Poland

A 4-day school trip to Krakow proved quite interesting for wildlife.  Black Redstarts were as common as Robins, Jackdaws were different (a different race anyway) Fieldfares were approachable (incredibly tame compared to ours) and my one and only winner led me a very merry dance...     

Comma, 31/03/17, castle grounds, Krakow, Poland. Unusually warm weather (20 degrees!) brought these guys out.

Black Redstart, 31/03/17, castle grounds, Krakow, Poland. Very vocal birds at this time of year, common too.

Fieldfare, 31/03/17, Krakow, Poland. I got within 3 metres of this bird. Incredibly tame here and very abundant.

Auschwitz - Birkenau

Obviously, you don't come to Auschwitz to appreciate wildlife.  Nevertheless, it was heartening to see that some birds were thriving here.      

Jackdaw (soemmerringii race) 01/04/17, Auschwitz, Poland. Much brighter around the neck than our version. Loads of them here.

Jay, 01/04/17, Auschwitz, Poland. Extremely tame here foraging between the prison blocks.

White Wagtail, 01/04/17, Birkenau Death Camp, Poland. A pair were building a nest in the remains of a collapsed gas chamber.

Was "The Great Escape" inspired by moles I wonder?

 The next morning I made my own great escape.  Leaving our hotel at 6am, I took a taxi to Las Wolski Forest  25 minutes west of Krakow.  I had just 2 hours of freedom to search for winners before heading back to re-join our busy schedule.  This forest was home to 8 species of woodpecker, the UK has only 3.  Surely I would score here?     

Middle Spotted Woodpecker, 02/04/17, Las Wolski Forest, Krakow, Poland. At last a winner! You need patience and perseverance here, Greater-spotteds far outnumber other species.