Ptačí Kupy, Nature reserve in Hejnice, Czech Republic.

Ptačí Kupy is a nature reserve near Hejnice situated at an elevation of 1013 meters, characterized by exposed granite rock formations and dense forest cover dominated by beech and spruce. The vegetation forms a continuous canopy around these rocky outcrops, creating a unified woodland landscape with distinct geological features.

The area was placed under protection in 1960 by the Ministry of Education and Culture and officially designated as a nature reserve in 1965. These measures reflected a growing effort to preserve the forest ecosystems and geological features of this mountain region.

The name Ptačí kupy, German Vogelkoppen, refers to čižba, the medieval bird-catching trade; one of the Jizera bird traps (čihadlo) stood on the summit. The area was declared a state nature reserve on 21 June 1960 as Ptačí vrchy and renamed Ptačí kupy in 1965.

Access to the observation point is only on foot using clearly marked trails that connect through the surrounding Jizera Mountains. Wear sturdy footwear and prepare for variable mountain weather conditions that occur throughout the year.

The reserve's dead spruce trunks, left standing after SO2 emissions and acid rain damaged the forests from the 1940s to the 1980s, now serve as habitat for invertebrates and birds. Emissions fell below the critical threshold only in 1991.