BIRDING IN POLAND

Where to Watch Birds / Polish National Parks /

Birding Trip Reports / Poland Country Info /

10 GOOD

REASONS TO VISIT POLAND

Poland is a great country for birds and birders: there are vast marshes, dense coniferous and deciduous forests, a long coastline, thousands of lakes, old riverine forests, high mountains, and mile after mile of traditionally worked farmlands. But Poland is one of the largest countries in Europe and thus needs several visits to do it and its birdlife justice. Most birders head from the capital Warsaw straight to the famous forests and marshes of the north-east, or pergaps to the Baltic Coast. Yet the country is dotted with many other impresive but less famous birding areas: see Where to Watch Birds in Eastern Europe.

Spring and summer are the seasons to visit when White Storks are common roadside birds and in some regions Lesser Spotted Eagle is the most frequently seen raptor. Autumn on the Baltic Coast is good for migration, too. Winter has it's attractions though the weather can be severe

When one considers that Poland has several regions which are home to some of the larger mammals - Brown Bear, Wolf, Lynx, Elk, European Bison and Beaver - which are now very scarce if not extinct in most of western Europe, then perhaps the richness and size of the country's habitats can be grasped. On the bird front Poland is arguably the best country in Europe to see Aquatic Warbler, in some areas Corncrakes are common (as elsewhere there's a fluctuating poulation of calling males from year to year), there are some accessible Great Snipe leks, one or two pairs of Spotted Eagle and all the European woodpeckers breed, though not all in the same habitats or areas, of course!