Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park Belarus
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. Like Bialowieza around 170 bird species breed with owls and woodpeckers among the specialities. The owl species present include Eurasian Eagle, Ural, Eurasian Pygmy and Tengmalm's and the rare Great Grey is present some years. Northern Hawk Owl and Snowy Owl have also been recorded as vagrants. The woodpeckers include Black, Grey-headed, White-backed, Middle Spotted and Three-toed, possibly also Syrian. Greater Spotted Eagle has been recorded and may breed, Lesser Spotted certainly does as well as Booted and White-tailed Eagles. Other raptors include both kites and three harriers, Red-footed Falcon and Northern Hobby. Also breeding are Black and White Storks, 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 and Red-breasted Flycatchers, and River and Barred amongst about eighteen breeding warblers. Mammals include Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Red Deer Cervus elaphus, European Elk Alces alces and Eurasian Beaver Castor fiber with carnivores such as Beech Martes foina and Pine Martens Martes martes, Otter Lutra lutra, the introduced Raccon Dog Nyctereutes procyonoides and the rarely seen Lynx Felis lynx and Grey Wolf Canis lupus.
Birds
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, Western Honey-Buzzard, Black Kite, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, 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, Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Common Crane, Little Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Great Snipe, Woodcock, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, 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, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, 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, Hoopoe, 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, 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, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Grasshopper Warbler, River Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Aquatic Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Marsh Warbler, 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, Firecrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, 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, Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Lesser Grey Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, Common Jay, Spotted Nutcracker, Common Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Northern Redpoll, Twite, Linnet, Common Crossbill, Common Rosefinch, Pine Grosbeak, Common Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Snow Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting
Content and images originally posted by Steve
