rollingthunder
Well-known member
Biebrza (a little bit of) Gdansk for Corpus Christi and Swinoujscie on the German border - via Trains, Plane but no Automobile.....
Leaving Biebrza Marshes today after 2.5 days at the Bartlawisoz hotel which is situated right on the edge of the National Park about 2km from the village of Goniadz. The hotel is low-rise nestling in amongst woodland and serves both Polish Lager and specialises in smoked meats and local fish caught in the Park so if you like sieving your fish through zillions of bones then Pike is just the thing for you. The smell from the on-site smoker is akin to the daily brewing aroma from Batham’s up at the Delph.
What i would emphasise from the start is that if you wish to explore all or a lot of the known locales for species and notably the 7km boardwalk where the Aquatic Warblers are at their densest then a car is a necessity as a taxi would be a non-starter and public transport is non-existent. Bike hire was available at either £2.50 per hour or the excellent rate of £7.50 for the whole day dawn to dusk. The downside is that all the bike trails start about 20-30km across the river in the Polish hinterland so i ended up doing most of my birding within 500m of the hotel save for a 2km walk to a tower hide across the river. I also have never rented a bike that doesn’t offer a puncture repair kit or tools with a spare inner tube and the hotel did not. I have a morbid fear of breaking down in the boonies and being stranded without any recourse to rescue.....
I am treating this trip as a pre-cursor to not only Poland but to this part of Eastern Europe where there are relatively wild habitats and far less intensive farming pressure. A return is already planned with a mate who not only sells cars but just loves driving. Indeed he visited on a spur-of-the-moment 5 day trip only 2 weeks ago with his girlfriend - something which made our eyes narrow so we have changed our plans in order not to replicate or emulate so NO obligatory visits to either holocaust death-camps or drinking in overpriced salt-mines! He did comment on the value for money car-hire at just under 70 quid for 5 days and fuel cheapish.
We are travelling by very reasonably-priced trains in 200-300km chunks.
Polish trains are modern, roomy, clean and travel at about 60mph so it is sedately and allows you to bird from the windows - certainly by eye if not with binoculars. One thing you will NOT see from either the windows or much of anywhere in Poland is LITTER. I am not saying it is non-existent but there is hardly a speck and i can honestly say i never saw a plastic bag in 200km.
So far i have had 95 spp of bird including from the train from Warsaw>Bialystock and from Bialystock>Goniadz all but 2 (Rook And Black Kite) have been seen on in and around the Hotel marsh which is pretty good seeing as i am only recording birds moving in and over the area. Also considering peak movement has finished i saw very few waders (Lapwing, Green Sandpiper) and only Grey Heron and Little Egret from that group. 2 other targets for a lot of birders who visit the area are Woodpeckers and Owls but these are outside the scope of my trip for a number of reasons.
Another reason for visiting at this time of year is specifically to see species that i have only ever encountered in the UK as Autumn vagrants (mainly on Scilly) during the 1980’s as first-winter / juveniles and non-singing in non-breeding plumage.
Notable species so far include:
Hooded Crow - there seems to be both morphs here.
Raven - seen a number of times.
Marsh Harrier - everywhere. There is so much suitable habitat the breeding numbers must be in the tens of thousands.
White Stork - Poland has an estimated 1/4 of the European population so that is a minimum of 75k pairs.
Goshawk - being chased, by all things, by a pair of Wood Pigeon but tbf it was a nob-adult bird.
Common Rosefinch - plenty of males still singing.
Golden Oriole - a few seen with singing males at 0400.
Black Kite - a single so fa at Bialyostock.
Fieldfare - plenty and nice to see on the breeding grounds.
Marsh Warbler - only one head so far again at Bialyostock.
Serin - the tinkling song characteristic of the Med is also here.
Cuckoo - seen and heard everywhere. The habitat and associated species is something that has been ‘farmed away’ over in the UK - no ruminating or excuses, climate-warming blah blah.....it is farming that is slowly but surely killing the British countryside.
Spotted Eagle - single birds seen on several days. I am happy with my ID but i am not saying that i ID every one positively.....so i don’t!
Lesser Spotted Eagle - several on 3 days. Again comparison and plumage features allows ID of most i saw.
Thrush Nightingale - present around the hotel and although skulky they do appear out in the open.....briefly!
Blyth’s Reed Warbler - thankfully the song is distinctive enough to not have to bother with a short primary projection and there are related species for comparison. Several birds heard and one seen thus far.
Tree Sparrow - noted because i seldom see them in the UK.
Black Tern - parties and individuals seen over the marshes often calling.
River Warbler - a singing bird or possibly 2 on several days.
White Wagtail - unexpectedly there are dark-mantled birds like we get.
Kingfisher - breeding pair hunting and calling avidly by the hotel.
White-tailed Eagle - a most impressive adult seen on 2 consecutive days slowly circling over the marsh. An alabaster-White tail, very pale head and custard-Yellow bill.....could have been the same individual.
Yellow Wagtail - quite a few heard and seen, i haven’t assigned the ones i photographed yet as i haven’t looked them up.
Montague’s Harrier - a male mobbing a Lesser Spotted Eagle was a nice sight.
Hawfinch - 3 flyover birds calling whilst having an evening meal nearly ended up with me regurgitating food for the bride!
Aquatic Warbler - i am not in immediately suitable habitat but a singing bird at the base of a stunted scrub-covered Pine, 2 calling birds and the arse-end of a flyer is all i have managed to date. We travel to the German border after Gdansk where there is another stab at a second much smaller population of Europe’s most threatened migrant species. Only 20k pairs breed and the Southern colony is said to be part of the ‘genetically distinct’ Pomeranian population.....
Little Gull - single adult early 0500 one morning.
Citrine Wagtail - several males and a few females noted.
Great Reed Warbler - a lively male cranking out his song and others present along the River Biebrza locally.
Bearded Tit - pairs of juveniles noted.
Hoopoe - one seen.
Common Tern - single calling as it flew past.
Black Redstart - seen in all areas.
Great White Egret - single from the train en-route to Gdansk.
The folk are friendly, helpful and like a beer. The females are a varied lot and my theory as to why Mistletoe appears to be so common in Poland is that it is it is virtually never harvested and rarely used.....
Good Birding -
Laurie:t:
Attached: the only Cormorant so far encountered
Leaving Biebrza Marshes today after 2.5 days at the Bartlawisoz hotel which is situated right on the edge of the National Park about 2km from the village of Goniadz. The hotel is low-rise nestling in amongst woodland and serves both Polish Lager and specialises in smoked meats and local fish caught in the Park so if you like sieving your fish through zillions of bones then Pike is just the thing for you. The smell from the on-site smoker is akin to the daily brewing aroma from Batham’s up at the Delph.
What i would emphasise from the start is that if you wish to explore all or a lot of the known locales for species and notably the 7km boardwalk where the Aquatic Warblers are at their densest then a car is a necessity as a taxi would be a non-starter and public transport is non-existent. Bike hire was available at either £2.50 per hour or the excellent rate of £7.50 for the whole day dawn to dusk. The downside is that all the bike trails start about 20-30km across the river in the Polish hinterland so i ended up doing most of my birding within 500m of the hotel save for a 2km walk to a tower hide across the river. I also have never rented a bike that doesn’t offer a puncture repair kit or tools with a spare inner tube and the hotel did not. I have a morbid fear of breaking down in the boonies and being stranded without any recourse to rescue.....
I am treating this trip as a pre-cursor to not only Poland but to this part of Eastern Europe where there are relatively wild habitats and far less intensive farming pressure. A return is already planned with a mate who not only sells cars but just loves driving. Indeed he visited on a spur-of-the-moment 5 day trip only 2 weeks ago with his girlfriend - something which made our eyes narrow so we have changed our plans in order not to replicate or emulate so NO obligatory visits to either holocaust death-camps or drinking in overpriced salt-mines! He did comment on the value for money car-hire at just under 70 quid for 5 days and fuel cheapish.
We are travelling by very reasonably-priced trains in 200-300km chunks.
Polish trains are modern, roomy, clean and travel at about 60mph so it is sedately and allows you to bird from the windows - certainly by eye if not with binoculars. One thing you will NOT see from either the windows or much of anywhere in Poland is LITTER. I am not saying it is non-existent but there is hardly a speck and i can honestly say i never saw a plastic bag in 200km.
So far i have had 95 spp of bird including from the train from Warsaw>Bialystock and from Bialystock>Goniadz all but 2 (Rook And Black Kite) have been seen on in and around the Hotel marsh which is pretty good seeing as i am only recording birds moving in and over the area. Also considering peak movement has finished i saw very few waders (Lapwing, Green Sandpiper) and only Grey Heron and Little Egret from that group. 2 other targets for a lot of birders who visit the area are Woodpeckers and Owls but these are outside the scope of my trip for a number of reasons.
Another reason for visiting at this time of year is specifically to see species that i have only ever encountered in the UK as Autumn vagrants (mainly on Scilly) during the 1980’s as first-winter / juveniles and non-singing in non-breeding plumage.
Notable species so far include:
Hooded Crow - there seems to be both morphs here.
Raven - seen a number of times.
Marsh Harrier - everywhere. There is so much suitable habitat the breeding numbers must be in the tens of thousands.
White Stork - Poland has an estimated 1/4 of the European population so that is a minimum of 75k pairs.
Goshawk - being chased, by all things, by a pair of Wood Pigeon but tbf it was a nob-adult bird.
Common Rosefinch - plenty of males still singing.
Golden Oriole - a few seen with singing males at 0400.
Black Kite - a single so fa at Bialyostock.
Fieldfare - plenty and nice to see on the breeding grounds.
Marsh Warbler - only one head so far again at Bialyostock.
Serin - the tinkling song characteristic of the Med is also here.
Cuckoo - seen and heard everywhere. The habitat and associated species is something that has been ‘farmed away’ over in the UK - no ruminating or excuses, climate-warming blah blah.....it is farming that is slowly but surely killing the British countryside.
Spotted Eagle - single birds seen on several days. I am happy with my ID but i am not saying that i ID every one positively.....so i don’t!
Lesser Spotted Eagle - several on 3 days. Again comparison and plumage features allows ID of most i saw.
Thrush Nightingale - present around the hotel and although skulky they do appear out in the open.....briefly!
Blyth’s Reed Warbler - thankfully the song is distinctive enough to not have to bother with a short primary projection and there are related species for comparison. Several birds heard and one seen thus far.
Tree Sparrow - noted because i seldom see them in the UK.
Black Tern - parties and individuals seen over the marshes often calling.
River Warbler - a singing bird or possibly 2 on several days.
White Wagtail - unexpectedly there are dark-mantled birds like we get.
Kingfisher - breeding pair hunting and calling avidly by the hotel.
White-tailed Eagle - a most impressive adult seen on 2 consecutive days slowly circling over the marsh. An alabaster-White tail, very pale head and custard-Yellow bill.....could have been the same individual.
Yellow Wagtail - quite a few heard and seen, i haven’t assigned the ones i photographed yet as i haven’t looked them up.
Montague’s Harrier - a male mobbing a Lesser Spotted Eagle was a nice sight.
Hawfinch - 3 flyover birds calling whilst having an evening meal nearly ended up with me regurgitating food for the bride!
Aquatic Warbler - i am not in immediately suitable habitat but a singing bird at the base of a stunted scrub-covered Pine, 2 calling birds and the arse-end of a flyer is all i have managed to date. We travel to the German border after Gdansk where there is another stab at a second much smaller population of Europe’s most threatened migrant species. Only 20k pairs breed and the Southern colony is said to be part of the ‘genetically distinct’ Pomeranian population.....
Little Gull - single adult early 0500 one morning.
Citrine Wagtail - several males and a few females noted.
Great Reed Warbler - a lively male cranking out his song and others present along the River Biebrza locally.
Bearded Tit - pairs of juveniles noted.
Hoopoe - one seen.
Common Tern - single calling as it flew past.
Black Redstart - seen in all areas.
Great White Egret - single from the train en-route to Gdansk.
The folk are friendly, helpful and like a beer. The females are a varied lot and my theory as to why Mistletoe appears to be so common in Poland is that it is it is virtually never harvested and rarely used.....
Good Birding -
Laurie:t:
Attached: the only Cormorant so far encountered
