Poland: birds in primeval forest and marshes This tour will not run in 2009 |
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'Stuart got the handling of the group absolutely spot-on. He became a friend as well as a group leader. Well done, Stuart. Management and caring skills as well as birding skills impeccable.' J. Williams 2007
'I was particularly impressed by and appreciated Stuart's friendliness, helpfulness and birding skills. It was a major highlight of the tour and I would be keen to join future tours led by him.' C. Sharpe 2002 |
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Cost £ Single room supplement £ Maximum group size: 16 with 2 leaders. 2 leaders join this tour regardless of group size. In recent years Poland has become a popular destination for birdwatchers from other parts of Europe. The undoubted main attractions have been the ancient, primeval forest at Bialowieza and the marshes at Biebrza, famous as the breeding grounds of Great Snipe and Aquatic Warbler. While these areas are indeed very special and rewarding, the country as a whole has much more to offer, as we hope to demonstrate with this itinerary. Beginning in the extreme southeast of the country, where Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland meet, we’ll travel slowly north following the former Soviet border, taking in habitats that range from mountains and the majestic beech forest of the Carpathian uplands, to lower-altitude, mixed woodlands and steppe grasslands, before visiting the rich mosaic of habitats that make up the Bialowieza National Park. The tour finishes with a visit to the Biebrza marshes where we should see one of Europe’s rarest birds, the Great Snipe. Day 1: Our tour begins with a morning flight from London to Warsaw. We’ll then drive south to the town of Przemysl among the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Night in Przemysl. Day 2: This beautiful area is designated a Landscape Park, consisting of wooded hills and valleys providing us with a scenic start to our birdwatching. Although the birds around the hotel will whet our appetite, our first stop in the morning will be in the aptly named Eagle Valley, where we hope to see Lesser Spotted and Golden Eagles and with luck Corncrake, Black Stork, and River Warbler. In the afternoon, we’ll drive deep into the mountains close to the southern border of Poland to Bieszczadzki National Park. This impressive area is by far the best place to search for Ural Owl, and since we will spend two nights in our hotel we’ll have ample time to seek out this particular species. Night in Bieszczadzki. Day 3: We’ll spend the whole day in and around Bieszczadzki exploring the impressive beech woodland. Here we hope to see a variety of montane and woodland species such as White-backed, Syrian and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Nutcracker, and perhaps upland species such as Ring Ouzel. In the evening we’ll have the opportunity of searching for owls again. Night in Bieszczadzki. Day 4: Today we must leave the mountains and head north, visiting several excellent birding locations on the way, including the first of many fishponds, home to nesting Red-necked and Black-necked Grebes, migrant waders, Marsh Harriers, White-winged Black, Whiskered and Black Terns, Marsh and Great Reed Warblers, and hopefully the impressive White-tailed Eagle. Night in Zwierzyniec. Day 5: This morning we’ll visit an area of open grassland to look for butterflies and open country species with perhaps some more fishponds before returning, after lunch, to the 16th century town of Zamosc to admire its fine buildings and soak up some culture. Moving on, our destination is Chelm where we’ll spend the late afternoon and early evening overlooking a large marsh. Here, Montagu’s Harriers quarter back and forth over the vegetation and we may well witness an aerial food pass between a nesting pair. However, the main reason for visiting this site is to see one of Europe’s rarest passerines, Aquatic Warbler. As evening approaches we should see these delightful birds singing from the tops of reed stems. Night in Chelm. Day 6: Our drive north to the mighty Bialowieza Forest will again be broken with birding stops. More fishponds en route may hold White-tailed Eagle, Penduline Tit and maybe even Little Crake. At the River Bug we’ll walk along the sandy banks looking for terns, migrant waders, and Woodlark, and we may find the odd rarity. This area is also excellent for butterflies and other insects. Night in the Bialowieza area. Days 7-8: We’ll spend two days exploring the famous Bialowieza Forest and surrounding areas. The Polish part of this ancient woodland covers 580 square kilometres and during gentle walks around the numerous trails we could encounter Hazel Grouse, Pygmy Owl, Black, White-backed, Grey-headed, Three-toed, and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, Thrush Nightingale, Collared and Red-breasted Flycatchers, and numerous Hawfinches. Tengmalm’s Owl occurs in the forest, although careful searching is required to find this elusive nocturnal species. We may even catch sight of a few European Bison in this their last European stronghold. One day we’ll travel to the northern part of the forest to visit the extensive Siemianowka Lake. Here we’ll look for brightly marked Citrine Wagtails picking their way around the lake edge and striking Barred Warblers performing their frantic aerial display flight. This part of Poland is remote, and ancient farming methods, unchanged for centuries, produce a wild and attractive countryside. Nights in the Bialowieza area. In the evening we'll search for Great Snipe. Again it will be their strange clicking call that we'll first notice before we catch sight of the lekking males, puffing their chests out in a frantic attempt to attract a female. Days 9-10: Our final destination is the Biebrza marshes but our journey there will be broken by a visit to some fishponds on the edge of the floodplain of the River Narew. These fishponds are special in that we might see all five European grebes in breeding plumage, other special birds here could include breeding Whooper Swan, Penduline Tit and maybe even Black-throated Diver or Little Crake. After exploring this area we’ll continue towards our hotel near the marshes, stopping en route at any suitable habitat looking for newly arrived passage waders or marsh terns. This magical place is as much about sounds as it is about sights. An early morning or evening visit to any of these habitats will bring the sound of trumpeting Cranes or booming Bitterns to our ears, along with the haunting aerial display calls of Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank, drumming Snipe, reeling Savi’s Warblers, and the sweet song of Ortolan Buntings. If the water levels are right we’ll be treated to the sight of clouds of White-winged Black Terns and perhaps Little Gulls dancing over the wetlands, or we might marvel at a Hobby lazily plucking dragonflies from the air. Passage waders could include Curlew, Wood and Marsh Sandpipers, Temminck’s and Little Stints, or possibly Spotted Redshank. White Storks are simply everywhere, and in some villages we’ll pass through there will seem to be a nest on every building. Nights in the Biebrza area. Day 11: We’ll drive back to Warsaw and catch a flight to London where the tour concludes.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated June 2008. |
We may seen Corncrakes on our first morning in Poland.
One of the highlights of our visit to the south-east of the country is Ural Owl.
Whiskered Terns nest on the fishponds.
Red-backed Shrikes are a common sight.
We'll hope to see most, if not all, Europe's woodpeckers from the enormous Black...
to the diminutive Wryneck.
Bee-eaters are always a colourful sight and we'll visit the last remaining Bee-eater colony in Poland
Photos by Stuart Elsom and David Fisher. |
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