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Spirited Travelers, bite-sized travel stories.

04-May-2019

 

On the fourth day of the safari, we found a herd of bison in a field near the Białowieża Forest. They seemed unbothered by this sudden squall. This small herd is part of the approximately 800 bison in the area.

Bison, birds and the scars of two world wars in eastern Poland

Bison. Or Buffalo, as they are called by anyone who’s seen a western, are synonymous with America’s wild, wild west of the 19th century. But did you know that Buffalo have taller cousins in Europe?

So how do you see a European bison? One way is to go on safari to a nature preserve in eastern Poland.


Some of Europe’s best nature preserves are in eastern Poland.

Eastern Poland is home to the Białowieża Forest and Biebrza Marshes. The Białowieża Forest is the largest remaining part of Europe’s primeval forest. This old-growth forest once stretched across northeastern Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains in Russia (wikipedia map here). Today, the Białowieża straddles the Polish-Belarus border with about 105 km2 of the forest in Poland.

The Biebrza Marshes are about 1,000 km2 of rivers, lakes marshes and peat bogs. It is one of the largest wildlife refuges in Europe and one of the most important breeding grounds for many wetland birds in Poland. It’s also home to many mammals and around 36 species of fish.

We chanced upon this solitary male bison grazing by the side of the road in the Białowieża Forest. We were careful to not get too close and stayed on the opposite side of the road. We were all impressed at his size.

A wildlife safari in eastern Poland

We read about a tour company, Wild Poland, that specializes in wildlife safaris in eastern Poland. Their motto is, “If you only saw what you wanted, you probably missed a lot.” With a motto like that, we signed up for a week-long safari.

This bison was using a concrete post to scratch all his itches. Several other bison tried to make him share the post but with no luck.

What did we see?

We saw many cool animals, of course. Over the course of the week, we saw bison, moose, a wolf, a badger, two species of deer, white storks, several species of woodpeckers, dozens of other birds, and frogs.

Our guide, who has a Ph.D., also explained the several different types of ecosystems found in the two parks.

European and American bison are different species in the same genus and differ in several ways. Compared to American bison, European bison: are usually taller; have one less pair of ribs (14 vs. 15); have a different neck structure that makes them browse more and graze less; are less hairy; have their nose in a slightly different position in the skull; have horns that point more forward; breed less frequently with cattle; and, are not as easy to tame.
A moose cow and calf in the Biebrza Marshes. We found these two at the end of a grey and windy day. The clouds parted and the sun broke through just before sunset, giving us this beautiful golden light.
In Europe, this animal is frequently called an elk(moose) or moose elk. In American English the animal is known as a “moose” and in British English it is an “elk.” To add to the confusion, in North America an elk is an entirely different species.
Our guide led us to a badger den at sunset, just in time to see a badger begin its nightly patrol.
Our guide hired a boat one evening for a river cruise. We were fortunate to spot this beaver preening its coat on the riverbank.
Eastern Poland is a birder’s paradise. During our one-week safari, we saw four species of woodpeckers, including this Black Woodpecker, and heard two others.
Our safari coincided with the annual return of the white storks. About a quarter of the white stork breeding pairs that migrate to Europe come to Poland. Because Poles believe storks bring good fortune and herald the onset of spring, man-made platforms for stork nests can be found in any village or town in this part of Poland.
We came upon this marshy spot in the Białowieża Forest while looking for wolves and bison. We didn’t find them here, but we did find several blue-eyed toads.

The human part of the story

Humans have lived here for millennia. As we traveled through the modern-day cities and towns, we saw remnants of the human past.

The small village of Trześcianka is one of three villages that make up The Land of Open Shutters, named for the unique design of the house’s window shutters. Note the stork nest atop the light pole. This is typical in northern Poland.
One of the homes in Trześcianka, complete with the characteristic shutters.
This block of concrete is a ruined bunker outside of Osowiec. It dates from the 19th century and was involved in heavy fighting during World War I. This bunker was part of a larger defensive system built by the Russian Empire (at that time this part of Poland had been subsumed by the Russian Empire).
Imperial Russian forces defended against the Imperial German forces for several months before withdrawing. This bunker, along with most of the others, was demolished by the Russians during the withdrawal.
 

This bluff near Wizna overlooks the Narew and Biebrza Rivers. It is also the site of a historic World War II battle known to Poles as The Polish Thermopylae. Much as in the original Battle of Thermopylae, where the Greeks fought to the death against a significantly larger Persian force, a small Polish force fought against a much larger German force. The Poles, outnumbered by at least 40 to 1, held their position for more than three days against Hans Guderian’s forces before succumbing.

The Narew and Biebrza Rivers meander through the countryside near Wizna and are an ideal habitat for many birds.
 

Sunset over part of the Biebrza Marshes.

How was the tour?

Before getting into the details, a disclaimer: we are not affiliated with Wild Poland in any way nor do we receive any money, gifts, etc. from them.

With that out of the way, the bottom line is that we had a good adventure with them and we would recommend them to any sincere nature lover. From the time they picked us up at our hotel in Warsaw to when they dropped us off at our (different) hotel in Warsaw, every detail ~ lodgings, food, transportation, guides, etc. ~ was expertly handled.

Every day was spent either in the woods, in a birding platform or in the bus traveling to another viewing location. Some days began before breakfast and other days included a night excursion after dinner. It was only by spending so much time on the move that we were able to see so many animals.

The accommodations were very good (some photos below) and the food was typical Polish cuisine, including soups, pierogi and potatoes. Even though we were very active every day, I think the generous and tasty meals prevented us from losing any weight.

We arrived in Warsaw, the starting place of our safari, by train and decided to walk the very short distance to our hotel. The pedestrian crossings in front of our hotel are all underground. Since we were towing luggage, we decided to use the elevator, the glass box in the foreground, instead of schlepping our luggage down the stairs. We got stuck in the elevator. Fortunately, a nice Polish lady saw that we were stuck and knew how to call for help. We were only in the elevator for about ten minutes.
Our bedroom at the lodge at our first stop, Białowieża National Park. The accommodations were fine, if spartan. We spent four nights at this lodge.
We stayed at this lodge, Dwór Dobarz, while visiting the Biebrza Marshes.
We stayed at this lodge, Dwór Dobarz, while visiting the Biebrza Marshes.
Our safari ended on a Saturday in Warsaw. We decided to stay the night at the Hotel Bellotto and catch the train home the next day. I’m not sure how we managed this, but we didn’t have a room ~ we had a suite! This was the sitting room in our suite that night.
This was the bedroom. The suite also included a small kitchen, tucked in a closet, one and a half baths and writing/reading room. And, it was one block from the Old Town. We were sorry we couldn’t spend more time in this room.
On the night before we went home, we went to the viewing deck on the 30th floor of Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science (shown here). It’s a great place for panoramic selfies.
Final thoughts/parting shot: this is the sign for a currency exchange shop right on Castle Square (link from Christmas market post). I can read this sign at least three different ways. How about you?

Poland continues to surprise and delight us. We had no idea that it has such rich biodiversity. So, in addition to centuries of history, great food (pierogi and pączki anyone?) and sandy beaches, add a wildlife safari to the many reasons to visit Poland.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tisha says

    04-May-2019 at 16:43:24

    Love the pictures ~ as always, a good read.

  2. Elizabeth says

    04-May-2019 at 17:13:12

    Wonderful work Scott and a pleasure to see your progress in Poland, Europe and of course the website itself. The photos are eerily beautiful.

  3. Marty says

    04-May-2019 at 17:17:47

    I enjoyed this very much. Really cool. Would love to subscribe or follow.

    • Scott says

      04-May-2019 at 18:04:12

      Hi ~ thanks for the kind words! I just received a notification that you’ve been able to subscribe to my email list. If that notification was an error, just let me know and I can add you manually.

  4. Doc Sheldon says

    04-May-2019 at 18:05:22

    Stunning photography and some very interesting information, Scott. Sounds like you had a really great tour experience. Thanks for the awesome write-up!

  5. Don Walker says

    04-May-2019 at 19:03:36

    The photographs are wonderful and the descriptions are very interesting and educational. I particularly enjoyed the wildlife pictures and description of the differences between the American Bison and the European Bison.

  6. Debi Douglas says

    04-May-2019 at 21:00:59

    Scott, great article. So detailed! You provided us with so much information, I felt as though I was there with you.
    Poland is now on my bucket list for sure! 🙂

  7. Ray Frye says

    08-May-2019 at 17:53:41

    I had no idea that Poland was so diverse! I enjoyed the photos and have subscribed to your blog. Thanks for sharing. I hope to see you soon!

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