Saturday 16th April 2016 (a)

BUBO in POLAND  -  part 3

BUBO leave the forests and find masses of waterbirds.

Despite our busy day yesterday, we set our alarms and were up at first light so as to not waste any time. I can't say it was easy to drag ourselves up but we managed it OK for some local pre-breakfast birding. As we had no desperate targets now, after our well-deserved success the day before, we asked Bogdan to take us to some locations for great general birding. We couldn't go far from the guest house or we'd have missed breakfast - literally a crime - so we decided to try the town park on the edge of the village. 

Bialowieza Town Park gates.

The weather was very dull and cloudy in the post-dawn hours and I found it very difficult to take any photos. The Park contained various buildings and these were surrounded by very large trees and there were many woodland species on show. The trees though were not as dense as in the main forest and viewing was pretty good. We saw plenty of Hawfinches and Jays, plus single Treecreeper and Nuthatch. A big surprise for me, as I wasn't expecting them at all, assuming they'd already be back up north, was a flock of c.30 Waxwing calling and flying around the tops of the tallest trees.

Birding in the gloom in Bialowieza Town Park.

As we reached a cleared grass area, we had a Grey-headed Woodpecker fly across and into the trees, where we also saw a second bird. Not as good views as the previous day though. We saw a couple of Marsh Tits really close and there were a few Wood Warblers singing. We were hoping for perhaps an early Collared Flycatcher as this is apparently a really good spot for them but it did not feel at all summery. Fieldfares were plentiful and we heard lots of Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming. The lads also picked out a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming also but we couldn't really see it high up in the trees above the path.

The marshes along the south side of Bialowieza town.

We left the park after some great birding and scanned from the bridge over the marshes alongside the River Narewka on the south side of the town. Here we saw a Black Stork distantly feeding in these extensive wet areas. We had our first really good look at a White Stork nest on the building just next door. It has long been traditional for the people of Poland to encourage the storks to nest in their villages by putting up special platforms on roofs and on telegraph poles. This species is thought of as the main harbinger of spring here, and so Polish folklore associates the species with good fortune, heralding the end of a harsh winter. This custom has protected the White Storks in Poland and so they are more common here than anywhere else - you see them everywhere. There was also a family of Tree Sparrows nesting in the storks' nest, which is apparently very typical.

One of the many, many White Storks nests, this one on a building on the edge of Bialowieza town.

Orthodox Church in Bialowieza, one of the least ostentatious ones we saw.

Our stomach called us for breakfast and we wandered down the road back towards the guest house for an excellent feast. These breakfasts were much better for me than the evening meals with lots of bread and cheese and eggs to scoff, all laid out for us as a nice spread, with a cup of tea - superb. We loaded up our stomachs, then loaded up the car, and headed north out of the town, seeing a male Redstart by the guest house.

Within a minute of leaving the town, along the edge of some marshy woodland, I spotted a brown blob in a tree which looked like a rather large bird of prey. We jumped out and managed to 'scope up a brilliant Lesser Spotted Eagle perched up. I clearly hadn't read up enough on Poland's birds as I thought that these would be no way near back from Africa yet - but here it was! A great surprise. It sat there for a while before we clearly became a little tiresome for it, and it took off and flapped around the clearing a bit before disappearing.

Lesser Spotted Eagle - near Bialowieza town

The sun came out quickly and we carried on north through the forest, calling at a clearing that we had visited the day before as it was a good spot for flycatchers. We didn't see one but we did have decent views of another Lesser Spotted Woodpecker feeding at the top of a huge tree.

We carried on travelling northwards until we finally left Bialowieza Forest behind and headed into more open terrain of villages and farms, although with lots of patches of woodlands interspersed. As we drove through the outskirts of a village called Narewka, we casually glanced out of the car window and saw three massive lumps in a field. They couldn't be could they? But, yes they were! Three giant Bison just strolling around behind a barn on the edge of a grassy field!

European Bison - just north of bialowieza forest.

We were quite incredulous at this sighting. We have been told that Bison, despite their size, were very difficult to find, and that plenty of people have been to Bialowieza and not seen any. And also because we went out at first light yesterday Bison-hunting and only luckily saw one shy, and half-hidden in the depths of the forest. Yet, here were three, out in the bright sunlight, mid-morning, just chomping on grass near the roadside as if they were cows.

We got out of the car and didn't really need to set the 'scopes up, as they were so gigantic. I don't know why, but I had a massive urge to run up and rugby tackle one! A tour bus pulled up next to us, also spying the beasts, and the local in the house next-door beckoned us into his field and we all managed to get pretty close in the end. It was quite overwhelming and we felt very privileged having such good views of such a rare animal.  

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Three magnificent and rare hunks of beef........and three bison in the background.

The trees in Poland were covered in clumps of Mistletoe, a rare sight in the UK nowadays.

Our destination today was the very large Siemianowka Reservoir - about 10 x 5 km - which is directly north of Bialowieza Forest and almost on the Belarus border. We first parked up at the south-eastern corner of the lake and the sun was shining beautifully as we climbed the bank. We were quite surprised when we reached the top and looked out, as this was not what we'd usually think of as a 'reservoir'. It looked more like a nature reserve. There were acres and acres of reedbed, stretching as far as you could see, with open water between them, and it was surrounded on most sides by woodland and fields. And there were birds too!

Birding the southern bank of Siemianowka Reservoir.

Siemianowka Reservoir is half-covered in reedbeds and full of birds. The most distant trees here are probably in Belarus.

The waterbirds from this viewpoint included flocks of duck in the open water - Gadwalls, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal and about 20 Garganey - as well as a few Great Crested Grebes and Cormorants. A handful of gulls flew around including presumed Caspian Gulls (yuk!). A flock of c.40 Great White Egrets rested distantly in the reeds and there were always flocks of Ruff flying around, easily the most common wader we saw in Poland. But the highlight of this stop were the eagles! We saw at least three White-tailed Eagles flying lazily around the far side and landing on tree snags - a pity they weren't closer. We then picked up a 'spotted' eagle circling high above us and, although we initially presumed it was Lesser again, when we studied it, we realised that it was actually a Greater Spotted Eagle. It had broader wings and darker plumage and a shorter tail. A Lesser Spotted Eagle then appeared in the same sky and showed us the differences. Three species of eagle from just one spot and all more or less at the same time - superb!

GREATER Spotted Eagle, Siemanowka Reservoir.

The small birds alongside the reservoir bank included the first Willow and Sedge Warblers of the trip, presumably a Blue-headed Wagtail flying around, and another white-headed Long-tailed Tit. Whilst we stood there we noticed that there was a little bit of passage going on overhead, with small groups of the common finches all moving in a northeasterly direction into Belarus. In amongst these we picked out about 10 Crossbills heading out, but what was more unusual for us were the number of Jays. We've always heard about these large movements of Jays that can occur in Europe but we don't really get this in the UK. Here there were regular small groups of up to 20 birds per flock passing over us heading towards the Belarussian border.

Another weird thing we had here - and later in many wetland areas of Poland - was the constant calls of Fire-bellied Toads from the waters edge. A really odd sound and they literally never ever stopped! I managed to get a recording on my phone which you can hear below.

At about lunchtime, we got back into the car and drove round the western edge of the Reservoir to visit its northern bank, where we saw some different species.

Friday 15th April 2016 (b)

BUBO in POLAND  -  part 2

Late morning and BUBO search for the remaining woodpeckers.

After our breakfast we didn't waste any time and headed straight back into Bialowieza Forest. We asked Bogdan to take us somewhere which was good for woodpeckers, as we still had three of our four targets to tick off. So we parked up by the roadside somewhere (haven't a clue where exactly) and headed on down a track through the trees (see photo below). As with any walk through the middle of a forest, birds were not exactly everywhere you looked, but we soon came across a superb Wood Warbler singing from low down, giving stunning views. Usually, I've had to crane my neck up and see singing Wood Warblers up against the sky, but this was perfect.

The "Woodpecker Walk"

We had walked quite a way down the track when suddenly there was a movement and one of us picked up a Three-toed Woodpecker on the trunk of a tree to our right. I frantically tried to see it through the trees, but I just couldn't get on it at all. Then, quick as a flash, it flew off again, across the track in front of us, and at speed. I managed to see it now but only had poor unsatisfactory flight views. It was identifiable to species but we wanted to see it again of course. Apparently Three-toeds have been difficult to find this year because of the spruce beetle infestation that has been happening. This has caused many of the forest's spruce trees to lose their outer bark, which means that the species has a lot more opportunities for feeding compared to what it usually has. So they are more spread out, rather than concentrated in certain favoured areas.

Wood Anenome - millions upon millions of these flowers carpeted the whole forest.

So, of course we headed sideways into the woodland to where we saw the Three-toed fly. We were quite confident of seeing it again as it didn't go far. However, we saw it flush again from low down and fly further away, and that was it - no more sign. It was very disappointing but at least we saw one well enough for the tick, and we knew we would have time to look for more. Whilst searching for this bird we split up a little bit and I was lucky to see two Firecrests moving through the trees, the only ones that were recorded on the whole trip.

We wandered back again along the track and, not too far away, one of the guys picked up a woodpecker high in the trees which appeared to be a Middle Spotted Woodpecker. I managed to get a good look at it high above me and then even better when I moved slightly to the side. As is typical of the species, it seemed to prefer feeding near the top branches of the trees and was usually difficult to see. That was three out of five ticks for me and it wasn't even midday of day one! I suppose that this was my number one tart species since it breeds less than 40 miles from my house, although I've never really had a serious chance of finding one before now.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker - Bialowieza (as can be seen, very difficult to photograph).

With two new woodpeckers for me in just one short walk, I was cock-a-hoop by the time we returned to the car. We had parked next to a fenced-off garden with large trees, and just as I had put my stuff in the boot, I saw something largish fly low across the carpet of anenomes. "I've got a green woodpecker-type thing here!" I called out and, of course, being in the middle of the forest, it was not really ever going to be an actual Green Woodpecker. So, after a few seconds of re-finding, we were watching a terrific Grey-headed Woodpecker feeding at the bases of the large trees. My third woodpecker tick in just one walk! ker-ching!! It was showing beautifully, on and off, and we soon realised that we had two birds - a male and a female. And as we were watching these, another Middle Spotted Woodpecker flew in and perched on the same tree as the Grey-headed, and I had terrific views of it down the 'scope. We were in woodpecker heaven! I was punching the air.

Grey-headed Woodpecker - Bialowieza Forest

This fenced off area where the trees had been deliberately thinned-out by the home owner was a real hot-spot. It shows you that it is often the edges of a forest where the biggest concentration of birds are. As well as the aforementioned woodpeckers, I had the best views of the trip of a couple of Treecreepers by the car. These were of the eastern/northern race and were definitely greyer than British birds, with whiter white bits. At one point I got a little excited and claimed a Collared Flycatcher, but I may have made a mistake with that, as it was quite a way away in the back corner and we couldn't relocate it. But searching for it, we came across a couple of Marsh Tits and also a lovely white-headed Long-tailed Tit. Whilst we were in this corner, one of the Grey-headeds came close to us and I managed to snap a single decent photo (above).

The large fenced-off garden by the roadside.

So we were well ahead with our targets - 5 out of the 6 main objectives achieved. We still needed to find Pygmy Owl, but this was going to be difficult, and also very unlikely in the middle of the day. So we headed to a different part of the forest, slightly to the south, where it was a little bit higher, which was a decent spot for Nutcracker. This slight change in altitude changed the look of the forest as it was drier and more conifer-heavy, more like the forest I am used to in the UK. And it was heavy going, especially with our high levels of fatigue, with very little to look at. We couldn't find any Nutcrackers and we also failed to see Black Woodpeckers - it was quite birdless although we were pleased to find a Camberwell Beauty butterfly flying around the birch trees.

Camberwell Beauty - the only non-familiar butterfly we noted on the trip.

The last third of the circular walk did produce some decent sightings though. As we rounded a corner, we flushed a Hazel Grouse ahead of us on the track, and creeping round that corner, we saw another one walking along the road ahead of us, albeit quite far away. Although the species is quite numerous in the forest, it is difficult to find, so two sightings in one day was excellent. Also, we had a Willow Tit which was of one of the pale eastern races, plus a few Crested Tits in the conifers.

It had become rather sunny, and upon returning to the car we found out we were more than a little exhausted after a full day in the field on an hour's sleep. So we decided to take a break from birding and head back into the town to get checked in at the hotel and get our feet up for an hour or so. Our hotel was a great little place called Stoczek 1929 and I thoroughly recommend it. In the picture below, the red-roofed building on the left is the restaurant, and the blue cottage on the right is a small 3-room guest house. Great quality for a very cheap price. Parking up the car in the car park there, we had a singing Black Redstart on a roof - quite a common bird in the villages round here.

Our guest house at Bialowieza - Stoczek 1929

After a rest, we joined up again with Bogdan in the evening, who had been making some phone calls and arranged a owl-hunting session for us with a local guy who does surveying in the forest. So we all met up in a car park by a railway line and followed behind the Poles to our first destination. It was getting quite dusky now and it was very dark under the trees. As we trudged along, suddenly Ian shouts out "Three-toed Woodpecker" and one lands on a tree right in front of us! Right alongside the path! It was incredible views, as we watched it search for food on the tree trunks, and it certainly made up for the poor sighting earlier in the day.

We pushed on until we reached a hole in a tree which was a possible Tengmalm's Owl nest site. We all set up our scopes on the hole ready, and the guy walked up to the trunk of the tree and scratched it with a branch. We were not unduly disturbing any nesting birds since this was how the surveyors check the nest sites are occupied, and they would be doing this anyway as part of their usual surveying methods. If you scratch the trunk, an owl sitting in the nest will pop its head out and look down to see if a predator is climbing up. However, at this hole, nothing appeared.

We walked on through the trees again, to a second hole and we set up our scopes. The guy did the same, scratched the trunk, and immediately a Tengmalm's Owl peered out of the hole! Superb. It looked around for a minute to check we were not about to raid its nest, and when satisfied it was OK, returned into the hole. We couldn't have asked for better views - the bird filled the scope. However, I did not have time to set up my camera on the tripod, so I was unable to get a decent photo. It was too dark for anything hand-held (see below!). I have seen Tengmalm's once before, in Sweden, but those views were very poor, mainly in silhouette, so although this wasn't a tick, it felt like it.

Tengmalm's Owl, Bialowieza - this spectre peering out of the hole is, in fact, a Tengmalm's Owl (honest).

Chuffed with this bonus bird - we never really expected to see Tengmalm's on this trip - we made our way back through the trees. When we reached the surveyor's car, he pulled out a tiny ghetto-blaster and played the call of Pygmy Owl into the half-light. We waited and waited on the track, then quick as a flash, this tiny bird flew right past me, from over my right shoulder, and into the tree in front. It couldn't be that easy could it? But I soon found it in my bins and was looking at a Pygmy Owl perched on a branch which was looking at me! It was so small, unbelievably small, even though I knew how small they are, it's ony when you see one you realise. It stayed where it was and I was able to get my scope on it. It then flew back across the path and perched right at the top of a tree. It looked rather odd there, pretending to be a pine cone, before it flew back from where it came.

Pygmy Owl, Bialowieza - I was amazed that I managed to get any pics using the phone through the scope - there was not one of my photos where it was facing in my direction. 

And that was that. We'd hit all of our 6 pre-trip priority targets in just the first day - 4 woodpeckers, Pygmy Owl & Bison - we couldn't believe it. There were no realistic lifers that we still had to search for, so we looked forward to a few days of more relaxed birding. Our plan was to have one more day in the Bialowieza Forest area, then a couple of days further north in the marshes.

We returned to the guest house and had our dinner in the restaurant next door. I had vegetables and "dumplings" - which was to become a bit of a theme, since vegetarianism does not seem to be high on the agenda in this corner of Europe. A couple of beers later we were zonked out on our beds with the alarm set for another early start in the morning.