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Overview
This is the eastern part of the forest known across the Polish border as Bialowieza and has a similar range of undisturbed forest and marshland habitats and much the same birdlife. The forest is both deciduous, with oak and lime in particular, with large coniferous areas and some very wet forest.
As well as Europe's best-preserved primeval forest the area also has marshes, meadows and a large area of more disturbed woodlands. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a National Park, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site.
Birds
Notable Species
Like Bialowieza around 170 bird species breed with owls and woodpeckers among the specialities.
The owl species present include Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Ural Owl, Eurasian Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm's Owl and the rare Great Grey Owl is present some years. Northern Hawk Owl and Snowy Owl have also been recorded as vagrants.
The woodpeckers include Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Three-toed Woodpecker, possibly also Syrian Woodpecker. Greater Spotted Eagle has been recorded and may breed, Lesser Spotted Eagle certainly does as well as Booted Eagle and White-tailed Eagle. Other raptors include both kites and three harriers, Red-footed Falcon and Northern Hobby.
Also breeding are Black Stork and White Stork, Hazel Grouse, Black Grouse and the Western Capercaillie which may now be extinct in the Polish sector of the forest. The more open and wetter areas have breeding Corn Crake, Black-tailed Godwit and Great Snipe.
Passerines are varied with Spotted Nutcracker, Collared Flycatcher and Red-breasted Flycatcher, and River Warbler and Barred Warbler amongst about eighteen breeding warblers.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Black-throated Diver, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Little Bittern, Great Bittern, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Black Stork, White Stork, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Taiga Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, European Honey Buzzard, Black Kite, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Montagu's Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Rough-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Golden Eagle, Booted Eagle, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Merlin, Northern Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Hazel Grouse, Black Grouse, Western Capercaillie, Grey Partridge, Common Quail, Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Little Crake, Corn Crake, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Common Crane, Little Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Great Snipe, Eurasian Woodcock, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Black Tern, White-winged Tern, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Barn Owl, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Eurasian Pygmy Owl, Little Owl, Great Grey Owl, Ural Owl, Tawny Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Tengmalm's Owl, European Nightjar, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, European Roller, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Wryneck, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Syrian Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Crested Lark, Wood Lark, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Blue-headed Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Bohemian Waxwing, Common Dipper, Common Wren, Dunnock, Eurasian Robin, Thrush Nightingale, Bluethroat, Black Redstart, Common Redstart, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Eurasian River Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Aquatic Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Barred Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Greenish Warbler, Wood Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Common Firecrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit, Crested Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Short-toed Treecreeper, Penduline Tit, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, Common Jay, Spotted Nutcracker, Common Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Serin, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Northern Redpoll, Twite, Eurasian Linnet, Common Crossbill, Common Rosefinch, Pine Grosbeak, Common Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Snow Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting
Other Wildlife
Mammals include Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Red Deer Cervus elaphus, European Elk Alces alces and Eurasian Beaver Castor fiber with carnivores such as Beech Marten foina and Pine Marten Martes martes, Otter Lutra lutra, the introduced Raccoon Dog Nyctereutes procyonoides and the rarely seen Lynx Felis lynx and Grey Wolf Canis lupus.
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Content and images originally posted by Steve
