National parks

Ujście Warty National Park

Where the Warta flows into the Oder, the park spreads across 8,074 hectares of meadows and marshes — one of Poland's most important bird sanctuaries. The Ujście Warty National Park was established on 1 July 2001 by merging the Słońsk reserve with part of a landscape park. 245 bird species have been recorded here, 174 of them breeding; as many as 26 are considered globally threatened.

A grand stop on Europe's bird map

In spring the thaw turns the meadows into a sea of shallow water; in autumn thousands of geese descend. The most numerous flocks are tundra bean geese — the park's official emblem since April 2020, when ornithologists split the species from the bean goose; it now makes up about 90% of the arriving flocks. The park also hosts Poland's largest wintering ground of the whooper swan, and around 30 white-tailed eagles spend the winter here, drawn by crowds of duck. Globally threatened breeders include the aquatic warbler, corn crake, black-tailed godwit, bittern and black tern.

Exploring the park

The terrain is flat as a pancake: easy, wide views and bicycles in the leading role. The park is open along marked footpaths, cycle routes and nature trails. The best observation points are the towers in Słońsk and the viewing spots by national road no. 22 near Kostrzyn; the park headquarters sits in Chyrzyno. Binoculars are compulsory, and your footwear should survive post-thaw mud.

When to come

The two best windows are the spring floods and the autumn goose migration, though in winter the swans and eagles stage their own show. Check water levels before you set out — they decide whether the meadows mirror the flocks or hide them under a green blanket.