So i booked up with Ryan air flying Liverpool to Warsaw £39.42 RETURN. Then did some research on my chosen areas and came across a site guide to the Bialowieza a £20.00. 226 page pdf download which a Saved hours and hours of my time as i did not have to read loads of bird trip reports to the area to try and work out the best areas or walks to take and b It provided a mountain of useful general area information. For example how long it takes to walk the various trails. Whether you can do them in trainers or you need wellies. How not to get lost in the forest by using the markers, map and grid lines. Indispensable.
I could have downloaded a no doubt equally good site guide to the Biebriza marshes area by the same company but as i had only booked for a week i did not think that i would be able to give both sites the time that they deserve. And the stage was set
After about two and half hours flying we are making are descent into Modlin as the plane nears the runway all i can see all around me are trees and fields no buildings where is the massive city that is Warsaw? Well its miles away Modlin is a newish airport situated well out of the city. After a long wait to clear immigration i find the Hertz rent a car desk and complete the paperwork, get some zloty then a hot dog and head out into the car park to find my vehicle which was meant be a Kia Picanto but i have been upgraded to a Renault Clio as the week went on i found the Clio lacking in power compared to a Kia but never mind it got me about without any problems.
By now it is dark and i have got around about 6 hours till dawn to complete the journey to Bialowieza which should take about 3 hours of driving so i am not in any rush and set of at a leisurely pace heading towards Warsaw on a very good 3 lane road after Warsaw the road became 2 lanes, then it became 1 lane, then it became road works and then it became a problem its around about midnight but this road is a major East West transit road and hundreds of heavy goods vehicles are thundering along it, after a while i pulled into a service station which are good in Poland, they all have coffee, hot dogs and toasted sandwiches or pizza to fill you up for a while. After about another hour of difficult driving i pulled of this road and the traffic disappeared and at about 4am i have arrived at the village Bialowieza. I decided that my first outing would be in the Palace Park and soon find the car park near to the 2 ponds which has a fair few restaurant's around it and tourist info obviously not open at this time of day.
The dawn chorus is in full swing and it looks like it is going to be a hot day, i make my way over a bridge with a small river below it which separates the 2 ponds and within a few minutes i can hear an Icterine Warbler blasting out his song after a while i managed to locate him perched out in the open at the top of a tree on some leafless branches and get great views watching him sing away trip tick number one. Its very pleasant walking around the park which has clumps of trees and more open meadow like areas at one clump of trees i rest for a while and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker puts in an appearance followed by a second. In the more open areas Collared Flycatchers are busy feasting on the many unseen insects. As i walk on a pair of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers are fighting one another on a dead tree. Back at the ponds i see a Marsh Warbler singing in a tree and use my playback to confirm the song is that of a Marsh Warbler.
Back at the car park the village is waking up and the souvenir sellers are putting out there wares and the restaurant's are opening up its a popular spot to eat at and while away a Sunday afternoon. I fire up the Clio and head off into the forest heading for Budy bridge and the Teremiski meadows, as i drive along with the window open i hear a drumming woodpecker and pull over, within a few minutes i have got about 6 horse flys in the car all buzzing around angrily i get them out by swatting them with my hat, sit back in the car then notice this winged beast looking at me on the other side of the windscreen a 3 inch long horse fly OMG if one of these monstrous horse flys sinks it teeth into you, its going to hurt. I drive off to the Teremiski meadows, just as i arrive a large eagle type bird is low down over the meadows i park up and get superb views of a Lesser Spotted Eagle hunting over the meadow. A bit further on i stop at some random spot and catch a River Warbler out in the open under a bush in a roadside dyke calling out zre zre zre over and over again my 5 lifer of the day fantastic. My site guide informs me Budy bridge is not what it once was, i did linger hear for a while but saw very little but it is a pleasant spot to linger for a while and hardly a horse fly about.
View from Budy bridge
At the service station the red car is my Clio and there is a young White Stork sat in that nest, a hardy bird its 30 c and all he can do is wait for his parents to come back with some food for him.
I drive off to another area in the village and take a walk towards the Narewka bridge starting at the outskirts of the village i walk down the road to the bridge, its not the best time of day to do this walk but i thought i would give it a go so as to get my bearings as i will do it again at dawn. On the way to the bridge are Red Backed Shrikes flitting about and another Lesser Spotted Eagle flys up from the meadows and perches in a tree. At the bridge i linger for a while its a pleasant spot and a horse fly free zone. Golden Orioles are calling and so is a Cuckoo but it is fairly quiet.
Narewka river
After a while i returned the way i had come and then drove into the village to look for some food a decent meal this time. I parked up in a restaurant car park and ventured inside. I had no idea what to order or if any one would be able to understand me but the lady in the queue in front of me ordered goulash so i did the same. What a lovely meal, it might not look so much in the photo below but that bowl was rammed with meat and vegetables in a lovely sauce, which was even nicer when i mixed the yogurt in it.
After this fantastic meal and the fact i have been awake for around about 30 hours i was starting to flag, so i did another short walk around the Palace park but did not note any new birds.
The main gate into the Palace park
Back at the car i realise i have got a problem the battery had died on my tablet which has the information of the guest house i have booked to stay in, i try to charge it up in a restaurant but the plug will not go in the socket. I go to the tourist info building and the guy there trys to charge the tablet via his computer using the USB connection but it is massively slow for some reason. So i manage to use the last remaining battery life in my phone to access my email account and can now tell the tourist info guy where my guesthouse is. Note to myself buy a car charger, as the week went on i got lost at various times as i could not keep Goggle maps on full time as it drains the battery very quickly. I visit the local supermarket and get 4 cans of beer and head of to my guesthouse, which i found easily enough now i now what it is called. I get shown to the room i will be in for the next 4 days which was very well done out, very clean and use of a kitchen if i needed it. There is also a covered area in the back garden for guest to sit out in and enjoy the view and i headed down here with a can of beer, then a nice shower and bed after being awake for about 38 hours i did not need any sleeping tablets.
I had set the alarm for a 4 am start but that was a bit ambitious and it was nearer 6 am when i left the guesthouse. First stop the walk to the Narewka river i was quite surprised as it was quite, there was not loads of birds about maybe i had left it a little to late in the year but also maybe guide books and there authors always seem to see more birds than anyone gosney is a good example of this but i suppose there is no point writing up a bird guide for birders if you have got nothing to wet there appetite with. Still it was a pleasant walk and i walked on past the bridge to hear a calling Corncrake that remained frustratingly unseen only meters away from me further on i came to an area with many Yellowhammers in it a superbly colourful bird, then i ventured into the forest for a while but did not see anything noteworthy, turned around and headed back to the car and the service station for a coffee and a hot dog. Fed and watered i made my way to a meadow area with a watch tower and lingered here for quite some time another peaceful horse fly free zone.
Then i spent some time slowly driving around listening for drumming woodpeckers and stopping now and then at likely places seeing another 2 Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and a Icterine Warbler and a Female Common Rosefinch quietly feeding on the grasses which is a dull brown job compared to the Male but if seen well is actually quite striking. After this i decided to walk the Zebra zubra trail a longish walk heading to the Bison enclosure.
I had set the alarm for a 4 am start but that was a bit ambitious and it was nearer 6 am when i left the guesthouse. First stop the walk to the Narewka river i was quite surprised as it was quite, there was not loads of birds about maybe i had left it a little to late in the year but also maybe guide books and there authors always seem to see more birds than anyone gosney is a good example of this but i suppose there is no point writing up a bird guide for birders if you have got nothing to wet there appetite with. Still it was a pleasant walk and i walked on past the bridge to hear a calling Corncrake that remained frustratingly unseen only meters away from me further on i came to an area with many Yellowhammers in it a superbly colourful bird, then i ventured into the forest for a while but did not see anything noteworthy, turned around and headed back to the car and the service station for a coffee and a hot dog. Fed and watered i made my way to a meadow area with a watch tower and lingered here for quite some time another peaceful horse fly free zone.
Then i spent some time slowly driving around listening for drumming woodpeckers and stopping now and then at likely places seeing another 2 Middle Spotted Woodpeckers and a Icterine Warbler and a Female Common Rosefinch quietly feeding on the grasses which is a dull brown job compared to the Male but if seen well is actually quite striking. After this i decided to walk the Zebra zubra trail a longish walk heading to the Bison enclosure.
The photos above do not really give the forest the justice it deserves its massive and not possible to try and capture the view of it on a camera phone or to try and give you any idea of how huge the trees are and how you could not walk 500 meters into the forest no matter now fit you think you are. Its a swamp a peat bog forest and as such it attracts a lot of mosquitoes and by the time i had got back to the car i would say i had over 20 bites mostly on my back as they can bite through clothing like t shirts. But no matter it is a fantastic walk through the forest. My guide book reckons its a 2.5 hour walk to the Bison enclosure but after 3.5 hours of soaking up the atmosphere and views of the forest i have not reached it so turn back and think about getting some food as after 7pm it can be difficult to find a restaurant that will still be open.
First stop is to the restaurant i visited yesterday but it is closed, so i drive on to the main st in the village and find a fast food type place serving a very limited menu, i did not fancy a pizza so i chose the Calamari chips and salad which was not something i expected to find on a menu of a restaurant that is situated deep inside the last remaining primeval forest in Europe. But again it was really tasty.
Then back to the guesthouse were i was greeted by a friendly lassie type dog who came and sat with me while i watched the sun go down with a can of lager, acquiring a few more mosquitoes bites on my ankles to add to the my collection.
Up and out about 5am this morning and headed down to the Narewka bridge walk, in the roadside ditches i see a couple of Marsh Warblers singing away then onto the area with the Corncrake in it which again is very near me but i am unable to see it, as i wait and wait for even just the smallest of clues as to the Corncrakes whereabouts a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flys in and perches on the tree above my head then begins to search for food on the branches. I give up on the Corncrake and go and visit a watchtower nearby seeing Golden Orioles even one out in the open sat on a dead tree preening.
The view from the watchtower
Then onto a brief visit of Budy bridge area but again not much bird activity bar a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
I fire up the Clio and head out of the forest heading for Hajnowka which is the largest town in the area buy some cold meats and bread rolls and tomatoes then head on to the Siemianowka area which is about three quarter's of an hour away, not far from my first stop in this area i spot a large raptor flying over the meadows and pull over and get fantastic views of another Lesser Spotted Eagle as i eat my picnic breakfast. First stop in this area is to the impossible to pronounce village called Siemieniakowszczyzna which i drove through in about 30 seconds onwards to the water pumping station which is were my guide book suggests you should park. As i arrive at the pumping station car window up of course i can hear quite a lot of banging from the horse flys bumping into the car but it does seem quite windy so i get out and give it a go. 2 Crested Larks are on the track in front of me and the wind is a relief as by now the temperature has sored to 35, i make my way up to the embankment where i will be able to view the largest reservoir in Poland as i reach the top of the embankment the barn door of birds is flying low down over the reed beds a White Tailed Eagle a juvenile bird as the white tail has not been developed yet on this bird. A male Common Rosefinch is perched in a bush in the reed bed a much smarter bird than the dullish female, in the distance White Winged Black Terns are floating over the reed beds. And a Hobby is chasing after some unseen bird or Dragonfly. I made a short walk here but even with the wind its very hot and i did not go so far, then turned round and had another short walk in the forest.
Then i moved on for a short stop at Bondary Dam area of the reservoir but little to see here bar some Common Terns. Onwards to Bachury ponds where i lingered for a while watching the Black Terns fishing over the ponds
Bachury Ponds
Then onwards to my last site of the day Cisowka and took a short walk down the embankment to view the reed beds then back to the car through the forest then lingered in the meadows by the car seeing 2 Lesser Spotted Eagles in the distance one of which looked like it had got caught up in a length of rope that was trailing away from the bird from its talons but equally it could have been a snake, a very smart Blue Headed Yellow Wagtail came down for a drink in the small stream that runs through the meadows and a fantastic Male Montagus Harrier sailed over low down, a nice peaceful spot.
Cisowka Meadows
By now the time is getting on so i fire up the Clio and make the return journey back to Bialowieza.
A typical Polish home
On the return journey i got a toasted chicken sandwich at Hajnowka as i did not feel like eating a big meal then onwards to Bialowieza where i visited a restaurant by the Palace park and downed a few lagers. Then back to my guesthouse to sit in the garden till sun down.
The Pod Szumiaca Topola note the White Stork perched on the roof
After another good nights rest i was up fairly early today for another crack at the Zebra Zubra trial. This time i have got my secret weapon on a thick long sleeve top and i stuck a bottle of water down the back of my tracksuit trousers to make the top loose fitting over my back keeping my skin well away from the top. And it worked as i never got a mosquito bite during the whole day. Its about 6am and i have the Zebra Zubra all to myself, as i walk i get many false alarms with Great Spotted Woodpeckers feeding on the ground and calling out the kick calls from the trees as really my main quarry is the much rarer White Backed Woodpecker but i note very few birds bar these woodies. I walk a lot further than my other times on the trial and after around about 3 hours the forest opens up.
As i walk on the track opens all the way to be able to drive a vehicle down it and shortly i arrive at the car park for the Bison enclosure, which is really a zoo with animals kept in cages, which is not somewhere i would normally visit but my guide book informs me there is every possibility of seeing a few woodies i have not seen within this area.
I pay up and enter the zoo and have a look around, as i approach the Lynx cage there is great excitement from a party of other visitors, but for me i found rather depressing and a sad sight to see a mighty animal like a Lynx held in this small cage bored out of his head with absolutely nothing to do and he is curled up inside a log sleeping away the day. Very possibly if this Lynx was in the forest then he would also be sleeping in a similar log as the previous night he would have been roaming around the forest hunting, looking for a female, or defending his territory in other words doing all the things that he is meant to be doing. It must be a frustrating life for him.
The Lynx cage
Next up are the Wolves and i guess a regular of the zoo, is showing off to his friends by making aggressive actions towards a Wolf who then jumps up and snarls at him. I walk on to the Deer enclosure an equally depressing site with an information notice about the Deer.
If you did not read the information notice about the Red Deer some of it informs you. Red Deer. Lives in extensive woodlands, lives in herds, the rut takes place in September to October, can live for 20 years. Well the Dear in the shot above is not living in an extensive forest nor in a herd, nor does his take place in a rut or fight over and defends his females. Are we right to deny them there lives and put them in cages. I belief we do not have that right.
As i make my way back down the Zebra Zubra i spot a small bird on the moss covered branches of an old tree which turns out to be a Crested Tit with a superb crest stuck right up in the air.
Back at the car i do not fancy another hot dog, so i drove down to Hajnowka for a toasted chicken sand which and just happened to bump into a couple of Bison roaming around town.
After being fed and watered i drove back to Bialowieza at a leisurely pace and decided to take the walk named Wysokie Bagno.
House in Bialowieza village
I parked up at the start of the trial and began the walk on a vehicle sized path through spruce forest encountering many horse flys and at one point considered turning back, but then all of a sudden they all disappeared and i was left in peace, as i walk on i realise i have come the wrong way as the Belarus border is now in front of me, i walked up to the gate which has notices in various languages informing you that if you do cross you will be given a 3 year jail sentence.
Now on the right trial i went through a superb unspoilt forest on a narrow pathway that eventually lead to a bridge over the Narewka and here i lingered for the rest of the afternoon till around about 7pm. During this time a Belgium tourist turns up and asks me my op ion of this trial through the forest compared to taking the trial through the strict reserve which is an area of forest very nearby that you cannot visit without being guided which i have not visited as like this guy i am not keen on being guided around and my op ion is there is no difference in the 2 trials. A while later a Polish couple arrive at the bridge on bikes and we chat for a while, me mostly listening to there story's of there encounters with Wolves in the forest.
Ah yes the Wolves i had forget about them, but on the walk back to the car the Wolves were very much on my mind and i got back to the car considerably quicker than on the walk from the car.
Back in the village i visited the fast food type restaurant and ordered a take away pizza for tea, which i ate in the garden back at the guesthouse.
My last morning at Bialowieza and before i checked out i went for an early morning walk along the Zebra Zubra trail noting more Great Spotted Woodpeckers and calling Wood Warblers but not much else. My guide book suggests the roadside by the trial can be productive, as i slowly walked up the road i heard a faint drumming, then the sound of something, probably tree bark hitting leaves as it fell to the ground, then suddenly a black thing is climbing vertically up a dead tree with a yellow crown a superb Three Toed Woodpecker. He flys off and i lose him in the foliage then i hear the same faint taping sound and locate the Woodpecker again side on to me and manage to watch him till i decided to leave him to it, what a fantastic looking bird and a major spot to boot. I walked a bit further up the road and came across a small roadside pool on the forest side of the road which was attracting Pied and Collared Flycatchers, Hawfinches, a Nuthatch, Blackcaps and a few Chiffchaffs.
Back at the guesthouse i pack up and start the journey to my next destination the Biebrza marshes.
At the town of Bialystok there is some fish ponds and i pulled over for a look around. I went into the main area where many Polish people were enjoying the hot weather, playing beach volleyball, sunbathing, our doing exercises and i felt a bit conspicuous with my binoculars to hand surrounded by lots of people in swimming costumes but i pushed on hoping to able to walk to a quieter area, after a while my way was blocked by a gate but just before this there was a wooden bridge going out to an Island which i crossed and got great views of Whiskered Terns fishing over the ponds as they made there way around them. Also 3 White Tailed Eagles were over the ponds one being an adult bird with a full white tail.
No its not the little house on the prairie its the little house in Poland
I pressed on and reached Dluga Luka by mid afternoon which is one of the best sites for seeing the Aquatic Warbler. I parked up and headed out on to the boardwalk and stayed there for around about 2 hours but saw nothing. Evening time is the best time to see these birds as this is when they sing and may be observed but looking at the vast area before me i thought it may well be difficult to pick them out from the more commoner Sedge Warbler without a scope which i did not have with me, so set of for pre booked accommodation in Ruciane - Nida.
It took me over 3 hours of driving to get to Ruciane-Nida as i got lost due to not being able to keep Goggle maps on, so it was fairly late in the evening before i arrived at my accommodation which was another nice place a small building set in the grounds of the family's garden, who made me feel welcomed and were very friendly with me. As it was getting on i departed soon after arrival to go and find some food in the nearby restaurants. I entered a restaurant and saw many workmen sitting in a benched area eating something, the waitress came over and asked me what i would like to eat and replied i will have the same as those guys but instead of siting on the benches i sat in the posh end. What a lovely restaurant, and i enjoyed a fantastic meal here.
It had been on the cards for a while now and shortly after finishing my meal, the thunderclaps started the lightning struck and the heavens opened. It hammered down, during a lull in the storm i hot footed it back to the car and to my guest house via the services for 4 cans of lager. Back at the guesthouse the storm has pasted and a perfect half a circle rainbow appeared in the sky. If i knew how to photo shop i could put the 2 photos below together to show a half circle rainbow.
Up early 4am for my last full day in Poland, i have made a bit of a bu bu staying in Ruciane-Nida it is over a 2 hour drive back to Biebrza which is really the area i should be staying in. But whats done is done it was poor planing by me but it is not the end of the World. By 6.30 am i am back in the Biebrza and walking a boardwalk through a marsh like habitat. I reckon i was the first that morning to tread the boards as up ahead i see 4 Otters, who melt away into the foliage when they see me.
As i walk on i find that i am actually at the site i wanted to be at, which is an old 1st World war fortress and i spend some time looking around the ruined fort but see very little, its meant to be a reliable site for Bluethroats but i saw none. I head off back to a service station i passed on the way and surprisingly it has no hot dogs nor sandwiches, so i have to make do with a coffee and a bar of chocolate. Then back to the birding and i park up across the road from the boardwalk trail. The one piece of info i have of the area suggests i take a walk down the river bank, which i do.
A very pleasant walk in quite windy conditions after last nights storm and i note there is not a horse fly about. As i reach an area of the river i am able to view the water and reed beds and see a very small brown bird perched on a reed which i Id as a juvenile Penduline Tit. After a while i turn back to the car then drive off to park up again near to the boardwalk and spend some time in a watchtower scanning the reed beds and i am rewarded with a Male Penduline Tit. Water Rail and a flyover Black Stork.
I fire up the Clio and head for Wizna driving down the road through the Beibrza, i make a stop at a watchtower overlooking a likely area for Aquatic Warblers but there is very little activity bar a lone Moose feeding. At Wizna i drive around for a while trying to find the pools of water that are on Goggle maps eventually finding an area with a few small pools and lots of reed beds, here i spent some time watching the Black Terns feeding over the wet grasslands.
Then i drove back to the fort area but saw nothing new, so onwards to Ruciane-Nida getting lost once again on the journey and by the time i arrived in town it was 8pm. I visited the restaurant i had the lovely meal in yesterday and ordered the same. Back at the guesthouse i chat with a Polish guy who has some experience of living in the West and explains to me that the Polish people will never allow there country to become overrun by immigration and migrants from Africa and the Middle East like the UK is, once you let them in to your country then these people all want to live together in the same area which then pushes out the locals, the shops are taken over and sell food that is not Polish and the whole area is changed to belonging to another culture.
My last day and in the morning i say my goodbyes to my hosts then take the car to the services and give it a through hovering inside to remove all the cigarette ash that has accumulated and bits of hot dogs and sandwiches, the exterior of the car is fairly clean after the torrential downpour a few nights ago so i leave it how it is.
Guest house at Ruciane-Nida
I spend the morning slowly driving around the area, stopping every now and then to admire the views but see nothing of note bird wise.
Later in the day i paid a visit to the Treblinka extermination camp
Back at Modlin as i park up the car a guy approaches me in the car park who is holding a few pieces of paper with Hertz rental car written on them then pulls his jacket to one side to reveal a faded Hertz logo on his t shirt. Something is just not adding up with this guy and there is no way i am giving him the keys to the car then walking off. As i pack a few things into my bag, then take some photos of the car in case of disagreement later on this guy has disappeared. At the hire car desk the Hertz rep gives the car the once over whilst i wait at the desk, upon his return he tells me he is satisfied with the condition of the car and will release my 1000 Euro deposit. Potentially things could have turned out different here instead of getting my 1000 Euros back now i could be owing Hertz 10,000 Euros as the car has been stolen. Always trust your instincts.
Conclusions.
Poland just a few hours away by plane, a nice country with friendly people who drive like maniacs, the roads are fairly good, they are not pot holed but with the large amount of heavy good vehicles on them most are rippled and the journey can be a bumpy ride. The standard of accommodation and restaurants is as good as anywhere and the Pound goes a long way here. Would i go back? Definitely.
Bird of the trip
Three Toed Woodpecker
