Boatbirder.com: 📖 Bialowieza Forest 19th

Our final five days in Poland were spent in the village of Grudki, actually just a few kilometres away from the Belarusian border. From here, we were just a short drive from the Bialowieza National Park and the famous primeval forest.

Our home for five days - This was our fairytale cottage, surrounded by nature.

This ringed Willow Tit was a regular vistor to the garden and sang regularly.

Białowieża Forest is the last remaining primeval forest in lowland Europe. It covers an area of over 1500 km2 in the tranquil corner of Poland and Belarus.

This is the most extraordinary and unique forest in Europe. It has been a national park since the 1920s, but its protection dates back to the 14th century. What makes it special is that it has never been logged, and no trees have ever been planted here. While there are other natural forest fragments scattered throughout the area, the strict reserve is the most extensive and pristine.

Białowieża Forest strict reserve.

For the past century, access to this forest has been carefully regulated and is only allowed with a registered guide. Dazza and I typically prefer exploring wildlife on our own without the use of guides. However, after hiring one, we discovered that we were still restricted to a well-established trail (Trail 5), which offers two options: either a 4 km or a 14 km walk. However, don't feel short-changed; unrestricted access is not permitted for this remarkable forest, and despite the restrictions, it is definitely worth a visit—there is truly nothing else quite like it.

Entrance to the Białowieża Forest restricted area.

We hired Mateus Szymura from 'Pygmy Owl' Nature Tours for a day on Tuesday, the 20th. Since 2004, he has been an employee of Białowieża National Park, where he serves as the head of the Nature Conservation Department. In addition to his 10 years of forestry education, he has learned invaluable lessons about nature from his father, Arek. Throughout his career, which began in 1998, he has guided thousands of people, including Prince Charles. Since 2009, he has focused his research on birds.

Mateusz (Mathew) Szymura

Mateus speaks excellent English, and we spent the entire day with him, starting at 04:30, to see Pygmy Owls. Our day also included a visit to a restricted area and concluded with watching a Great Snipe lek at dusk. We cannot speak highly enough of Mateus; his knowledge is extensive, and his boundless energy is truly inspirational. We had a phenomenal day with him. Moreover, Mateus continued to send us updates throughout our stay, sharing information about various sightings and places to explore.

Pygmy Owl near its nesting site.

A Great Snipe at the 'lek'

In addition to a great day out with Mateus, we visited several sites throughout the National Park over the following days. These included Kosy Most, reputed to be one of the best sites for Hazel Grouse and Nutcracker, but we failed to find either species here. I also noted from Dave Gosney's pamphlet on Eastern Poland that he did not have success during his visit either in 2015, so I am unsure whether its reputation for those two species is warranted. However, in just three and a half hours, we recorded a total of forty species. Notable species included Black Woodpecker, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Middle-spotted Woodpecker, Red-backed Shrike, Icterine Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Wood Warbler and Barred Warbler. Additionally, we noted Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, and Red-breasted Flycatcher, all of which were excellent finds. Our eBird checklist can be found HERE

A Black Woodpecker tends the nesting site with a young bird begging for food.

Another great area to explore is the Siemianówka Reservoir, situated approximately 30 km north of Białowieża. The banks of this man-made reservoir vary from muddy, with pools, to grass-covered or concrete slopes. It is a large (over 32 sq km) reservoir on the upper Narew River. Although this is an artificial lake, it is quite a popular birding spot. The lake is crossed at its eastern part by a railway track that divides the reservoir into two parts. To the south, the lake touches the northern edges of the Bialowieza Forest.

We made a couple of visits to the reservoir and surrounding areas, and highlights included Citrine Wagtail, Wryneck, White-tailed Eagle, Caspian Gull, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern and Temminck's Stint. Our eBird checklists can be found HERE and HERE.

This distant Caspian Tern is easily recognisable by its size compared to other terns.

The weather during our five-day stay around the Bialowieza National Park was much better than what we experienced during our visit to the Biebrza Marshes (see previous post). We enjoyed several warm, sunny days with very little rain. Throughout our entire twelve-day trip, we drove nearly 1,800 kilometres, primarily along sandy and gravel roads rather than the main routes. During our journey, we walked over 85 miles and documented 155 bird species, 15 butterfly species, and 8 mammal species, which included Pine Marten, Raccoon Dog, and, of course, European Bison.

European Bison - Taken from the garden.

The woodlands are filled with birdsong, featuring species such as the Red-breasted Flycatcher and Collared Flycatcher, the latter being a native species of Poland. There are also no dogs allowed, and at times, you can literally feel as though you are the only ones there, with no traffic, trains, or planes to be heard. Along the flooded roadside ditches, we heard the sounds of River Warblers and Marsh Warblers regularly. Additionally, wherever there were bodies of water, we watched White-tailed Eagles fishing and had several sightings of Lesser-spotted Eagles.

A Lesser Spotted Eagle drifts silently overhead.

Finally, we successfully managed one target, which was to record seven species of Woodpeckers: Great Spotted, Black, Grey-headed, Lesser Spotted, Middle Spotted, Wryneck, and on our final day, Three-toed.

As another wonderful adventure concludes, I will share a few more images from our memorable trip to Poland 2025.