Tour Narrative
This was my first visit to Poland in three years. It’s fair to say that the country had changed—and definitely for the better. A much improved road network speeded our journey to the southeast corner of the country and allowed more time than on previous trips for roadside birding. Leaving Warsaw, we saw our first Eastern Jackdaws feeding on the verges and the first of many White Storks. Our stop for lunch near Lublin produced a cracking male Little Bittern in low vegetation behind the restaurant, and a few miles down the road a fuel stop resulted in crippling views of River Warbler singing at point blank range, Corncrake “crexxing” on the roadside, and Golden Orioles giving their rich fluty song.
Our first pre-breakfast walk of the tour produced a male Red-footed Falcon, a couple of superbly confiding Wrynecks, and wonderful views of Red-backed Shrike. Nearby, a handsome male Barred Warbler showed well in song-flight in the company of several Red-backed Shrikes—just like in the field guide!
As we travelled through picturesque Bieszczady National Park, Black Storks were seen soaring overhead, and our visit to the aptly named “Eagle Valley” produced sensational views of a very close adult Golden Eagle, three Lesser Spotted Eagles, Hobby, dark-morph Honey Buzzard, and several Common Buzzards. Again here Corncrakes “crexxed” from the meadows and numerous River Warblers were heard, their sewing-machine-like song echoing through the valley. In the mixed coniferous woodlands, several Nutcrackers were seen, as were a tight group of six Whinchats, a wonderfully confiding Firecrest, and a very approachable pair of Long-tailed Tits. The awesome sight of a Ural Owl right in front of the bus was far too brief.
This area also produced Collared Flycatcher, and its drabber cousin, the Spotted Flycatcher, was noted in very good numbers. Singing Treecreeper, Redstart, Black Redstart, and Willow Tit also gave a wonderful show, as did feeding White-backed Woodpeckers. Early morning walks around the hotel produced wonderful views of Ring Ouzel and that skulking forest bird, the Dunnock; we also had brief sightings of Wren and Robin. Those latter three species are all much shyer and more retiring than in the UK. Hawfinches showed well quietly feeding in the shade. Early morning walks in this mountainous region certainly build up your appetite, and every morning there was a superb spread awaiting us for breakfast, including homemade Wild Boar sausages, tasty fruit smoothies, fruit pancakes, and pierogi.
Our journey north produced some superb sights and sounds too, including “yaffling” Green Woodpecker, singing Short-toed Treecreeper, and several vocal Icterine Warblers. A handful of immature Little Gulls were among the hundreds of Black, Whiskered, and White-winged Terns. Bittern was booming from the reedbeds at virtually every site, while its smaller cousin the Little Bittern tried hard to stay invisible but eventually gave itself up for all to see. The avian cacophony continued unabated with the mechanical-sounding Savi’s Warbler reeling, Great Reed Warbler “crunching,” and Scarlet Rosefinch singing “pleased to see you” as we made our way towards the forest.
Other sights on our way north included numerous Golden Orioles, dapper male Penduline Tits, “sky-dancing” Marsh Harriers, and a single Green Sandpiper; at one site we enjoyed the bonus of a soaring Red Kite. Aquatic Warbler was seen at two locations, perched out in the open at the first site. Nearby, a Savi’s Warbler sang out in the open from a small bush, allowing close study, and a superb male Barred Warbler chattered from the base of a small bush—we could make out the barred underparts and distinctive bright yellow iris. One species that did its best to avoid us was Syrian Woodpecker, but finally a territorial male in a roadside garden resulted in a few smiles!
Our three-day stay in Bialowieza Forest allowed us to observe species such as Honey Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, River Warbler, Crested Tit, Thrush Nightingale, nesting Hawfinch, and many woodpeckers including two Black, four each of White-backed and Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted, nesting Gray-headed, a superb Eurasian Three-toed, 10+ Great-spotted, and several Wrynecks. The warm weather was producing plenty of flying insects, thus attracting large numbers of Collared Flycatchers and handfuls of Pied, Spotted, and a single dapper Red-breasted singing in mature beech forest.
Our visit to the lekking Great Snipe was not kind to us, with rain being the order of the day, but not only did we see Great Snipe, we were also treated to the overhead displays of Black-tailed Godwits and Common Snipes, reeling Grasshopper Warbler, croaking Corncrake, singing Whinchat, calling Black Woodpecker, and a chorus of croaking Marsh Frogs—all the sounds that are so evocative of Poland in spring.
Our wet evening at the Great Snipes meant that the following night our attempt to see Pygmy Owl was one of the warmest and still nights of the trip; when we arrived at the spot, the Pygmy Owl was already perched out in the open in nothing short of broad daylight. We enjoyed tremendous views of this super little bird for over half an hour; a roding Woodcock overhead was nice, too.
Our visit to Siemianowka Lake on the Belarus border produced many marsh terns, over a dozen Great White Egrets, several White-tailed Eagles, many Whiskered Terns, a fantastic close view of an adult male Honey Buzzard, several Hoopoes, three Great Gray Shrikes, a singing Ortolan Bunting, and several fly-by Montagu’s Harriers. The icing on the cake here was the beautiful singing male Redwing in a stand of trees just past the main viewing area.
Shorebirds in the Biebrza Marshes included a handful of Ruff on the Narew River floodplain along with Ringed Plover, displaying Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, a few Greenshank, and two Temminck’s Stints in a flooded field. There were lots of Garganey, Little Gulls, and Little Terns, plus an all-too-brief bonus in the immaculate form of an adult Mediterranean Gull in full summer plumage.
Other sites within the Biebrza Marshes produced singing Penduline Tit, Scarlet Rosefinch, over 300 Common Cranes, 2,000 or more White-winged Terns, many Black Storks, singing Ortolan Buntings, and no less than six magnificent White-tailed Eagles together with a single Greater Spotted Eagle. Our biggest surprise, though, came while we were watching a storm out on the marshes; the sandy track we’d parked on was rapidly reduced to a mini-river, and just before we got back into the bus to avoid a soaking, a Red-throated Loon flew overhead: wow! We were at least 100 miles from the coast.
Mammals were well represented, too, with at least ten magnificent Elk, Eastern Hedgehog, Red Squirrel, Red Fox, Red Deer, and Roe Deer.
The bird of the trip? This year it was unanimously the Aquatic Warbler that gave us wonderful prolonged views: who could ask for anything better than Europe’s rarest warbler singing in full view at eye level? Second place was taken by the surreal experience of Great Snipe lekking in the rain, and third place went to the obliging Pygmy Owl that had graced us with its presence for half an hour in Bialowieza Forest.
- Stuart Elsom
Updated: October 2010