Destinations
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Poland 15 – 23 May 2010
Biebrza Marshes and Białowieża Forest
Biebrza Marshes forms a formidable but beautiful barrier between solid land in north east Poland and Belarus. The primeval Białowieża Forest also lies along that same international border, and together they form one of Europe’s greatest natural experiences.
The River Biebrza consists of some 100 miles of meanders and ox-bows within its basin of about 3,000 square miles. Winter is long lasting, while summers are short and rich. Floods of unpredictable length can last into early summer.
These produce habitats ranging from swampy, impenetrable forest, much beloved by breeding cranes and black storks, to huge grasslands, covered with millions of marsh marigolds in spring with nearby water hosting many breeding marsh terns. The area supports many of the 50,000 pairs of white storks that breed in Poland. The evening murmuring of fire-bellied toads is one of the more memorable sounds, especially if accompanied by the bugling of cranes and the rasping of corncrakes.
Białowieża too has its wetlands but is most admired for the majesty of its forest. Here, famously, several hundred European bison roam. Beavers abound – Bobra in Polish, which was the original name of the Biebrza – and are sometimes even seen from the bridge in the village of Białowieża.
One piece of the forest that once covered much of central Europe, Białowieża was originally preserved for private hunting by Polish kings and Russian Tsars. Modern protection is a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mixed oak, lime and hornbeam is the commonest of the six main forest types in the Polish part of Białowieża; in Belarus there is more coniferous forest.
