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Saturday 3 May 2014

Selection of Photos from the 5 day trip

Day 1: 
Stansted to Gdansk Lech Walesa airport, bus to Wrzeszcz, train to Gdynia, change and train to Reda, bus to Wladyslawowo and 16 mile walk to accommodation at Jastarnia.
Bird species for the Day: 32.
Footpath leading from Wlasyslawowo. Good cover for warblers

white wagtail

Looking back over Puck Bay to Wladyslawowo

retiring and shy male redstart

One of 50+ grey herons present all along the coast

Ubiquitous house sparrow

On occasions the cycle track/footpath was tediously straight. Good bird cover both sides, though. Plenty of willow warblers and redstarts

Mute swan, another bird found in large numbers

Some of the flock of 20 distant goosanders

More grey herons
Day 2:
Completion of the Walk to Hel, arriving in Hel early afternoon after 6 hours of wandering through mixed forest, with plenty of birds present, but many too tricky to photograph on what was basically a walk. Time later to return to get the birds.
Total bird species for the trip: 55.
Jastarnia harbour

hooded crow

harbour based tufted duck drake

male great spotted woodpecker

raven

Great spotted woodpecker in Hel

End of the path, Hel harbour

pied flycatcher, male

female pied flycatcher

flyby greenshanks

willow warbler

blackcap, male

common sandpiper

1 of many lesser whitethroats
Day 3:
I spent the morning around reedbeds in Jastarnia. Highlight, a "singing" savi's warbler, as well as visiting the woods at Kuznica where the Baltic Sea Ringing Group had a camp. Spent time checking nets, but cold and too windy for most birds to be flying. Several buzzards and a goshawk through the conifers whilst plenty of crossbills at the tops of the conifers.
Total bird species: 66
10 of over 100 crane migrating north west over Jastarnia

crane heading north west

shelduck

female redstart

small copper

A very cold Baltic coastline, looking west

The mid point of the peninsula, here The Baltic to the north, and from exactly the same viewpoint........

The Bay of Puck to the south, with road, railway and cycle track

common crossbill

Baltic Ringing Group camp at Kuznica

1 of 150+ willow warblers seen and/or heard
Day 4:
Started with a walk through the harbour area and a walk to Jurata, some 4 miles through woodland. Not too much to be seen in the woodland with only song thrush and goldcrest being trip ticks. Plenty of birds about, mainly regulars like chaffinch, willow warbler, and blackcap. Coffee at Jurata and a walk on to the freezing Baltic shore. Nothing from a sea watch so a walk back to Jastarnia to collect bags and buss to Wladyslawowo.  Check on the conifers and birches in the sand dunes.
Total bird species: 68
Beach jackdaw on the Baltic shore

Good open spaced conifer forest

Evidence of wild boar digging up the ground.

whinchat

reed bunting

Extremely cold beach at Jurata

holly blue

Old type local fishing boats, now built as pleasure craft

Day 5:
A day around Wladyslawowo before return trip via trains and buses, repeating the journey made on Monday.
Total bird species 70
fishing boats on a cold Baltic

male redstart

woodcarvers turning logs into garden statues

The beginning of The Road to Hel

Greenfinch

swallow

None too warm on the beach at Wladyslawowo

Species list; in chronological order, beginning with bus and train journeys
hooded crow, house sparrow, collared dove, herring gull, jackdaw, magpie, blackbird, starling, swallow, white stork, (10 sp) skylark, chiffchaff, wood pigeon, mute swan, whitethroat, willow warbler, house martin,  redstart,  grey heron, goosander, (20 sp) tree sparrow, lesser whitethroat, blackcap, yellowhammer, white wagtail, marsh harrier, great tit, blue tit, hawfinch, chaffinch (30sp) lesser black backed gull, carrion crow, mallard, cormorant, robin, tufted duck, crossbill, pied flycatcher, black woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, (40 sp) greater spotted woodpecker, middle spotted woodpecker, wood warbler, short toed tree creeper, raven, goldfinch, greenshank, dunlin, cuckoo, reed bunting, (50 sp) greenfinch, sparrow hawk, reed warbler, stonechat, whinchat, crane, shelduck, sandwich tern, black headed gull, savi's warbler, ( 60 sp) bearded tit, common sandpiper, nightingale, goshawk, wren, water rail, song thrush, goldcrest, siskin, black redstart (70 sp)
Ones in red are new birds to my Polish list that now numbers 188 species from 5 visits: Szczecin, Poznan x3 and Hel. As can be told by the highlighted new birds, this is my latest visit in the year to Poland, all others have been early April, hence lack of migrants.

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