Belarus Trip Report – Spring Birdwatching 2008,
14/05/08 to 25/05/08.
Tour Party
Hans Wulfsberg (Denmark)
Rob Skinner (UK)
Pavel Simeonov (Branta-Tours)
Dima Shamovich (based Krasny Bor)
May 14
Direct flight from Gatwick to Minsk with Belavia Airline to meet with Pavel, our knowledgeable tour-leader & Hans who were then joined by Natasha, interpreter from Pripyatski National Park & Sergey, our driver for the first part of our trip. Our long journey south from Minsk to Doroshevichy was frequently punctuated with birding breaks whenever anything of interest was seen. Marsh, Hen & Montagu’s Harriers were early on the scene & these were soon followed by Curlew, Common Buzzard & White Stork. By the time we reached our destination at dusk, 30 species had been logged including our first Thrush Nightingale.
The timber lodge @ Doroshevichy was very comfortable and the food appetising & plentiful. The long day & a vodka or more ensured that everybody slept soundly.
May 15
Up at the crack of dawn to explore the area around the hotel which is situated on the north bank of the Prypiat River. The early mist soon cleared to leave a warm & bright morning.
Beautiful landscape & birds galore. An early lunch was taken whilst birding.
Wryneck, Kingfisher, Common & Terek Sandpipers were the earliest birds followed closely by Gadwall, Garganey & Goldeneye. As the visibility improved, the far side of the river came into view as did Whiskered , Common & White-winged Terns and a stunning White-tailed Eagle. Meanwhile, Golden Orioles, Thrush Nightingales, Hoopoes & Cuckoos were leading a very lively dawn chorus. In all, 46 species were seen or heard prior to breakfast.
After an excellent meal, we boarded a small motorboat to spend the morning exploring the river & its surrounding flood plain. Whinchat, Scarlet Rosefinch , Black Tern & Hobby were all seen well as were Honey Buzzards & both Middle-spotted & White-backed Woodpeckers.
The star turn of the morning was unquestionably an Azure Tit. Small but what a bird! As a complete contrast, a Great Spotted Eagle soon followed in addition to Red-backed Shrike & both Spotted & Pied Flycatchers.
Lunch @ the lodge after which we kept one eye wide open for mammals and were rewarded with Wild Boar, Red & Roe Deer & Hare. Finally, the four-footed beast of the day was seen spied… beaver. The surrounding area was littered with felled trees & clouds of mosquitoes but nothing could prevent Hans & Sergey from braving the munching millions to get close views of the beaver.
Raven, Tree Sparrow, Wood Warbler & two more Woodpeckers were added to the tally….Black & Great-spotted.
Day total 82. Cumulative 91
2nd night @ Doroshevichy Lodge.
May 16
Another glorious dawn. Pre-breakfast walk around the lodge yielded Marsh Sandpiper plus Marsh &Willow Warblers.
Bags packed & on the road but at a leisurely pace towards Turov. Frequent stops in farming country with many raptor sightings including Lesser Spotted & White-tailed Eagles, Black Kite, Marsh & Montagu’s Harriers.
A detour to a heavily reeded area bounded by willows yielded Bluethroat, Willow Tit, Penduline Tit & Yellowhammer.
Picnic lunch overlooking Turov meadows watching Ruff, Redshank, Black-necked Grebe, Great Egret, Black-tailed Godwit, & Marsh Terns galore. A tour around the meadows produced a pair of Azure Tits, Black Stork & a brazen River Warbler in full song.
Towards dusk, we took a small boat into the heart of the meadows & were able to see Temmincks Stint & displaying Great Snipes.
After dark arrival @ Chlupinskaja Buda for 2 nights.
Day total 83. Cumulative 99
May 17
Pre-breakfast walk around lodge. Weather bright & dry. No breeze. Black Redstart, Swift, Garden Warbler, Black Stork & Corncrakes(heard) were the highlights.
After another substantial breakfast, we were off to the woods in search of owls. Great Grey Owl was seen well & many other woodland species including Collared, Spotted & Pied Flycatchers, Hawfinch, Middle-spotted Woodpecker & Wood Warbler.
En route we were again to view the flood plain where we saw the usual Gull & Tern species plus a good variety of common thrushes, corvides, waders & warblers. Back to Chlupinskaja Buda, unusually, before dusk but not before adding Serin & Long-eared Owl to our tally.
Day total 75 Cumulative 120
May 18
Pre breakfast walk in the now customary fine weather…
2 Elk… 3 Corncrake… Black Stork… Barred Warbler… Turtle Dove… Middle-spotted Woodpecker… Red-footed Falcon (one male)… Golden Oriole… Hoopoe… Long-tailed Tit (White Headed race) & full supporting cast.
Left our lodge after breakfast & spent the majority of the day around the Turov meadows. A last opportunity to see Azure Tit proved irresistible.
Icterine Warbler & Grey Partridge were firsts & White-tailed Eagle, Sedge Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Bluethroat, Terek Sandpiper & numerous wildfowl delivered encores.
As the day wore on, the cloud increased & we slowly made our way to the north of Minsk where we bid farewell to Sergey who had served us well.
Greeted By Dima who was to be our guide for the remainder of our stay in Belarus.
Arrived at Domzheritzy hotel in Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve around dusk for a single night stay. Quick view on Pine Martin crossing our route before diner.
Weather well & truly overcast.
Rooms large with good facilities. Generous supply of good quality food. Large hotel probably 90% empty.
Day total 70. Cumulative 130
May 19
Pre breakfast walk in Berezinsky forest in overcast conditions and light rain produced Hazel Grouse together with Black, White-backed & Great-spotted Woodpeckers, Treecreeper, Woodlark & Raven.
After breakfast, we were introduced to our first Bog & to Yuri, a guide on the Reserve. No amount of bog-trotting enabled us to find our main target but we succeeded with Wood Sandpiper, Whimbrel & Greenshank.
Further exploration of the Reserve away from the bog enabled us to see Grey-headed Woodpecker, Black-throated Diver, Osprey & Scarlet Rosefinch & to hear a Bittern booming.
By late afternoon, we were again on the road & heading north. En route we encountered a Lesser Spotted Eagle & our first Short-toed Eagle in addition to many corvids & thrushes. A ten minute stop by a roadside lake enabled us to hear Savi’s Warbler & Great Reed Warbler
Arrived @ Klyasticy lodge after dark to a warm welcome & a hot meal. After the usual vodka accompaniment we again slept soundly, if briefly.
Day total: 70 Cumulative: 147
May 20
Astonishingly, at 3.30am our party was seated around the dining table whilst eating a hot breakfast! Such is the lure of the Capercaillie.
Krasny Bor is full of bogs, lakes & forests & during the day we experienced each of these habitats & saw a good variety of birds including some firsts for the trip:- 3-toed Woodpecker, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Nightjar, Golden Plover, Common Gull, Black Grouse, Goldcrest & Crested Tit.
To replenish the batteries after our early start, we had a 3 hour break @ midday. When we resurfaced, the morning showers had gone & been replaced by sunshine.
Once more into the woods & we were rewarded with Nutcracker, Crossbill, Woodcock & Ural Owl.
2nd night @ Klyasticy lodge.
Day total: 57 Cumulative: 158
May21
Breakfasted @ a sensible hour & then embarked on a long drive to search for Great Grey Owl. Unfortunately, a Pine Marten had arrived before us & predated the contents of the nest. En route, there was no shortage of the now regular species & in addition, we saw Lesser Whitethroat, Sparrowhawk & Pintail.
As the day wore on, the early showers slowly cleared to leave a fine, still evening. Dima embarked on a whistle-stop tour of some local hot spots for mammals & we had excellent views of a grazing party of Wild Boar & several Elk.
At dusk & into the forest where Dima and Pavel used their skills to attempt to attract the resident owls. Perseverance paid off after the best part of an hour & for 15 minutes we were entertained to an amazing interaction between man & Pygmy Owl. What an experience!
3rd night @ Klyasticy lodge.
Day total: 46 Cumulative: 161
May22
Took another opportunity to view 3-toed Woodpecker @ its nest & also had good views of Short-toed Eagle & Honey Buzzard.
An hour was spent around Yailata, an excellent archaeological reserve We then visited Dima’s house (Log cabin construction common throughout Belarus) @ nearby Sosny Bor where we took a stroll with his wolves, as you do!
Three lakes in quick succession. At Lake Stradno we saw Whooper Swan & Teal, @ L. Buzjanka Gadwall & Common Crane in flight & @ L. Lisno Black Grouse.
A visit to Bolshoi Moh, the largest of the pine bogs, failed to produce the anticipated Golden Eagle but Great Grey Shrike & Goshawk were ample compensation.
A late evening search for Tengmalm’s Owl was ruined by the poor weather.
4th night @ Klyasticy lodge.
Day total 67 Cumulative 165
May23
Another excellent breakfast before making our way to Osveya Lake, the second largest in Belarus & with a fresh breeze blowing, looking more like the sea. The weather prevented us from traversing the lake but we managed an exhilarating boat trip through the Black-headed gull colony on the edge. Wildfowl included small numbers of Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Pochard & Tufted Duck.
At Novy Dvor, a Grasshopper Warbler put on a fine show with a Concrake in support. Three more lakes were briefly visited where we encountered Bittern, Savi’s Warbler Gargeny & White-tailed Eagle in particular.
The weather for the journey south to Berezinsky Reserve was overcast & showery & then it got worse. However, we still managed to make several stops on the journey & were able to see/hear Savi’s, Sedge & Great Reed Warblers together with Reed Bunting, Cuckoo, White Stork , Hooded Crow & Raven.
Overnight @ Domzhericy hotel in Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.
Day total 60 Cumulative 168
May 24
Pre breakfast trip to local lake in heavy rain produced close view of White-backed Woodpecker.
Breakfast.
Post breakfast trip to Berezinsky forest in heavy rain.
Despite the conditions, we managed to see a nice variety of birds; thanks to the endeavours of Pavel, Dima & Yuri. Pick of the bunch were Great Grey Owl, Pied Flycatcher, Black Woodpecker & Wood Warbler.
For the record, two bears were seen by our intrepid guides & an outcrop of Lady’s Slipper Orchid by all.
An afternoon visit to the forest in even worse weather yielded nothing new.
Overnight @ Domzhericy hotel in Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.
Day total 34 Cumulative 168
May 25
With flight departure times spread throughout the day, an early start was needed. An hour of birdwatching in the vicinity of Minsk Airport produced the first Blyth’s Reed Warbler.
Day total 18, Cumulative 168
Return Flight to London.
General Comments:
Accommodation throughout was varied but always acceptable. Inevitably, a rural village will offer a different style of lodging from a major tourist area. In this instance, the level of hospitality & standard of food provided by Svetlana @ Klyasticy rural lodging easily compensated for the intermittent supply of hot water.
Food:
Never a problem. The range, quality, quantity & presentation at every meal was most acceptable.
General:
Once away from Minsk, obtaining local currency can be a problem. Not that there is much need for the local currency.
Apart from a handful of uniformed officials @ Minsk Airport, the population were universally friendly.
Species List
The list represents what I saw/heard during my stay in Belarus. Others on the tour will have a slightly different list but as we were a small group, most sightings were witnessed by us all.
The weather during the last few days of the trip was very poor & put some hoped for species beyond reach but overall, I was extremely happy with the range of birds that we were able to see and the quality of services offered by Branta-Tours.