Day 1 :- We shall fly into Krakow  and after being met by Felix (our local guide) we shall head out of the city to the wonderful Pieniny Mountains, where we shall spend the next four nights at lovely hotel in Niedzica with it's views of the even more impressive Tatras Mountains.

Days 2 - 4 :- During the next three full days we shall visit the Pieniny National Park an exceptionally charming area of huge mixed forests, alpine meadows and sharp limestone pillars of several hundred meters high. There will be an early morning excursion looking for White-backed, Grey headed, Black & Three-toed Woodpeckers with a good chance of both Capercaillie and Hazelhen feeding along the quiet tracks. Ural, Eagle & Pygmy Owls can be found in this reserve all year round and we will be visiting their territories in the hope of connecting with one of these secretive nocturnal raptors. Other birds of prey we might encounter include one of the four pairs of Golden Eagle, a late departing Lesser Spotted Eagle, Northern Goshawk, Sparrowhawk and possibly an early returning Rough legged Buzzard. Being of mixed woodland we should also find most of the usual Northern European forest species such as Nutcracker,  Common Crossbill, Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Crested, Coal, Long tailed, Marsh & Willow Tits. As we wander through this ancient woodland we shall also keep an eye out for fungi one of Felix's other passions such as Earthstar and Parasol Mushrooms plus hundreds other species with science fiction-like shapes and colours. Red Deer will be at the height of their rutting season with many stags still calling during the day and night and with a bit of luck we will see them locking antlers.

On at least one day we will travel to the Tatra Mountains National Park, now a World Biosphere Reserve. The Tatra Mountain range is shared with neighbouring Slovakia and the Polish side is divided into high granite peaks in the east, and limestone ridges in the lower west. Vegetation zones visibly change with the increase in altitude with lower forests of mainly Beech & Fir giving way to the upper forests of Spruce & Dwarf Pine before the shrubs, which start after the timber line. Once beyond all this we reach the alpine meadows with a few species of creeping willows amongst the rocks and within the Carpathian Arch is the predominant area for high mountain flora of exceptional richness. Chamois (Tatra Mountains subspecies) feed undisturbed on the meadows where they run up and down the crags defying gravity as they leap along almost vertical slopes!. We will walk down and rest on the stones where a colony of Alpine Marmots are active during the day, as they love lazing about on the rocks in full sun, making their distinctive call when passing raptors appear overhead. This area is also very good for seeing the endemic Tatra Snow Vole as it looks from their holes amongst the open granite rocks. This part of the Carpathians Mountains has a fairly dense population of Brown Bear survive in the wild here, and if we are extremely lucky they can be seen on open meadows where they collect berries. Finally we then journey by cable car up to over 2000m above sea level, which will give us the opportunity to find the rare and enigmatic Wallcreeper working it's way along the sheer granite faces probing for insects. Other species we may find are Alpine Accentor, Water Pipit,  Golden Eagle, Peregrine and maybe Dipper along the streams.

One early morning will be spent with a pre-breakfast visit to the nearby peat-bogs with their resident population of Black Grouse who gather for false lekking at this time of year.

Day 5 :- Today we will leave this magnificent place and travel to the extensive - 700 year old - fishponds near Auschwitz where autumn migration will be in full swing with wildfowl, waders, terns and songbirds.  The empty ponds with their fresh rich mud are a staging post for waders such as Little & Temminck's Stint, Curlew, Wood, Green & Common Sandpipers, Dunlin, Ruff, Spotted & Common Redshank, Greenshank, Grey, Little Ringed & Ringed Plovers, Northern Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel and Eurasian Curlew. Amongst these commoner waders there is always a chance of Marsh Sandpiper and maybe even a vagrant Sibe like Pectoral Sandpiper which is recorded every  Autumn. The other highlights are flocks of Common Crane gathering to return south and maybe the last White & Black Storks. Flocks of  200+ Great White Egret are not uncommon and this is the best time of the year to spot a Great Bittern as it moves through the extensive reedbeds. These reeds are also home to lots more species such as Night Heron, Reed Bunting, Bluethroat, Common Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler, Penduline & Bearded Tit with the open waters holding many waterbirds like  - Little, Red-necked & Black-necked Grebes, Bewick's & Whooper Swans amongst the numerous Mute Swans, Tundra Bean, European White-fronted & Greylag Geese, Ferruginous & Tufted Duck, Red-crested & Common Pochard, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler,  Goldeneye, Wigeon, Pintail and Goosander. With this amount of activity there will also be many patrolling raptors like White-tailed Eagle that spend their winter here and possibly migrating Osprey, Merlin, Hen & Marsh Harriers.  For the gull enthusiast there will be good opportunities to observe Caspian & Yellow legged Gulls in all plumages along with (fuscus) Lesser Black-backed, Mediterranean , Little, Black-headed & Common Gulls.  Walking a little further to the extensive agricultural fields surrounding the fishponds will give us an opportunity to spot species such as Great Grey Shrike, Grey Partridge, Tawny, Tree &  Meadow Pipit with possibly Red-throated Pipit, Yellow (thunbergi race) & White Wagtails with hopefully an odd remaining Citrine Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, House & Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches,  Siskin, Linnet, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, flocks of thrushes with Fieldfare, Redwing and Mistle Thrush. After such a full day we shall make our way to the accommodation in Zator (also near Auschwitz) and whilst enjoying a well-earned drink we shall complete the daily log, which could take a while!!!.

Day 6 :-  Depending on the departure time we may have time for a little birdwatching locally to the hotel before catching our flight from Krakow.

Price includes:-

Price does not include:-

1. Flights to Krakow Poland
2. 5 nights accommodation at local hotels/hostels.
3. All meals inc. drinks
4. All transport costs, inc. vehicle hire, fuel, tolls etc
5. Potential trip list with daily check list.
6. Use of field guides covering the area

1. Travel and contents insurance.
2. Extra food & drink to normal meal times.
3. Items of a personal nature.
4. Tips for services