Fascinating birds and where to find them

28.07.2023 - 19:35 / 34travel.me / Maria Gulina

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«Imagine a land of ancient forests, hundreds of meandering rivers, the biggest marshes of the continent, and roads where you hardly meet any traffic or even people – this is the wild country of Belarus!» – that is how a popular British birdwatching website describes our country.

We admit this description is rather accurate. If you’re already intrigued, follow this guide to learn why Belarus is an ideal destination for nature lovers and which fascinating birds you can find here.

Terek Sandpiper

Why is Belarus a perfect place for birdwatching?

Belarus is the homeland of extremely rare birds

When it comes to birdwatching, Belarus can easily upstage many other countries in Europe. On the one hand, there is neither sea nor mountains in the country, which makes the number of bird species lower. On the other hand, Belarus is the homeland of extremely rare or unique birds – about 20 species, including the azure tit, the great gray owl, the terek sandpiper and the aquatic warbler.

Belarus has unique bird habitats

What’s more, there are a lot of well-preserved bird habitats not existing anywhere else in Europe. Mainly, these are the combinations of different types of marshes: lowlands, for example, are a home to the endangered aquatic warbler. The bird has chosen Belarus as its summer residence: a half of the world population of aquatic warblers nest in our country, and you can find this bird on the logo of one of the biggest nature protection organizations in Belarus: APB-BirdLife Belarus. Belarus has preserved unique bird habitats like marches and free-flowing rivers. What does it mean? Many rivers in Europe (and in Belarus, too) were channeled, and their riverbeds were straightened for the convenience of agriculture. Therefore, the rivers with natural riverbeds are as rare and valuable natural phenomena as geysers in Iceland.

The main free-flowing river in Belarus is the Pripyat River. In spring it overflows over a dozen kilometers from one riverbank to the other and resembles a sea with islands and forests surrounded by water. Can you imagine how beautiful it is when 120,000 birds are hovering like a swarm of bees over this water mirror? These are ruffs, birds with magnificent collars. They come to this place in spring to feed a bit on their way from Africa to tundra. By the way, there are no two ruffs with the same collars – and if you find such, you can claim a big prize from environmental organizations. So why not try your luck here?

Belarus is a paradise for woodpeckers. Because of the combination of different types of forests Belarus has all 10 European species of this bird. Foreigners mainly come to see the white-backed and the three-toed woodpecker, but we also love grey-headed