We arrived at Warsaw Modlin Airport on Sunday afternoon and, after picking up our hire car, stayed the night in a local hotel, overlooking the Narew River.
Monday, 12th May 2025, 🌤️ 16c ~ Wind N @ 2mph ~ After our overnight stay we set off north for a two-night stay in Mikolajki, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive north. On the way, we stopped for a few hours at Kuligów, a village located in the bend of the Bug River. Here, there are many oxbows (
U-shaped lakes) to explore, along with flooded meadows.
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| Black Tern fishing over an oxbow. |
Unfortunately, due to an extended dry spell, the meadows lacked water, but we still enjoyed a long walk with plenty on offer. In fact, as we parked, we immediately heard a
Thrush Nightingale singing from a nearby copse, and as we searched for the bird, an
Icterine Warbler was also noted briefly. On the first oxbow, we could see several
Black Terns fishing and a
Great Reed Warbler was belting out its gruff, croaking song. As we walked up the bank to view, a
White-tailed Eagle was seen over the distant treetops being mobbed by several
Hooded Crows and a very vocal
Raven. In the reedbeds,
Sedge Warblers and the odd
Reed Warbler were seen, plus around the water's edge,
Western Yellow Wagtails.
Barn Swallows,
House Martins,
Sand Martins and
Common Swifts were also noted.
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| Great Reed Warbler from the reedbeds. |
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| Western Yellow Wagtail. |
As we walked across the meadows,
Skylarks were singing overhead, and the
Lapwings were constantly seeing off the
Hooded Crows. A
Hoopoe was also noted, and Dee spotted a very smart-looking
Red-backed Shrike. As we approached a wet marsh area, a
Corncrake suddenly began to call, but we quite made contacy with bird. Searching among the small birch copses, a
Common Redstart was seen, along with our second
Icterine Warbler.
Common Cranes could also be heard constantly during our stay, with several passing overhead.
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| Common Cranes |
As we searched a few other oxbows for waders, we came across, somewhat surprisingly, our only wader of the day, a
Wood Sandpiper. As I snapped a few images, we noticed towards the rear of the pool, a pair of
Garganey drop in and then, to our surprise, a
Whooper Swan appeared from the reeds.
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| Wood Sandpiper - Surprisingly, our only wader of the day. |
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| Whooper Swan |
It was an enjoyable few hours with
Golden Orioles and
Cuckoos calling, plus a nesting pair of
Fieldfare, which I'd forgotten breed here.
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| A nesting Fieldfare. |
A good start with fifty Bird species: My eBird Checklist can be found
HERE.
Also of note, a few species of butterfly, including Small Heath, Swallowtail, Small Copper and Sooty Copper.
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| Sooty Copper |
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| Small Copper |
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| Small Heath |
Subnote... |
| Wood Warbler |
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| Wood Warbler |
Just before arriving at our next accommodation at Mikolajki, I managed a few photographs of the above
Wood Warbler, which we heard from the car as we drove by some woodland. A good end to our first full day!
Welcome to Poland 12/05/25
