When: 7 days in late May – early June 2025
Where: Białowieża Forest & Biebrza Marshes
Who: 6 Wise Birding clients
Type of the tour: Spring tour
Highlights: a total of 148 bird species (9 species of woodpeckers, Nutcracker, Pygmy Owl, Lesser & Greater Spotted Eagles, Little Crake, Great Snipe, 2 species of marsh terns, 17 species of warblers, Citrine Wagtail, 4 species of flycatchers) & 9 mammal species (Bisons, Elks, Beavers)
Trip report
After the pick-up of the group we headed east, in the direction of Białowieża Forest, where we expected to arrive after 3,5 hrs drive. On the way there we already had some good birds – numerous White Storks, but also single Marsh & Montagu’s Harriers. After lunch en route we arrived to our accommodation in Białowieża at 3 p.m. After check-in & little break we decided to go to the Forest. Dark clouds were coming from north but it didn’t stop us. The site we planned to visit was a river valley were we hoped for some warblers & woodpeckers. And indeed as soon as we arrived we located Lesser Spotted Woodpecker nest where both parents were feeding juveniles. Slightly after that the rain started. We spent it hidden in the towerhide from where even despite weather we still had some good records – River Warbler, Marsh Warblers, Spotted Flycatcher & pretty male Yellowhammer. After about 30 minutes it cleared out and we headed towards bridge on the river. And as usually after rain, all birds started to be active. We had Savi’s Warblers, Rosefinch male, Hawfinches, Grey-headed Woodpecker & roding Woodcock – all seen well! We spent some time observing this stuff and in the evening returned to the accommodation and headed for dinner.
We started early before breakfast. As we were packing the stuff in the bus we had Black Redstart on the rooftop of our accommodation & Red-backed Shrike male in the garden. Not a bad start! The first stop was – as yesterday – mostly for woodpeckers. We saw Black Woodpecker in flight there, but a beautiful male of Collared Flycatcher stole the show. We continued our walk down the stream & we found this year’s White-backed Woodpecker female which started to feed & showed really nicely after some time. Only minutes after that we tracked active nest of Middle-Spotted Woodpecker which turned out to be our 6th species of woodpecker for the trip only in one evening & morning! We found another male Collared Flycatcher perched at the tree stamp nearby the woodpecker’s nesting tree & while we were watching it we heard Red-breasted Flycatcher singing behind our backs. We spent some time trying to locate it deeper in the woods and finally there it was – a beautiful male with red breast singing from the branch in the full light. That was pretty much for 3 hrs only! We headed back to the van & for the breakfast, but still on our way there we had male Firecrest showing up his crest in the spruce near the path.
After breakfast we departed to the Pygmy Owl nesting site. On the way there we decided to stop in one site for Barred Warblers – there were at least two males which gave us good views of song flights and (for some) also perching views. Lesser Spotted Eagle flew low over our heads & started to hunt on the meadows – that was pretty cool. We continued our journey towards Pygmy Owl site. As we walked there we had numerous Wood Warblers, but also our first Nuthatches as well as Marsh and Long-tailed Tits. After about 1km walk we reached the nesting tree and we didn’t need to look for long – the owl was near the hole at the height of about 4 metres looking right into our eyes. We spent some time with this bird there and we all agreed it was quite something for us.
We continued our search for other woodpecker species as on the way from Pygmy Owl site to the forest edge we walked past Wryneck territory. And indeed after few moments a pair of Wrynecks started to call and we saw one bird perched nicely. On the edge of the forest we hoped for some good passerines. That was a good decision – we saw Thrush Nightingale, Great Reed Warbler and Reed Bunting there. The nightingale gave us a phenomenal concert together with the chorus of “green frogs” from the nearby pond.
One of the main events of the day was an evening visit to the Great Snipe lek after dinner. Because of our early morning start we decided to do a little regeneration break prior to dinner. But before that in the afternoon we did some birding – we had good views of Icterine Warbler, but we also tried for Three-toed Woodpecker. Unfortunately no success there, but we had lovely views of a family of Black Woodpeckers chasing each other amongst mature Scott’s Pine forest stands.
After dinner we set for the Great Snipes as we planned. As we were walking to the lek we had Great Grey Shrike, but also numerous Corn Crakes were calling & a roding Woodcock flew over our heads. When we arrived to the spot we immediately heard the calls of the males displaying. At least 7 Great Snipes were at the lek fighting with each other, jumping and showing surprisingly well in very low wegetation. What’s even more interesting behind the lek 5 Bisons bulls were feeding. What a sight it was! We spent some time there watching the spectacle and when it got dark we set off back to the vehicle. On the way there we could hear Grasshopper Warblers calling intensively and even more Corn Crakes. What a day!
Because of a long day on Friday we started the day with breakfast – no activities before. After the meal we decided to visit Siemianówka Reservoir. But firstly, we wanted to try one site for Nutcracker in the woods – no result but we had our first Crested Tit, flight views of Goshawk and Large Copper butterfly there. We continued our way to Siemianówka. The Reservoir was pretty muddy due to a drastic drought occurring in Poland in 2025 but that meant we had chance for waders. Indeed we had plenty of them – Redshanks, Lapwings, Common Ringed & Little ringed Plovers as well as some local rarities like Turnstone & Oystercatcher. Over our heads several White-tailed Eagles were hunting and we even saw an adult with caught pike. There were also a few Black Terns amongst dozens of Common Terns as well as Gadwalls, Wigeons, Shovelers & Pintails. Next step was to do a picnic lunch on the bank of the reservoir where we wanted to calmly wait for Greater Spotted Eagle to show up in the sky. The bird eventually din’t appear – only its “Lesser cousin”. After lunch we went to have a look at the nearby gravel pit where we expected Bee-eaters to be. And on the wires there 11 individuals were flying & hunting dragonflies together with a showy Red-backed Shrike male. To continue with colourful-bird-observation we wanted to try with Citrine Wagtails. They are breeding at the grassy edges of the reservoir & immediately when we arrived there a beautiful male was singing from the bush nearby us. It gave us excellent views followed by observations of next three individuals including female and another male with food – a confirmation of breeding in the area. We watched them for a long time and finally decided to go back to the accommodation for a well-deserved dinner.
This time before breakfast we wanted to try with a boreal trio – Nutracker, Hazel Grouse & Three-toed Woodpecker. They were actually only woodland target species that we were missing. We started with searching for the grouse. After some time we found the bird singing from nearby but unfortunately despite our trials it didn’t show up. We continued to search for Nutracker but this one was silent. On the roads however we had plenty of fresh activity signs of wolves (tracks & poos), which meant that they were active there in the night. We added Coal Tit to our list & we headed to try with the woodpecker. As soon as we arrived we heard it drumming. It took us a while to locate it amongst many dead pines & spruces and we only managed to get brief flight views of it. We decided to give it a try in the afternoon once again.
After morning meal we headed back to the Forest. I just got fresh info from my friend that Bisons were out on the meadows in the nearby village so we drove there. And indeed, two bulls of European Bison were enjoying the flowery meadow quite close to the forest road. We had amazing opportunity to watch them from about 100 mtrs for half an hour. Then, we wanted to try with Nutcracker again. A decision to go into this part of the coniferous woodlands was right. As we reached the area Nutcracker was there! We watched it for half an hour – the bird was surprisingly silent but was browsing the tree tops in search of wood. Moreover, we had male Black Woodpecker & singing Woodlark there. It was also a time to give another try for Three-toed Woodpecker and this time male gave us good scoping views as it was drumming from the Scott’s Pine. Finally ticked! 9th species of woodpecker.
The plan for the rest of the day was to search for better views of Barred Warbler and then after dinner do some mammal search. The temperature was rising so we wanted to had a little siesta during hottest part of the day. The warbler showed briefly again, but very obliging Red-backed Shrike was also there.
After dinner we chose a road crossing from which we were searching for mammals at sunset. While standing there Woodcocks were roding above our heads & white-headed Long-tailed Tits were calling nearby. We had some good mammals – Red Fox & Badger – but Wolf didn’t show up. On the way back Tawny Owls started to hoot.
We still wanted to look for Hazel Grouse before breakfast – it was the only woodland species that we were missing. We tried at the same spot as yesterday and again the bird was only calling. We switched the site but there also no visual observation only singing male…
It was a travel day to the Marshes, so after breakfast we headed north-west in the direction of Biebrza Marshes. We planned two stops – one for Ortolan Bunting and one at Dojlidy Fishponds. The first stop was very successful with two Ortolan Buntings, singing male Corn Bunting and a pair of Monatagu’s Harriers which looked like they stole the show from Ortolan’s as we even saw a food transfer amongs the harriers!
On the fishponds we observed Red-necked Grebes on the nest, a pair of Whiskered Terns & Penduline Tit feeding the chickes in the nest. On the water surface there were also few Goldeneyes and male Tufted Duck.
We checked-in in our accommodation on Biebrza Marshes in the afternoon & decided to have a little break before activities planned after dinner. Firstly, we went to the spot for Aquatic Warblers. 2025 was a very dry year and the warblers were not showing at well-known sites so we had to try in the unusual sites. But that wasn’t a problem – as soon as we reached the site we heard first Aquatic Warbler male singing. We located it & watched it singing for about an hour. It was a pretty magical moment as the bird was about 50 mtrs from us and we were surrounded by a flock of 60 roosting Cranes, calling Corn Crakes & Grasshopper Warblers, but also male Elk which left the forest to feed in the open in the evening. It was a definite highlight for some!
After that we were still planned to do Beaver Boat Trip. We set off for the cruise along the river after sunset. Shortly after departure we saw first Beavers. We took our time & tried to get closer. Finally we were watching them for at least 20 minutes from the distance of about 2 metres. That was a proper BeaverWatching!
We started before breakfast with searching for some marsh terns. Due to draught White-winged Black Terns were not breeding in Poland but we hoped for some individuals amongst Black Terns in colonies of the latter. Unfortunately, there were no White-winged Black Terns but we did have wonderful observations of Black Terns from close distance in the colonies. Also there we had first Common Snipe – a male drumming in the sky.
Then we went for Bluethroat. And what a show this passerine gave us. It was singing tirelessly from the willow bushes in the opposte side of the canal showing us his white spot on the blue throat as well as ruddy-coloured tail. What a view! This was the first male ever seen for some of us.
We continued our exploration of Biebrza Marshes as we still had quite a good species to fins there – Greater Spotted Eagle. After half an hour of drive we reached the point from which I was planning to do stationary raptor watching for eagles. But before that we already had a lovely Greater Spotted Eagle on the mowed meadow 15 mtrs from our vehicle. The bird took off in the sky but we were already outside the bus and we watched it in the sky for some time. A proper tick! Nearby Montagu’s Harrier males were hunting along with Marsh Harriers causing alarm calls of local Lapwings & Black-tailed Godwits. Nearby also a male Stonechat popped up on the reeds together with nice male Blue-headed Wagtails.
After ice cream stop we decided to head to Knyszyn Fishponds – our last birding activity of the day. It was a right decision to visit this place as we had there numerous White-tailed Eagles, a pair of Whiskered Terns, male Red-crested Pochard & Crane with juveniles. We saw a dark cloud coming from the west and as soon as we started dinner the storm came.
It was our last day of the tour and as we saw pretty much everything nothing was planned before breakfast. We packed our luggage into the bus and decided to make some stops before having our final meal and heading to Warsaw. Firstly, we stopped on some meadows on the edge of the Biebrza river valley overlooking the marshes. There we had photographable Black Terns, we heard Curlews & Quails but also had quite unexpected bird – Little Tern that flew over our heads. On the mowed meadows nearby many raptors were present – Lesser Spotted Eagles, Red Kites & Common Buzzards. Second stop was near Tykocin town, where we also involved a bit of a cultural information as it’s the beautiful, former Jewish town, with a lovely market square. But we also had some nice birds on a local gravel pit like two Bee-eaters, hunting Hobby, Woodlark & male Blue-headed Wagtail.
After lunch we headed to Warsaw where tour ended in the late afternoon.
