This is a beach lake formed from a former gulf. The name of the lake, the Bay of the Priest, refers to the fact that once the water reached the church where the priest landed with the boat. The name could possibly derive also from the fact that fishing from the lake was once only allowed for the purpose of feeding the priest. The lake is very shallow (less than a half a metre), which is why there is little water surface free of vegetation. Although the lake is mainly overgrown with reeds, it is still an important spawning and feeding area for the coastal fish. The reed banks with open water patches offers good opportunities for birds to feed and take refuge. The deep call of the Eurasian bittern can be heard from the reed banks at nights in May and June. The greylag goose and other reedbirds nest here. Virtually flightless birds find refuge in the reed banks during moulting. A common alder marsh with a fern underbrush that has been included among the habitats worthy of protection in Estonia has formed on the western bank of Lake Prästvike.