Birding in Poland

In a recent survey of travelling British birdwatchers, about one third had visited Poland, making it the fifth most-visited European country by them. Interestingly all of them said that they would recommend their visit to a friend – which has to be the highest accolade in birding tourism. Poland is perhaps a bigger country than most people would imagine – it is a third larger than the UK. It is heavily forested with almost 30% of the land being covered. In addition there are about 10,000 bodies of water covering more than a hectare each.

It comes as a surprise that until now there has not been a book outlining in detail the many sites that you can visit. In my experience, most visiting birders have tended to focus on the prime areas of the Biebrza Marshes and Białowieża Forest. These are the two sites that provide easy access to the target birds that many of us want to see. But this book provides a much wider approach, with 119 sites in total.

A team of 46 people worked together to create this book, which is split into 14 chapters, often, but not always, covering the main provinces of Poland. Each of the sites is described in detail, and for some there are GPS references to enable quick identification of access points and major features. Key species are listed within a very readable text which often runs to over 1000 words, with sub-sections by habitat or season. Other animals and interesting plants are also mentioned in a separate section. There is plenty of detail on access possibilities and a description on how to reach the site. There are also links to useful websites and published articles. Each site is accompanied by at least one map.

A checklist of 449 species gives the status of each, while a further 62 species of uncertain origin are listed separately. There is also an alphabetical species index which allows you to search for sites where these can be seen. There is an overall map of the country showing every site within the book, but maps of the 14 chosen regions in more detail would have been useful.

With flights now operating from the UK to eleven widely-spaced Polish airports there has never been an easier time to explore this wild and exciting country. This book will be a great asset to visiting birders.