Due to the unique biotope of Lake Neusiedl, the fauna of the Burgenland is extraordinarily diverse. The lake with its white belt of reed and the region of the Seewinkel are among the largest bird paradises of Central Europe. The reed belt and the surface of the lake serve the birds as feeding, breeding and resting place. At times you can see more than 280 very rare species of birds like the cormorant, the spoonbill, the common heron, the crane, the sea swallow, the greylag goose, the stock duck, the quail, the hoopoe, the golden oriole and the kingfisher.
In summer the shallow lake has temperatures of up to 30 ¡C, in winter it is usually frozen. This makes it a classic habitat for carp and pike.
In Rust and the villages of the Seewinkel breeding storks can be found on the roof tops. On the flat pastures we even find the great bustard, a goose-like bird.
The unique qualities of this landscape were discovered a long time ago. At the beginning of the Thirties, Lake Neusiedl and the surrounding steppe was put under environmental protection; large parts of the landscape were bought by the Austrian Association of Environmental Protection. In 1956 the WWF leased approx. 400 hectares in the region of the Langen Lacke. In 1993 the Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel was established, the first cross-boarder national park in Europe. Here we also find old world otters, hamsters, weasels, frogs, toads, water newts, salamanders, vipers and adders.
