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NORTHEAST POLAND
Biebrza Marshes & Bialowieza Forest
Birdquest's Northeast Poland birding tour is a classic East European birdwatching experience. Our Northeast Poland tour is an enjoyable springtime journey through the Biebrza Marshes and Bialowieza Forest in search of many great birds, including Great Snipe, Eurasian Pygmy-Owl, White-backed Woodpecker and Aquatic Warbler.
Saturday 10th May -
Saturday 17th May 2014
(8 days)
Leaders:
Marek Borkowski and assistant
Group Size Limit: 12
Tour Category: Easy
Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker can usually be found deep within the primeval forests of Bialowieza (Mike Watson)
Northeast Poland offers some of the finest birding in Europe in some remarkably unspoilt surroundings. Here are vast, primeval forests of giant limes, oaks and spruces that have never felt the axe, fabulous marshes extending as far as the eye can see and literally hundreds of untouched lakes. Such habitats were once much more widespread in Europe, but intensive felling and drainage have reduced them to scattered remnants in most countries. Fortunately the natural habitats of northeastern Poland have been preserved on a grand scale, partly by design and partly due to the slow rate of agricultural development during the communist era, which allowed an almost nineteenth century way of farming to persist until late in the 20th century.
During our explorations we will visit two different areas within comparatively easy reach of each other in the northeast of the country, by far the most interesting part of Poland from a birding perspective.
From Warsaw we will travel first to the great Biebrza Marshes, situated to the northwest of Bialystok, with their rich birdlife. During our stay in the area we will explore the upper and middle basins of this superb wetland area as well as the surrounding conifer plantations and mixed forests. The marshes are known as an internationally important breeding site for a number of wetland birds, but their future is already under threat from road building schemes, ‘reclamation’ and changing agricultural practices, fuelled by the great economic changes that have followed on from Poland’s accession to the European Union. The stagnation of the Communist era, as we can now clearly see, preserved this wonderful natural habitat in a ‘time warp’ for nearly half a century, but it now faces an uncertain future. Aquatic Warbler is a major speciality of this marvellous area and, as well as this particularly sought-after species, there are many other great birds to be found in this fine area, including Red-necked Grebe, White-tailed, Greater Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Montagu’s Harrier, Common Crane, White-winged Tern, Citrine Wagtail, Thrush Nightingale, European Penduline Tit and with luck Greater Spotted Eagle and Tengmalm’s Owl.
After leaving Biebrza, we will travel to the southeast, to the ancient Bialowieza Forest on the eastern border of Poland. Bialowieza, which covers an immense tract of country shared by Poland and Belarus, is justly famous as Europe’s finest remaining tract of virgin lowland forest and is home to one of only two populations of European Bison left in the wild (the species once occurred widely across the forest zone of Europe and possibly Asia, but began to vanish not long after the end of the last Ice Age as human pressures intensified, now surviving only in the Caucasus and in Bialowieza). Once a hunting preserve of Polish kings and later the Russian Czars, the forest suffered badly during the two World Wars, but in spite of all these vicissitudes large tracts survived and the bison were successfully reintroduced. As well as the bison, there are some very exciting birds. including Black Stork, Hazel Grouse, Eurasian Pygmy Owl, Middle Spotted, White-backed and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers, River Warbler and Red-breasted and Collared Flycatchers. Another mega-speciality of Northeast Poland is the intriguing Great Snipe, which breeds in marshlands not far from Bialowieza, and should even see this intriguing species performing at dusk at a lek.
Birdquest has operated tours to Poland since 1987.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels at both locations are of normal Birdquest standard. Road transport is usually by small coach and roads are mostly good.
Walking: The walking effort is easy throughout.
Climate: Warm, dry and sunny weather is interspersed with cool, wet and overcast periods.
Bird Photography: Opportunities are worthwhile.
Tour Price: (provisional): $2410 Warsaw/Warsaw. Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $249.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
Watchtowers over the wonderful Biebrza Marshes afford stunning panoramic views of this special habitat (Mike Watson)
3 photos
View Gallery Photos From NORTHEAST POLAND
The Biebzra Marshes hold the largest European population of the threatened and highly charismatic Aquatic Warbler (János Oláh)
An evening visit to a Great Snipe lek should be one of the highlights of this tour (János Oláh)
The skies above the Biebzra Marshes are usually filled with marsh terns including the striking White-winged Tern (János Oláh)
We have a great track record of seeing Eurasian Pygmy Owl on this tour. Pound for pound it is one of the most fearsome birds on the planet (Mike Watson)
Bialowieza represents the largest original remnant of the vast forests that once covered lowland Europe (Mike Watson)
The westward march into Europe of Citrine Wagtail continues and this species is now well-established in Northeast Poland (Mike Watson)
Our Northeast Poland tour can sometimes produce a surprise like this superb male Pallid Harrier, seen on our 2008 tour (Mike Watson)
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