Polesie National Park & Sobibór forest (Poland)
27th - 2nd June 2019
Poland called us back. After two amazing trips to this beautiful east European country in 2016 (Białowieża forest & Biebrza marshes), it was time for a third visit. This time we concentrated on a rather unexplored area in the south-east, in the Lublin region: the Polesie National Park and the Sobibór forest. The predominant landscape in the Polesie (a huge region stretching from eastern Poland into western Russia) is composed of marshes, lakes, wet meadows and lowland forests, interspersed with extensive agriculture. The wildlife is nevertheless amazing, although not in the densities one can expect in the north-east of Poland, like in the Biebrza marshes for example. To explore and enjoy the Polesie region, one must take its time and work the area properly. We did so and were extremely successfull with our sightings. But many of the amazing observations we made, couldn't have been possible without the help of two local ornithologists. In the first place we'd like to thank Grzegorz Grzywaczewsky for his hospitality and for taking us in the field with him, sharing his local knowledge about the birds and wildlife of the area. Second, a thank goes to Bartek Woźniak for giving us some tips on how and where to observe the rare Great Grey Owl.
Now to the report. This time we'll keep the text short and concentrate on the photos - some of the necessary text will be in the captions. Enjoy!
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| Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is the most endangered passerine and one of the rarest birds in Europe. About 200 singing males are present in the Polesie National Park, which makes up for 1% of the world's population. The other population's strongholds are in a few other areas of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. We were lucky enough to take part in a census of this species and counted at least 15 singing males one evening. |
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| Walking in the marsh, counting Aquatic Warblers and looking for Great Snipe Gallinago media (the latter unsuccessfully). |
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| Elk (Moose) Alces alces seen one evening in the marsh, while listening to a chorus of Aquatic Warblers, Locustellas and Thrush Nightingales. |
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| Great Grey Owl Strix nebulosa in the Sobibór forest. In 2010 the first pair of Great Grey Owls began breeding in eastern Poland and since then there have been several breeding pairs in forests close to the border with Ukraine. This year an estimated 8 pairs nest in the area, however they are still rather difficult to see. One time out of three we were lucky with the above observation of an individual hunting at the edge of a forest glade in the evening. Priceless! |
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| Bog birch forest with boardwalk on a trail within the Polesie National Park. |
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| Bog Arum Calla palustris |
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| Tufted Loosestrife Lysimachia thyrsiflora |
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| Alder carr with Marsh Fern Thelypteris palustris in the undergrowth. |
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| Marsh Fern Thelypteris palustris |
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| Water Violet Hottonia palustris |
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| Water Horsetail Equisetum fluviatile |
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| Forest road in an alder forest. |
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva. This beautiful male was the only representative of this species we saw during the trip. Its typical habitat is oak-hornbeam forest on drier grounds. |
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| Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis. Surprisingly this was also a species we saw only once, although it seemed to be a lot commoner in other parts of Poland. |
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| Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. Several birds were seen in the Sobibór forest. |
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| Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix was one of the commonest songbirds in the forest. |
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| Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa |
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| Sooty Copper Lycaena tityrus |
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Chickweed-wintergreen Trientalis europaea is an indicator of boreal conifer forest.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major - juvenile in the nest. |
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| Beehive in the forest. |
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| Common Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris |
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| Cockchafer Melolontha melolontha |
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Black Stork Ciconia nigra was seen almost on a daily basis.
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| Raised bog bordering a Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris forest with Marsh Labrador Tea Ledum palustre in fine flower. |
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| Marsh Labrador Tea Ledum palustre |
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| Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia & Cranberry Oxycoccus palustris. |
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| Adder's-tongue Fern Ophioglossum vulgatum |
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| Early Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata |
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| Hare's-tail Cottongrass Eriophorum vaginatum |
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| Sand Lizard Lacerta agilis (male above, female below) was the commonest lizard in the park. |
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| Viviparous Lizard Zootoca vivipara was commonly found in bogs. |
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| Shrubby Birch Betula humilis. A small species of birch which is very rare in Poland and grows as an ice age relict on transitional mires in the Polesie National Park. |
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| Swamp Willow Salix myrtilloides. Another ice age relict growing in bogs. |
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| Transitional mire at the edge of a lake in the Polesie National Park. |
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| Woodcock Scolopax rusticola. Commonly seen and heard roding every evening on forest clearings. |
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| Marshland area in the Polesie National Park. |
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| River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis |
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| Common Crane Grus grus. A breeding species in Polesie and the simbol of the national park. Hearing their trumpeting calls in the marsh is one of the most distinctive sounds of Polesie. |
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| A pool in the Bagno Bubnów marsh within the Polesie National Park. |
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| Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus. Several colonies are present in the Polesie National Park, sometimes mixed with White-winged C. leucopterus and Black Terns C. niger. |
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| Birding on one of the lakes in the national park. |
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| Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus |
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| Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus. Breeding commonly in colonies within the national park. |
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| Yellow Water-lily Nuphar lutea |
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| Water Soldiers Stratiotes aloides |
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| One of the many reservoirs within the Polesie National Park. |
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| European Pond Terrapin Emys orbicularis. This threatened reptile is a common species in Polesie and is frequently featured as a symbol of the marshes. |
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| Beaver Castor fiber feeding signs. One afternoon we were lucky to have a very close encounter with this mainly-nocturnal rodent, in one of the fishponds within the national park, where densities are said to be high. |
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| Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus |
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European Tree Frog Hyla arborea was commonly heard in the evenings.
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| Grass Snake Natrix natrix |
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| White Stork Ciconia ciconia. Literally every village in Polesie had at least a few active nests of this iconic Polish bird (said to be Poland's national bird). |
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| Cornflower Centaurea cyanus. Growing very commonly as an arable weed, almost on every field. |
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| Summer Pheasant's-eye Adonis aestivalis was another arable weed that we actually saw just at one site. |
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Chalk hills near the town of Chełm, where interesting and rare flowers grow.
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Lady's Slipper Cypripedium calceolus was among the most interesting plants we saw during a botanical trip to the area of Chełm. We counted about 20-30 plants in flower in rather unusual growing sites for us.
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| Military Orchid Orchis militaris |
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| Carlina onopordifolia. A very rare species of steppe grassland, listed as vulnerable by IUCN and only found in a few sites in Poland and Ukraine. We visited one of the nature reserve meant to protect this species. |
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| Snowdrop Anemone Anemone sylvestris on chalk grasslands near Chełm. |
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| Sticky Catchfly Silene viscaria |
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| Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. A commonly heard bird in the evenings. |
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| Pic-nic by the fire on the final evening. |
Additional wildlife we observed, but we didn't photograph: Beaver Castor fiber (1), Fire-bellied Toad Bombina bombina (commonly heard), Green Toad Bufo viridis (heard on a few occasions).
Other interesting birds included: Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, Goosander
Mergus merganser, Grey Partridge Perdix perdix, Corncrake Crex crex,
Bittern Botaurus stellaris, Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila (Clanga)
pomarina (1), Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus, Green Sandpiper Tringa
ochropus (breeding), Curlew Numenius arquata, Caspian Gull Larus
cachinnans, Black Tern Chlidonias niger, White-winged Tern Chlidonias
leucopterus, Hoopoe Upupa epops, Black Woodpecker Drycopus martius,
Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus, White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos
leucotos (2), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor (nest with chicks),
Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia (rather common), Common Redstart
Phoenicurus phoenicurus, Fieldfare Turdus pilaris, Garden Warbler Sylvia
borin, Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia, Penduline Tit Remiz
pendulinus, Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor, Common Rosefinch
Carpodacus erythrinus (heard singing on a regular basis).
Common species of birds observed on a daily basis included: White Stork Ciconia ciconia (nests in every village, sometimes one on every electricity pole!), Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, Snipe Gallinago gallinago (display), Cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Wryneck Jynx torquilla, Woodlark Lullula arborea, Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis, Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides, Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina, Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix, Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, Rook Corvus frugilegus, Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus, Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus.
For more info see: Polesie Birdwatching & Polesie National Park.
