Another corner of Heaven of Romania is the ornithological reserve in the Ciuperceni-Desa area, Dolj county. Since 1971 it has been declared a protected area, and the reasons are easy to understand. The area protected by law has an area of 200 hectares. More than 120 species of birds, some endangered, live in this area that offers thm abundant food and a perfect place for nesting. The natural area Ciuperceni-Desa lies exactly in the floodplain area of the Danube Floodplain. The reserve also includes Balta Lată, Balta Neagră, and the Ciurumela Forest. Here we also find huge hedgehogs whose trunks reach diameters of about 80 cm. Their height sometimes exceeds 35 meters. However, Salix alba and Populus alba habitats were the ones that played a decisive role in designating the site as being of Community importance Natura 2000. We should not forget the birds that make this place to be unique and which are extremely beautiful; the white stork, the black stork, the little egret, the ruff, the purple heron, the black-winged stilt or the glossy ibis. It is also interesting to note that the Ciuperceni-Desa site remained undammed, the only place in the Danube Floodplain that is preserved this way.
