When: 6 days in early October 2024
Where: Białowieża Forest & Biebrza Marshes
Who: 2 Wise Birding clients
Type of the tour: autumn tour
Highlights: a total of 95 bird species (woodpeckers (White-backed, Middle spotted, Grey-headed, Three-toed, Black, Lesser Spotted), Pygmy Owl, Hen Harrier, Crane, Crested Tit, Rough-legged Buzzard, White-tailed Eagle, Penduline Tit) + 10 mammal species (Bisons, Elks, Beavers,Raccoon Dog, American Mink, Red Squirrels, Roe Deers)
Trip report
After the pick-up we headed east, in the direction of Białowieża Forest. On our way we had our first wildlife observations – herds of Roe Deers together with numerous Buzzards & Ravens. The colours of autumn made our 3,5 hrs drive nice & smooth and soon we were in our guesthouse in Białowieża.
We checked-in and as we still got some time decided to head to the Forest. As we arrived we were greeted by a flock of white-headed Long-tailed & Marsh Tits. We continued our walk to the junction of the road where we expected to do a little mammal watching. Maybe because of the drizzle nothing showed up, but I knew that Pygmy Owl has a territory nearby. After a few whistles produced, the owl arrived & gave us nice and close views on the nearby Scott’s Pine. That was a nice beginning of the tour!
We started early before breakfast. Our main goal for the morning was to do a little Bison Safari. And indeed, after about 20mins of search we found our first animals. A group of five Bisons were feeding on the meadow nearby us. We watched it for several minutes before they slowly headed to the woodlands where they usually spend the day. In the next spot we found another Bison, this time a huge bull. It was amazing to observe the animal together with a misty atmosphere around.
That was a cool start!
As we were not far from the place where local ringing station operates we decided to give them a visit. They were also planning to finish they research season next day so it looked like it was our only chance for the tour. We were greeted nicely & we went to check the nets. There were dozens of Wrens, Dunnocks, Robins & Chiffchaffs in the nets, but at the end there was a little treasure – male Goldcrest which was definitely the highlight of the ringing.
After breakfast we departed for a walk in search of woodpeckers. There we found Middle-spotted Woodpeckers, Hawfinches, Chaffinches & Nuthatches. Green Woodpecker was also calling in a few spots. Suprisingly, it took some time until we found the first less abundant woodpecker species – White-backed & Lesser-Spotted ones. Both were feeding nicely, next to our pathwalk. But before that we had amazing observation of European Bison. A huge male was walking on the same road as we took & we were able to follow him for a while. Finally, it noticed our presence & exposed nicely for another minutes. Not often do you see this animal in the woodlands – despite their size they behave carefully & silently amongt the trees.
In the evening we tried to search for wolves in the area where they were recently seen on my camera traps but with no results. But we had our first Black Woodpecker calling there & a family of Black Redstarts.
Again we started early. We drove through the forest to search for Wolves, but without success. We “only” had large Bison bull on the meadows. As we still had a little time before breakfast we tried with some more woodpeckers & that was a good decision. Soon we were watching Three-toed Woodpecker feeding nicely on a spruce nearby followed by flight views of Black Woodpecker. We also had first migrants that only pass through Poland during their journey – Bramblings & Redwings + 3 Black-throated Divers flying overhead.
For the midday we were planned to meet Białowieża National Park ranger to join him on the walk into the famous Strict Reserve. We had an amazing walk through woodlands and we have seen loads of Hawfinches & few Middle-spotted Woodpeckers. It was a nice forest ecology lesson that perfectly underlined the value of the area. Right after we said goodbye to our guide, just outside the core area we were also able to watch hovering Great Grey Shrike & Fieldfares on the wire post.
For the afternoon we headed to the coniferous part of the forest. There we had amazing observation of Crested Tit together with good views of Black Woodpecker. We also found there super fresh activity of Wolves (tracks + poos) so decided to give it a try in the evening. We sat on the road junction but despite a few Red Deers (including one male calling) nothing else showed up.
That was a day of our transfer to the Marshes so soon after breakfast we were on our way. We planned to do two stops, to visit Siemianówka reservoir & Dojlidy Fishponds. In the first spot we had Common Gulls, Great White Egrets & heard a flock of Bearded Tits. A visit to the fishponds was more interesting. We had impressive numbers of wildfowl there – Teals, Pochards, Goldeneyes, Tufted Ducks & Shovelers. We also observed a few wader species – Lapwings, Common Snipes, Spotted Redshanks & single Dunlin.
We arrived to our guesthouse on Biebrza Marshes in the late afternoon & decided to take advantage of about 2hrs of light we still had and we headed to the field. We planned to do a little walk to the hide overlooking the swamps. On the way there we bumped into Grass Snake but as soon as we reached the spot we were luckily observing our first Elk. That was a nice observation of the animal browsing through the landscape of reeds & sedges. After that we went for a dinner, finished by a lovely apple pie! On our way back to the guesthouse we also had amazing observation of Raccon Dog in the lights of our car, not more than 10 metres away from the vehicle.
Before breakfast we headed to the Marshes to search for Elks. We found impressive numbers of this mammals as we observed 9 individuals including the moment when we had four in one field of view of our binoculars! A male Hen Harrier glided above our head while we were scanning the vast landscape of Biebrza. Suddenly on the tree nearby we saw a movement. It turned out to be immature Cuckoo – latest ever for the region & one of the latest in the country! That was quite a something.
After breakfast we made a traditional loop around Southern Basin of Biebrza Marshes. We visited several tower-hides & points overviewing river valley. It brought us our first Penduline Tits & Meadow Pipits, but also Rough-legged Buzzard, Common Snipes, Grey Partridges, Common Cranes, Grey Herons & a few distant White–tailed Eagles. We also heard Red-throated Pipit migrating overhead. But a definite highlight of the day was to observe hunting Hen Harriers over the river valley’s grassland. We observed about dozen of them throughout the day, with a maximum of four on one field!
In the evening we were planned to scan some vast meadows on the edge of the National Park. We chose an observation point and waited for the wildlife to show up. After a few moments Roe Deers started to come out of the forest for evening feeding. Nearby Red Fox was hunting on voles together with Buzzards – numerous Common & a single Rough-legged. In a small piece of woodland Grey-headed Woodpecker started to call and soon we were able to watch two birds chasing each other between tree trunks.
But after dinner another nice activity was planned – a beaver boat trip, organized by our guesthouse owners. As soon as we boarded we were amazed by a thick fog above the river creating the spooky ambience. However, the fog did not obstruct our observation and we could soon comfortably observe at least 5 individuals of Beavers within a distance of few metres. American Mink browsing the bank of the river was also present there.
It was our last day of the tour but we made a small walk around the accommodation before breakfast. It resulted in Sparrowhawks, Tree Sparrows & a nice Middle-spotted Woodpecker in the orchard nearby. After morning we packed our luggage into the car and decided to make last two stops before having our final meal and heading to Warsaw. Firstly, we stopped on the edge of the Biebrza river valley overlooking the marshes. There we had the largest flock of Cranes recorded during trip – more than hundred of birds. Second stop was near Tykocin town, where it also involved a bit of a cultural information as it’s the beautiful, former Jewish town, with a lovely market square.
After lunch we headed to Warsaw where tour ended in the late afternoon.