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Trip Report Autumn Birds & Mammals 12-19 Sep 2015 8 Day Bird & Mammal Watching Tour in the Białowieża Forest and Biebrza Marshes

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Trip Report Autumn Birds & Mammals 12-19 Sep 2015 8 Day Bird & Mammal Watching Tour in the Białowieża Forest and Biebrza Marshes Trip report Autumn Birds & Mammals 12-19 Sep 2015 8 day Bird & mammal watching tour in the Białowieża Forest and Biebrza Marshes Text and photographs by Łukasz Mazurek Tour Leader: Łukasz (Lucas) Mazurek Participants: Thomas, Sherry (USA), Selina, Alain (CH), Willem (NL) Wildlife: 14 mammal and 97 bird species recorded, full checklist on page 9 WWW.WILDPOLAND.COM 1 WILDPOLAND TOUR REPORT - AUTUMN BIRDS & MAMMALS, SEP 2015 Day 1, Saturday 12th Sep - Warszawa to Białowieża The meeting and pickup went smoothly but 2 pieces of luggage did not make it on time and were about to reach us on the next day. We set off and just outside the city had a nice lunch of traditional Polish schabowy with potatoes at a roadside bar. A few hours later, after checking in, a lovely dinner of Polish soup and meats was followed by a short introduction to the area and a talk over a map. Day 2, Sunday 13th Sep - Białowieża The forecast was showing a bit of rain early morning so we decided to stay in beds until breakfast and thus have some rest after a travel day. First thing in the morning, we had a walk in the Wysokie Bagno Reserve and saw a selection of Tits, Pied Flycatchers and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. As we arrived back at our hotel for lunch we saw a Sparrowhawk chasing a few Marsh Tits in the hotel garden. The bags have arrived as promised, to the content of their owners and all of us. After a hearty lunch of potato pancakes we have continued in the forest, this time an old patch of a coniferous stand and saw a few Black Woodpeckers, in addition to Crested, Coal and Willow Tits, Nuthatch and Pied Flycatchers. We have also found some quite fresh Wolf territory marking - scratched ground that was an impressive view. Afterwards, we transferred to the central part of the forest for one of our most favourite trails leading to a large glade where we expected some Bison to come out at dusk. Didn’t have to wait long as after a few minutes upon our arrival there a herd slowly came out of the forest. They were shy and maybe smelled us, moved back into the forest but after a few minutes came out again and started grazing. A minimum of 8 Bison, mostly cows with young but also one large bull was there. We decided not to disturb them and slowly moved back. Several Black Woodpeckers were calling and flying above our heads. Seeing this herd os Bison at sunset was a magical experience. WWW.WILDPOLAND.COM 2 WILDPOLAND TOUR REPORT - AUTUMN BIRDS & MAMMALS, SEP 2015 On our way back a Pygmy Owl was calling in the distance so I whistled and it came right in giving smashing views in torchlight for a few minutes. Female Tawny Owl has also called but did not want to show. As we drove home for dinner a hind of Red Deer with young and a Red Fox had crossed our road just in front of the bus giving great views. Day 3, Monday 14th Sep - Białowieża Early morning we had a short walk in the village that produced a Nuthatch, Siskins, Marsh Tits and a Red Squirrel. It was a bit windy so we decided to have a short visit in the forest. A short drive took us at a bridge in the bog alder forest where we could see 2 Black Woodpeckers, Long-tailed Tits and great long views of a Nutcracker perched atop a spruce tree. After the usual plentiful breakfast we had a walk in the Strict Protection Area of the National Park planned. At a short visit in the village Palace Park we heard a Middle Spotted and a Grey Headed Woodpecker. In the meadows on our way to the Strict Reserve we saw a Tree Pipit and while in the forest - an amazing and breathtaking habitat. But the most breathtaking thing that morning was the howling of a nearby pack of Wolves that we heard at the beginning of the walk, coming from inside the forest. Our guide to the national park, Arek, explained the ecosystem complexity in detail and we also saw a Red Squirrel and a female Three-toed Woodpecker feeding that gave us great and long views. On our way back we saw a Grass Snake and a Red Fox in the meadows. WWW.WILDPOLAND.COM 3 WILDPOLAND TOUR REPORT - AUTUMN BIRDS & MAMMALS, SEP 2015 We had lunch of sweet pancakes back at the guesthouse and after a short break moved back into the forest for an evening walk in the river valley. We saw a nice Honey Buzzard just over the road and a yet another Red Squirrel in the forest. On the walk we saw 2 more Red Squirrels, heard a Nutcracker, Green and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, saw Wolf tracks, a flock of Long-tailed Tits (white headed) and heard a yet another Nutcracker that within a few minutes came back and showed very well for a short time. We decided to have a short peek at the glades in the river valley and within a few minutes of our arrival a herd of 26 Bison came out of the forest and we had a feast of great, long views until it was too dark to see. A great luck or maybe also a bit of the guide’s experience to visit the right spots at a right time ;) On our way back we also saw 2 Wild Boar, a Red Fox and a Stoat crossing our track. WWW.WILDPOLAND.COM 4 WILDPOLAND TOUR REPORT - AUTUMN BIRDS & MAMMALS, SEP 2015 Day 4, Tuesday 15th Sep - Białowieża + Siemianówka Lake Today, we started after breakfast and drove up north of the forest to spend the day out around the Siemianówka Reservoir. We stopped on the way at the meadows of Siemianowka village, saw 3 Common Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk, Whinchats and a Great Grey Shrike. Before lunch, we focused on the southern part of the lake where we have found 60+ Great White Egrets, 60+ Dunlin, 20+ Little Stint, 20+ Ringed Plovers, 300+ Lapwings, 8 Ruff, 1 Black Tern. Black-headed Gulls and Cormorants were also abundant. Linnets gave us great views in the village on the wires (online!) and we managed to identify and age a juvenile Caspian Gull. Next stop was the northern side where we stopped for lunch of sandwiches and freshly brewed coffee. Saw 2 Great Grey Shrikes there, a distant White-tailed Eagle, a Hobby and a Marsh Harrier. We also briefly stopped at a dam in Bondary and had some fantastic views of a Nutcracker collecting hazel nuts very near and a yet another distant White-tailed Eagle. On our way back we stopped at the southern side again and added 2 Grenshank, a flock of Goldfinch and a Penduline Tit heard, to our bird list. We decided to take an alternative, longer way home and it soon proved a good decision as Willem spotted a Bison at a small clearing in the forest we drove by. A huge Bison bull gave us all some great and long views. 2 Wild Boar also showed well on our way back. After the usual delicious and plentiful dinner we had a short night drive spotlighting for mammals and scored 10+ Red Deer, a few Wild Boar, and a Fox. Day 5, Wednesday 16th Sep - Białowieża to Biebrza After our last hearty Polish breakfast in Białowieża we packed our stuff and were on the way to the Biebrza Marshes. We briefly stopped at one of the Ruthenian villages with colourful, wooden houses. Two other stops were dictated by 3 Lesser Spotted Eagles overhead with a Red-footed Falcon and followed by a pair of White Storks that were kind of late with their migration south and a nice surprise. WWW.WILDPOLAND.COM 5 WILDPOLAND TOUR REPORT - AUTUMN BIRDS & MAMMALS, SEP 2015 We arrived at the fishponds near Knyszyn still before lunch and went for a walk. As we stood on the bank of a pond watching Little Grebes and Whooper Swans, a Great Bittern suddenly flew out of the reeds right in front of us, a fantastic observation. Other birds spotted there were Great Crested Grebes, Lapwings, Garganeys, 60+ Whooper Swans, Tree Sparrows, 2 White-tailed Eagles (this time very close), 20 Ruffs, one Wood Sandpiper and a Black-necked Grebe very near. We arrived at our guesthouse, checked in, had a short rest and a talk about our plans for the next days over a map and moved on for an evening walk in the marshes. It wasn’t long after we came out into the marsh that we heard Elks rutting and moaning and soon spotted a female followed by a large bull in the tall reeds. Further along the trail a yet another Elk bull following a cow with young came out very near but were quite shy and moved back into the willow shrub shortly. Cranes gave us a nice spectacle at sunset, flying in overhead to roost in the marsh. Happy, we got back for dinner on time and enjoyed the fresh home made food. Day 6, Thursday 17th Sep - Biebrza Middle Basin After breakfast that included gorgeous home cooked pancakes among lots of other stuff, we were ready to visit the Red Bog Reserve. Yellowhammers, Chaffinch and Mistle Thrush were perched up on the wires in the village right in front of our guesthouse. As we arrived in the reserve and parked the car, a flock of tits flew in and we had great views of Coal Tits and Willow Tits.
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