres in the south-central part of the state.

With some of the world's most pristine wetlands, Latvia becomes a veritable sea of birds during certain months.  The Baltic republic becomes a key stopover point when they fly from north to south in the spring, and again when the pattern reverses itself in the fall.  It's an awesome sight, complementing the stunning natural beauty of this small nation.  Using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone, contributor Eaglewood Films created an amazing video of the seemingly endless stream of migratory birds.

The province of Ontario is home to some of Canada's largest westlands.  They cover much of the central and northern part of the province, where bogs and marshy areas abound amidst thousands of lakes and millions of acres of pristine forests.  In this drone video by Elnaz555, you'll get a bird's eye view of one of Ontario's cranberry bogs, which put wetlands areas to agricultural use.  It's near the town of Muskoka Lakes, an area of Ontario's "cottage country" located a two hour drive north of Toronto.  

Award-winning contributor and pilot Postandfly shot this amazing drone video of La Ventanilla, a small community in the state of Oaxaca on Mexico's southern Pacific coast.  The village and surrounding beach area have become a major center for eco-tourism.  In the video, you'll see why.  Most of it was shot in a mangrove swamp, only a short distance from the ocean but literally a world apart.  The star is a 4 meter (13 foot) one-eyed crocodile, who apparently takes no offense from the hovering drone.  

Moors are a type of wetland which can occur both in the upland and lowland areas of Scotland.  In this video by contributor and drone pilot LKDWN, you'll get a drone's eye view of Rannoch Moor, one of Scotland's famous moorlands.  It is situated to the west of Loch Rannoch in Perth & Kinross, one of the Scottish council areas in the central part of the country.  Like many wetlands, the area is prized in part for its wildlife.  Famously, the moor is the sole natural habitat for the Rannoch-rush flowering plant.

India's Andaman Islands, located far to the east of the mainland in the body of water known as the Andaman Sea, are home to some of the world's most well-known mangrove forests.  Mangroves are trees which can thrive in the brackish and saline waters of river estuaries.  Contributor PixelDo.com created this remarkable drone video of some of the watercraft which ply these wetland areas.  The video was shot on a journey from one of the small outlying islands to Rangat, a small town on the interior of the main island.   

In this drone video by Blizzardfoto, you'll get a beautiful look at the wetlands for which Estonia is so well known.  Soomaa National Park is located in the southwestern quadrant of the Baltic country, a bit east of the Gulf of Riga and north of the border with Lithuania.  The park was created in 1993 (shortly after Estonia became an independent country following the dissolution of the USSR) as a means to protect the country's once-extensive wetland areas which had shrunk dramatically over the course of the 20th century.

While Turkey may be best known for its great cities, mountains, and beaches, it's also home to some of the world's most important wetlands.  The country has over 300 designated wetland areas, more than any country in Europe or western Asia.  These marshy areas perform critical environmental functions, not least as sancturaries for the country's massive bird population.  In this drone video by Secoko, you'll get an aerial view of a flock of flamingoes frolicking in the wetlands of Central Anatolia.  

Bayous are a type of wetland commonly found in parts of the southern USA.  They are typically created by extremely slow-moving streams or other water sources in extremely flat areas.  Bayous are most famously associated with the Mississippi RIver Delta in Louisiaia and Mississippi.  In this drone video by Bumble Bee Productions, you'll get an aerial glimpse of a bayou in Louisiana's Bayou Segnette State Park.  The ecologically rich park is located on the southwestern outskirts of New Orleans.  

Contributor Pascha created this amazing drone video of Sultan Reedy National Park in the middle of Turkey.  It's located in the Kayseri province, which is situated on the great Central Anatolian Plain which covers much of central Turkey.  Unusually, the marshes of the park are a combination of saltwater and freshwater varieties.  Home to many varieties of flora and fauna (notably including a large bird population), the area was turned into a national park by the Turkish government in 2006.  

The USA's New England is home to some of the country's most important wetlands.  Away from the urban centers on the coast, you'll find sizeable areas of marshes, bogs, and swamps.  Some of the best wetland areas are in Maine, which is the largest (by area) and most rural of the New England states.  In this drone video by PeterBloch, you'll get a great bird's eye view of a pond which is surrounded by a quaking bog.  These Maine wetlands are critical to the healthy functioning of the eco-system of the entire region.  

Contributor and pilot Thevmaker created this stunning drone video of a wetland area on the eastern shore of Cape Bon in Tunisia, North Africa.  The Cape extends out from the mainland in a northeasterly direction like a finger pointed at Sicily in Italy.  On its eastern side is the town of Korba, whose lagoons are home to some of the finest bird populations in the region.  In the video, you'll get an epic aerial view of the lagoons as well as a large flock of flamingos who depend on the wetland for survival.  

Top content creator and pilot XL Creations created this marvelous drone video of Saeftinghe, a famous swampy area of the Netherlands.  Saeftinghe was founded during the 13th century town in the Zeeland Province.  During the 80 Years War for the independence of the Netherlands from control by Spain, the area was flooded by desperate Dutch soldiers.  Despite numerous attempts to reclaim it, the area has remained a swamp and in fact is now protected as such.  It's now known as the Drowned Land of Saeftinghe. 

Check out this video from a beautiful forested wetland in the far northwestern reaches of Turkey.  The İğneada Floodplain Forests National Park is situated in the Kırklareli Province, which is on the western (European) side of the Marmara Region of northwestern Turkey.  It's located near the Bulgarian border, in the foothills of the Strandzha mountain range.  The park was established to protect the fragile ecosystem of the area, which includes forests, various types of wetlands, as well as sand dunes.  

Contributor jesus_tr created this amazing drone video of the İzmir Bird Paradise, located on the Çiğli Çamaltı Salt Marsh northwest of the city of İzmir, Turkey.  It's a bird sanctuary that is home to nearly 300 feathered species, including Flamingos, Dalmatian Pelicans, Small White Herons, Grey Herons, Storks, Reed Harries, Kestrels, Eurasian Coots, House Swallows, Rural Swallows, Sparrows, Magpies, Rural Pipits, Kingfishers, Poyraz Birds, Eurasian Thick-knees, Silver Seagulls, Little Terns, and more.

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist daniel.nunes brings us this fantastic drone video from the Algarve region of southern Portugal.  The video was shot in an area known as the Ria Formosa, a system of barrier islands and inlets which lies on Algarve's southern shore along the Bay of Cadiz.  Located near the town of Faro, the Ria Formosa is home to some of Algarve's most popular beaches.  It's an important wetland area and bird sanctuary; because of its ecological significance the Ria Formosa has been designated a Ramsar site by UNESCO.

Take an aerial tour of Spain's Ebro River Delta in this outstanding drone video by new contributor Aparismiró.  The great delta was formed by the discharge of the 600 mi. long (930 km) waterway into the western Mediterranean Sea a bit to the south of the city of Tarragona in the region of Catalonia.  Like many river deltas, the Ebro Delta is home to extensive wetlands and bird populations.   The core of the delta is now protected by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty designed to conserve wetland regions.  

Dalyan is amongst the top natural treasures of Turkey.  Located in the Muğla Province in the southwestern parts of the country, between Marmaris and Fethiye (among Turkey's best-known beach towns) Dalyan is home to a vast wetland area just interior from the Aegean coastline.  As is often the case with coastal wetlands, it's a haven for numerous bird species, and considered one of the best bird-watching destinations.  You can see this area and its many attractions in this drone video by yucelozel.  

Top contributor Pasquale Josepe created this beautiful drone video of a wetlands area of Western Canada.  The video was filmed in the Cheam Lake Wetlands Regional Park in the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia.  The area is a relatively flat zone which occurs downstream of the Fraser Canyon.  It's an important bird sanctuary and a popular spot for hikes and other outdoor recreations.  It's located just east of Chilliwack, BC.

If you think that deserts and wetlands are mutually exclusive, you should check out this drone video from the Mexican state of Coahuila by k2team.mty.  It was filmed in the Cuatro Ciénegas Biosphere Reserve, a wetland area within the vast Chihuahuan desert that covers much of northern Mexico and parts of the Southwestern USA and west Texas.  Home to over 150 endemic species of flora and fauna, the reserve's lifeforms and their adaptation to this unique environment are being studied to assess the possibility of life on Mars.  

The interior of Florida was once almost entirely covered in wetlands and marshes.  In fact, much of the interior of the southern part of the state was uninhabitable until relatively recently due to the problems of mosquito-borne infections.  Effective insect control and air conditioning solved one problem but created another - the wetlands have shrunk alarmingly due to population pressure.  In this video, PeterBloch gives us an aerial view of some salt marshlands near Tampa, in the west-central part of the Sunshine State.  

Check out this drone video from a giant salt basin in the southwest African country of Namibia, compliments of AirVuz contributor sphereview.  The basin is located just off of Walvis Bay, a natural harbor which lies about halfway down the country's long Atlantic coastline.  In addition to being one of the biggest sources of salt for human consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa, the salt pan also feeds a large shrimp population and the wetlands here constitute one of the continent's largest bird sanctuaries.  

Check out this magnificent drone video of a well-known wetland area in eastern England, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Creative Drone.  It's the area around Tollesbury on the coast of Essex, about a two hours' drive east of London.  It's part of the Blackwater Estuary, at the mouth of the Blackwater River, between Maldon and Mersea Island.  The extensive wetlands and marshes here are one of the United Kingdom's great national treasures, and are critical to supporting the country's bird life. 

Check out this stunning first person view (FPV) drone video of the wetlands of Italy's Po River Delta, compliments of top AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot b1z1o_fpv.  The video was filmed near the town of Comacchio in Ferrara, the northeasternmost of the provinces of the Emilia Romagna region.  This is at the base of the Po River Delta, just south of the mouth of Italy's longest river on the Adriatic Sea.  This video was picked by the AirVuz editorial staff for the FPV Pilots to Watch list in May of 2023.  

Check out this fantastic drone video of South Korea's Gaetgol Ecological park, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Chrisky.  The park is located just a few km/mi southeast of Incheon, and a bit further to the southwest of Seoul.  Home to some of the last undeveloped wetland in the estuary that forms the northwestern corner of the country, it's designed to protect and display the eco-system that has largely been displaced by the sprawling expanse of the Gyeonggi Province which surrounds the national capital city of Seoul. .  

The Netherlands' Biesbosch National Park is one of the premiere coastal wetlands areas in Western Europe.  It's situated in the South Holland province of the Netherlands at the head of the Hollands Diep, the estuary for the Rhine and Meuse Rivers.  One of the largest of the Dutch national parks, Biesbosch covers an area of numerous small rivers, creeks, and willow forests. Critical for migrating geese and other waterfowl, you can check out the beautiful park from above in this drone video by Silvano1988.

While Mexico's Baja Peninsula is perhaps most closely associated with the Cabo San Lucas beach/resort complex at its southern tip, the long landform is also home to some natural wonders.  One of them is the wetlands which lie along the peninsula's western (Pacific Ocean) side near the town of San Quintín, about a quarter of the way down from Baja's northern base near the Mexican/US border.  In this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor Dron Memo, you'll be able to explore this fascinating-looking area from above.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist harispomonis brings us this excellent drone video from Greece's Strofilia National Park.  It's located in the western part of the Peloponnese, near the entrance to the Gulf of Patras which separates the Peloponnese Peninsula from the Greek mainland.  The park covers an area of wetlands which runs on a roughly north-south axis between the Ionian Sea and the Kotychi Lagoon.  It is home to over 250 bird species, roughly 60% of all species which can be found in the entire country.  

Ķemeri National Park is one of the natural treasures of the Baltic republic of Latvia.  Seen here in this drone video by AirVuz contributor Jumis Visuals, it's located just west of the city of Jūrmala, just south of the Bay of Riga and not far from the geographic center of Latvia.  It's most well-known feature is the Great Ķemeri Bog, which (as the name implies) is a giant wetland area.  Established in 1997, it covers almost 150 square mi. (about 380 square km), making it the country's third-largest national park.  

AirVuz contributor ashhmonster brings us this excellent drone view from an ecological preserve on the island of Bermuda.  It's called the Spittal Pond Nature Preserve, and it's located on the southern coast of this British dependency in the South Atlantic Ocean.  Part of Bermuda's largest wildlife sanctuary, the pond is home to a unique combination of nutrients which turn its water into a bright pink color once a year.  As you'll see in the video, which was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone, it makes for some stunning aerial visuals.