How and when to plan your visit
To get Oder Delta Safaris by car and by plane is recommended
Oder Delta Safaris is located in the north-west part of Poland – 60 km north-east of Szczecin and 200 km north-east of Berlin.
The easiest way to get to the Oder Delta is probably by flying to Berlin from all over the world. From there it is only about 2,5 hours by car to get to the Oder Delta. Having your own car or hire the car makes you more flexible during your visit here. Szczecin-Goleniów Airport is an alternative, located only 30 km from the Oder Delta.
Public transport is not recommended
Public bus transport or train between the different cities and in the countryside can be tricky to use. There is no any direct way to get here. It is easy to get Szczecin or Goleniów but then you will need a taxi for the next 60 km from Szczecin or 30 km from Goleniów.
What is the best time to visit the Oder Delta?
Here you can find a basic info that may help you choose the best time for your visit.
Oder Delta is an impressive sight in any season, which is why we offer a variety of safaris all year around.
Winter
The Oder Delta is an important stop-over site for migrating water birds using the East Atlantic Flyway. Annually recording over a quarter of a million birds during migrations and reach 150,000 individuals in winter. BirdLife International declared vast sections of the delta as “Important Bird Area”. The Polish part of the Oder Delta is one of the most important sites for migratory and wintering waterbirds, especially for Aythyini, Mergini and White-tailed eagle. The area is of crucial importance in Europe for several diving ducks, namely, Greater Scaup (38-70% of the NW European wintering population), Smew (10-17%), Common Merganser (9-15%), Tufted Duck (up to 6%), Pochard (2%) and Goldeneye (1%).
Winter is the best time to watch species like: Smew, Common Merganser, Tufted Duck, Golden Eye, Great egret, Grey heron, Whooper swan, Common Coot. On the Baltic coast you can find: Long-tailed duck, Common scoter, Hornet grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Velvet scoter, Black-throated loon, Red-throated loon and many more.
White-tailed eagles monitoring shows around two hundreds individuals wintering on the Polish side of the area on top of the breeding population. It is possible to watch them hunting water birds. White-tailed eagles usually target water-based birds as prey including grebes, ducks, coots, gulls, geese and even swans have been preyed upon. When targeting non-nesting birds, they often fly towards a waterbird repeatedly, forcing it to dive again and again, until the bird is exhausted and more easily caught.
We get not so much snow every year, it can already snow in December or January but this snow is likely to melt down quickly as the temperatures are often above zero. Usually February is much more reliable regarding snow and low temperatures. We always get a few days of -10°C or more, sometimes even down to -15°C. Then icy landscapes with wintering birds sitting on open water and ice create spectacular views of the Oder Delta. Mammals like Roe deer and Red deer stay in herds during winter and it is a good time for wolf tracking, February and March is also the period when Red deer shed their antlers on an annual basis.
Mid-Winter
Mid-Winter is the breeding season of the White-tailed eagle. The breeding season is characterised by frequent loud calling, especially by the male in the vicinity of the nest, sometimes taking the form of a duet between the pair. Eagles have a characteristic aerial courtship display which culminates in the pair locking claws mid-air, whirling earthwards in a series of spectacular cartwheels, and separating sometimes only a few feet above the ground or water and soaring upwards again.
In February – April there is a massive return of birds from their wintering areas. Some of them return earlier like: Northern lapwing, Common crane, Skylark, Greylag goose, Bean goose, Greater white-fronted goose and Red kite. In March the weather can be unpredictable. It can be cold and snowy or warm and sunny.
However, March-April are by far the best months for watching Woodpeckers. There are mainly six species of them breeding in the Oder Delta: Black woodpecker, Green woodpecker, Great-spotted woodpecker, Middle-spotted woodpecker, Lesser-spotted woodpecker and Wryneck.
Spring
The wetlands surrounding the lagoon are important feeding grounds for geese, swans, waders and raptors. They are also an important breeding site for over 200 species of birds. Spring time from April to June is a real feast for birdwatchers and nature photographers.
Most of the migrants like Common snipe, Bittern, Wryneck, Hoopoe, Red-backed shrike, Montagu’s Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Great Reed Warbler return. As well as birds that have become rare or even extinct in Europe. Such as Aquatic warbler, Corncrake. Spring is the typical mating season for most bird species in the Oder Delta.
In April the temperatures average around 10°C in the day but mornings can still be frosty. May is usually nice, warm and sunny with temperatures up to 20°C. Late March and April are fantastic time for white-tailed eagle watching. However, in the beginning of May they are not so active.
Moreover, April is great to watch nature wake up with masses of ground flowers in bloom, amphibians waking up from hibernation. Creating mysterious evening frog concerts, as well as, birds singing. Badger, Beaver become more active, as days grow longer and longer. There is so much to see that is almost impossible to cover in one visit.
Many different species of birds live in this pristine, largely undiscovered natural world of Oder Delta many of them rare or absent in Western Europe. Besides the above-listed you can find:
Black and Common Tern, Little gull, Kingfisher, Golden oriole, Rose finch, Bluethroat, Bearded reedling, Black-Tailed Godwit, Shelduck, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Northern Shoveler, Common Redshank, Dunlin, Ringed plover, Red and Black Kite, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Honey buzzard , Tawny owl, Burn owl, Nightingale, Robin, Flycatcher and such more.
Summer
Summer is the best season to explore Butterflies, Dragonflies, Amphibians, Reptiles and Wildflowers. Wildlife watching is possible in the mornings and evenings because of high temperature above 20°C or even 30°C at midday. June, July is still a good time for birdwatching. Watching white-tailed eagle from the boat is possible all the summer. Most of mammals have calves and pups, birds feed the young and teach them to be independent in this period.
Autumn
Late August to beginning of October is spectacular as the Red deer rutting season starts. Other mammals like wild boar are active too. There are many oaks in the vincity so you can find them eating acorns to get fat for up coming winter. September and October are the best months for atmospheric mist landscapes with beautiful autumn colours. It can still be quite warm during the day even more than 10°C but in the mornings temperature can drop down to 0°C.
It is autumn migration of birds time so different birds spiecies you can find in the area with good numbers of cranes, geese and waders like Curlew, Common snipe, Wood sandpiper, Green sandpiper, Redshank, Ruff and Spotted Redshank.
By the end of October, November most migratory birds are gone, wintering spiecies slowly appearing. On the other hand in autumn white-tailed eagles are very active. Late November can be quite dull, rainy and cold. It can be good time for tracking.
More details you can find here:
http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/szczecin-lagoon-iba-poland/details
http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/goleniow-forest-iba-poland/details
http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/# searching by Nature 2000 site codes: PLB320009, PLB320007, PLB320012, PLH320018, PLB320002, PLH320019, PLB990003, PLB320011, PLB320006.