Birds in Poland

The Warta Bird Reserve

Warta Slonsk bird reserve

A photograph showing flooding of one of the small farm tracks which cross the Warta National Park.

Slonsk is a small, picturesque farming village close to the German / Polish border in present day Poland. The village is located in the Warta Estuary National Park in western Poland, which includes the well known Warta Slonsk Bird Reservation, one of Europe's largest bird reserves. The region offers a number of attractions and activities in addition to being a magnet for bird and nature watchers. These include fishing, mushroom picking, walking, canoeing along the Warta and Obra rivers, and wild boar hunting.

swan - warta slonsk bird and nature reserve

The Slonsk wetland site is set in the Warta River floodplain and surrounded by marshes, meadows and pasture. Slonsk is an extremely important site for anyone interested in birds. The Warta estuary is one of the best sites for various nesting and wintering waterbirds in Poland and possibly the whole of Europe. Staging and molting flocks of birds include large numbers of ducks and geese. Around 245 bird species have been identified, making Slonsk the ideal location for birdwatchers and birdwatching. Some of the many species of birds seen during 2004 include:

Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Bittern, Little Bittern, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Black Stork, White Stork, Mute Swan, Bewick's Swan, Whooper Swan, Tundra Bean Goose, Taiga Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Western Honey-Buzzard, Black Kite, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Montagu's Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Osprey, Kestrel, Pheasant, Crane, Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Little Crake, Corn Crake, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Tern, Little Tern, Black Tern, White winged Tern, Whiskered Tern, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Cuckoo, Swift, Hoopoe, Wryneck, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Tree Pipit, Blue-headed Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Thrush Nightingale, Nightingale, Black Redstart, Whinchat, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Grasshopper Warbler, River Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Aquatic Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Barred Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Penduline Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, Common Magpie, Hooded Crow, Northern Raven, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Common Rosefinch, Hawfinch, Yellowhammer, Ortolan Bunting, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting.

The Slonsk bird reserve and the Warta landscape park were recently combined to form the newest of Poland's national parks, the Warta River-Mouth national park (Park Narodowy Ujscie Warty). The whole nature reserve covers an area of more than 8,000 hectares.

Should you be interested in individually arranged birding weekends for individuals or small groups in and around the Warta National Park in Poland, we suggest you contact Polish Poland. They operate from a small organic eco-farm close to the reserve and trips can also be arranged for any time of the year.

See some photographs of the birds of Poland here.

Slonsk ( former German name : Sonnenberg )

Province : Lubuskie

Nearest City: Gorzów Wlkp

Nearby Villages and Towns: Kostrzyn, Krzeszyce, Lemierzyce, Lubniewice, Osno Lubuskie, Pyrzany, Sarbinowo, Skwierzyna, Slonsk, Swierkocin, Witnica

Local Attractions: warta / slonsk bird and nature reserve; Ruins of Knights of St John Palace

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Useful Links:

Polish Translation

Polish Ancestry Research and Guided Tours

Guided Tours of Poland