Northern Poland October 2026
Updated: 12 hours ago
More photos and editing to come.
Place name in brackets are where I stayed the night.
Monday 5 October (Mikoszewo)
Forth visit to Northern Poland in Autumn. Landed at Gdansk at 1835, got to my apartment at Mikoszewo around 9.00 pm.
Tuesday 6 October
Mikoszewo Village
At dawn Soporna Pipistrelle feeding over the garden and a Blackbird. Hooded Crow, Black Redstart, Great Tit, Greater White-fronted Geese flying over, Magpie, Jay, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon,
Mikoszewo Dunes
Greenfich, Coal Tit,
Mikoszewo Beech and sea
Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Cormorant, Knot, Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Teal, Mallard, Wigeon, Goosander, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan,Herring Gull, Coot, Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard.
Afternoon drive picked up the following species White Wagtail, Raven, Chaffinch, Linnet, Collared Dove.
Wednesday 7 October (Mikoszewo)
Mewia Łacha
Robin, Yellowhammer, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Great Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Duck, Redshank, Greenshank.
Ujście wisty
Pochard, White-fronted Geese, Slow Worm.
Mikoszewo Beach
Barnacle Geese, Bean Geese, White-fronted Geese, Pintail all flying inland at dusk.
Thursday 8 October (Mikoszewo)
Mikoszewo Beach
Quiet mainly because early morning beech combers looking of amber had walked along the tide line before sunrise!
Górze Pitata Bird Observatory
I spent 4 ½ hours here and easily it has to be in my top five birding experiences. The migration from this treetop tower was staggering, all birds heading west along the peninsula. The amount of common passerines was so overwhelming that they were not counted, with Great Tit being the most numerous in hundreds of thousands, Blue Tit, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Chaffinches. Hundreds of Great Spotted Woodpecker. The observatory guys counted 116 Nutcrackers and what is believed to be an observatory record count of 114,839 Woodpigeon. Red and Parrot Crossbill, Woodlark. Plenty of raptors 3 Pallid Harrier (2 immatures, 1 male), Buzzards, 106 Sparrowhawks, Hen Harriers, Merlin, Peregrine, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, White-tailed Eagle, Kestrel, Stock Dove Swallow etc.
Friday 9 October (Mikoszewo)
Friday 9 October (Mikoszewo)
Górze Pitata Bird Observatory
Spent five and a half hours here from 8:30. Constant stream of Great/Blue Tits and Chaffinchs on a very windy showery morning. Much lower numbers of Woodpigeons flying very low. Sparrowhawks the only migrating raptor today, the local Peregrine. Goshawk, Buzzard and White-tailed Eagles put in appearances. Just 3 Nutcrackers and one male Crossbill. First just trip Snipe.
Drapolicz Seabird Observation Point
Went down to the seawatch hide. It was full, with as many outside. According to reports it was a fairly good day. Compared to UK sea watch points it was nothing special. I watched from nearby for ten minutes, but nothing passed.
Stegna
In a field on the way back to my apartment a family party of 3 Cranes were feeding in a field.
Saturday 10 October (Jastarnia)
Mikoszewo Beach
Red-breasted Merganser only new species.
Wieża obserwacyjna Ameryka
A male Ring Ouzel landed in a pine tree, White-tailed Eagle, Pheasant.
Jastarnia Tip & Marsh
Reed Bunting, White-fronted Geese without white fronts! First House Sparrows.
Jastarnia Harbour
Sunday 11 October (Jastarnia)
Jastarnia Baltic Sea side
Long-tailed Ducks but little else
Hel Beach, sea and woods
Very quiet in the woods, harbour and beach.
No migration or much movement on the sea.
Yellow-legged Gull on beach which are uncommon.
Monday 11 October (Jastarnia)
Hel Beach, sea and woods
Song westerly wind. Little movement over the sea. New trip species Sandwich Tern, Ringed Plover, Eider. Instead of the usual birds arriving at the end of peninsula, small flocks were leaving south. Quiet until later in the morning I can across a large flock of Coal Tits. Following were a decent size party of Crested Tits, plus the first Goldcrests.
Jastarnia Marsh & Tip
First Redpol a fine male still in breeding plumage. A large raptor was seen briefly flying along the edge of a wood and landed a long way off. Thought it could be a Goshawk, studying the photos showed it to be a juvenile, from size a female.
Tuesday 12 October (Jastarnia)
Hel
Some migrants this morning. Calm with showers. Robins, Wrens, Black Redstarts, Goldcrests, Redpols, first Fieldfare's and a Brambling. A Nutcracker posed in the top of a pine tree. Eider on the sea, small party of Long-tailed Ducks.
Jastarnia Marsh & Tip
On the large field to the NW of the marsh down feeding were a family of 2 adults and 2 Juvenile White-fronted Geese and a small party of Bean Geese. Also, in the field the first definite Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. Good numbers of Song Thrush and Blackbirds on the scrub. At the tip while waiting to see if any of the Buntings and Finches would be photogenic, a big surprise when a juvenile Goshawk landed on the ground twice. The small birds had just been scared off by a cat.
Wednesday 14 October (Jastarnia)
One last trip to Hel and back.
Strong NW wind.
Best show of migrating birds at Hel so far on this trip. For the first hour or so a constant flow of thrushes and finches. A Peregrine also flew south over Gdansk Bay. Finally, an adult Little Gull was close inshore. On my past visits here have been quite common.
Jurata
From the beach a few small flocks of ducks passed eastwards well out to sea. Identified later from photos Common Scoter, Tufted Duck and Long-tailed Duck. A female/juv Wigeon came in off the sea presumably exhausted after a long sea crossing. It landed at the edge of the sea, one of the Hooded Crows nearby seemed to sense the Wigeon was distressed and went for it. The Wigeon summoned up enough energy to fly low further up the beach, away from the Crow.
Jastarnia Tip & Marsh
Just Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers and a Great Grey Shrike put in a short appearance.
Thursday 15 October
Jastarnia Tip & Marsh
One last visit, before driving to the airport. In the hope of some rare Bunting (I was told a Little Bunting was around), I had my camera at the ready as I approached the Buntings feeding area. The mutant Geese were present and to my great surprise a raptor was down on the ground. It was a Juvenile Goshawk, presumably the same birds as Monday and Tuesday. It didn't seem to have any prey, and just posed to let me take many photos and videos. Eventually the mutant Geese got close as well as being continually bombed by a Hooded Crow, it flew off. Finally managed to photograph a Brambling, which have been scarce on this trip.
Got through Gdansk Airport fairly easily, just seemed an age at border control where there was no queue, but my details were checked for ages.
Arrived at Leeds/Bradford early at 3:30 pm. Long queue at border control, but was fairly fast moving. They take a fraction of the time to check passports than EU countries and tend to be politer and friendlier, than the miserable border guards in the EU. Then onto to the third world bus service to Leeds station. As usual full to bursting, luggage racks full and luggage in the aisle and on seats. I had to stand for the first half of the journey. Train from Leeds five minutes late getting into Sheffield, meant I missed my bus. Got a tram to Mannor Top £3! And a lift home from there. Home at 8:00 pm
Butterflies
Large White, Peacock.
Dragonflies
Common Darter, Black Darter, A number of Aeshna species, but only one a Southern Hawker confirmed.
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