[music, sounds of nature] The Central European forests are the habitat of many species of plants and animals. [music, sounds of nature] Birds are an important element of the forest ecosystem, playing an important role in its functioning. [music, sounds of nature] Their singing fills the surroundings, and the multiplicity of colours and shades of feathers arouses our admiration, and the closer look we take at them, the more admiration we feel. [music, sounds of nature] Birds are allies of foresters in forest protection. They contribute to reducing the population of insects, which in a large number pose a huge threat to trees. [music, sounds of nature] Birds catch the most insects in the breeding season. [music, sounds of nature] Then, adults, besides satisfying their own needs, feed the chicks that need high-protein food for rapid growth. [music, sounds of nature] THE LIFE OF THE FOREST
BIRDS [music, sounds of nature] The forest is an environment that shapes living conditions for many organisms, including mushrooms, plants and animals. [music, sounds of nature] Plants in the forest form a special, vertical arrangement, divided into four distinct layers: soil covered with duff, groundcover, undergrowth and crowns of tall trees. [music, sounds of nature] Each of these layers is the place of life of some birds. [music, sounds of nature] Birds can be observed in the forest throughout the year, regardless of the time of day and weather conditions. [music, sounds of nature] Their distribution, number and species composition in particular parts of the forest depend among others on the abundance of food, habitat preferences of individual species, as well as on the season of the year. [music, sounds of nature] In the Polish forests, there are and usually nest about 130 species of birds. They can be divided due to the location of their nests. [music, sounds of nature] Some build nests directly on the ground, others in shrubs, ascents, tree crowns or in hollows. [music, sounds of nature] There are also species that are flexible enough to use several types of nests, as is the case with a robin or a common blackbird. [music, sounds of nature] Trees are the main place for food acquisition for many species of birds. Invertebrates, seeds and fruits can be found there. [music, sounds of nature] Certain species, such as orioles, goldcrests, coal tits or red crossbills, are mainly found in the crowns of tall trees where they feed and find a place to build a nest. [music, sounds of nature] However, not all of them nest so high. [music, sounds of nature] There are also species that find the best conditions for the nest construction in the forest layer. [sounds of nature] For example, all Polish Galliformes nest in windfallen trees and depressions of the area, under the cover of low bushes and young trees. [sounds of nature] Capercaillie is the largest member of the grouse family in Europe. It lives in big, old and not very dense woods with rich duff and undergrowth, and moderately tight treetops. [sounds of nature] It chooses secluded places for its breeding site, but where the forests are not very dense, and the undergrowth is dominated by low vegetation, not limiting visibility. [sounds of nature] The courtship ritual of capercaillies lasts from March to May and takes place both on trees and on the ground. [sounds of nature] The mating song consists of four consecutive parts that form a coherent whole: flapping, trilling, corking and grinding. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] After the courtship ritual and copulation, which occurs on the ground, the female leaves the mating arena and in hiding, in the depression of the terrain, builds a nest in dense undergrowth. [music, sounds of nature] It lays 4 to 12 cream-beige eggs with grey and brown spots. [music, sounds of nature] After about twenty-four to twenty-six days, the chicks hatch, which immediately after drying are taken by their mother from the nest. [music, sounds of nature] The young grow fast, feeding on insects, mainly ants and their larvae. [music, sounds of nature] Capercaillies are in Poland threatened with extinction. [music, sounds of nature] The main dangers for these birds are unfavourable changes taking place in their environment: an increase in the number of natural enemies, adverse habitat changes in refuges and disturbance by people. [music, sounds of nature] Currently, in the natural habitats of capercaillies, a number of forestry and breeding activities are carried out, aimed at improvement of their living conditions, increase of their number and making them return to some formerly occupied areas. [music, sounds of nature] One of the birds willingly settling in dry, well sunlit edges of broad, deciduous, coniferous or mixed forests with nearby overgrowing clearings, young trees, forest plantations and glades is a tree pipit. [music, sounds of nature] It is the only Polish pipit nesting in the forest. You can meet it across the country. [music, sounds of nature] It returns to the breeding grounds from the winter resort in the first half of April and stays in Poland even until November. [music, sounds of nature] It starts breeding in May and June, usually coming to two broods a year. [music, sounds of nature] The female of a tree pipit builds a nest in an open area, ays directly on the ground in a previously dug hole, under the cover of a dangling clump of grass. [music, sounds of nature] It is well camouflaged and hidden from predators, which helps in upbringing of the young. [music, sounds of nature] Chicks of altricial species hatch naked and blind. [music, sounds of nature] They grow fast on an insect diet, constantly demanding food. During this period, the male helps the female to provide food. [music, sounds of nature] After two weeks of intensive feeding, the young leave the nest, spreading around the area, but remain for some time under the care of adults. This is the characteristic behaviour of birds breeding on earth. [music, sounds of nature] If they remained in the nest and in the event of a predator's attack they concentrated in one place, they would all be killed. [sounds of nature] In the damp, heavily shaded forests with rich groundcover, on the ground, under the pile of old leaves and broken, crumbling branches, we can find a nest built by a robin. [sounds of nature] It has the shape of a shallow bowl made of leaves and moss, lined with hair, bristles and feathers. [sounds of nature] As with most singing birds, a robin can have three broods in the season, but usually it has two. [sounds of nature] The chicks remain in the nest for about two weeks. During this time, they are fed by both parents. [sounds of nature] Above the layer of groundcover grow young trees and shrubs, creating the undergrowth. [music, sounds of nature] Such an environment offers ideal conditions to many species of singing birds, which build their nests at the height up to several meters and gain food in the thicket of tangled branches and under the cover of leaves. [sounds of nature] The male blackbird has uniform black plumage and a contrasting intensely yellow-orange beak and rings around the eyes. [sounds of nature] The coloration of females is not so diverse. [sounds of nature] The natural place of life of blackbirds are forests and tree stands. [sounds of nature] From the beginning of the breeding season, these birds feed almost exclusively on animals, mainly invertebrates, of which they prefer earthworms and beetles. [sounds of nature] Their prey are also other insects in various stages of development and arachnids. [sounds of nature] They look for food by jumping on the ground. They never go too far away from sheltering shrubs. [sounds of nature] The nest is built by a female usually on a stable ground and in the semi-shaded area, usually not too high above the ground. [sounds of nature] The eggs are usually greenish-blue, rusty-brown, mottled. [music, sounds of nature] Chicks are born naked and blind. [music, sounds of nature] At the beginning, they are fed exclusively with animal food, later supplemented with berries and fruits. [music, sounds of nature] Blackbirds are able to have up to five broods during the year, but usually they have 2-3 broods. [music, sounds of nature] The fieldfare is similar in size to blackbird, it also belongs to the thrush family. [sounds of nature] In forests, it inhabits the edges of wet alluvial forests, alder forests, overgrown banks of rivers and other small groups of trees. [sounds of nature] It usually nests in small, loosely distributed colonies, rarely alone. [sounds of nature] The young are fed for about 16 days, after which they leave the nest, being still non-flying. [sounds of nature] They stay hidden in invisible places for some time under the protection of their parents. [music, sounds of nature] A chaffinch is a species which adapts to the environment with a great ease. It occurs everywhere where trees grow. It can be all types of forests and mid-field groups of trees, orchards, parks or gardens. [music, sounds of nature] A chaffinch does not have specific requirements as to the place of nesting. [music, sounds of nature] The nests are built both on trees, in the tree branch forks, just above the ground, but also in the dense thicket of bushes, where they are well hidden. [music, sounds of nature] The chicks stay in the nest for about two weeks, although in case of danger they can leave them earlier. Parents feed them with insects. A chaffinch is the most common bird of the Polish forests. [music, sounds of nature] In most forests below the tree crowns we can find cavity-nesting birds that have chosen that area for bringing up their offspring. [music, sounds of nature] They can be divided into two groups. [music, sounds of nature] The first of them are primary hole-nesters, i.e. those that can cut a hollow on their own. [music, sounds of nature] The second is the secondary hole-nesters, which use the hollows left by the primary hole-nesters or inhabit those that were formed in a natural way, as defects in trunks or tree boughs. [music, sounds of nature] They also use nest boxes built by foresters. [music, sounds of nature] The most important primary hole-nesters are mainly woodpeckers. [music, sounds of nature] There are 10 species in the Polish forests that are characterized by a similar lifestyle and food acquisition. [sounds of nature] The black woodpecker is widespread throughout the entire territory of Poland. [sounds of nature] This is the largest European species of woodpecker. [sounds of nature] Adults have characteristic, uniformly coloured plumage, with a black and red cap on their head. [sounds of nature] Black woodpeckers inhabit mainly beech and pine forests and other types of old-age forests providing feeding grounds and nesting places. [sounds of nature] Their hollows are large, with a characteristic oval shape and a very spacious interior. [sounds of nature] A pair of birds can forge a few hollows that serve them both for breeding and for accommodation. [sounds of nature] They do this every year, and it takes them about two weeks. [music, sounds of nature] At the end of April the female lays 3 to 5 white eggs in the hollow. [music, sounds of nature] Both birds take care of incubation for about 12 days. The chicks remain in the nest for about four weeks. Black woodpeckers have one brood in a year. [music, sounds of nature] Woodpeckers are a unique family of forest birds. [music, sounds of nature] Their abandoned hollows also serve other animals as night shelters, daily hiding places, pantries and breeding places. [music, sounds of nature] Among the birds, they are used by boreal owls, pygmy owls, wrynecks, stock doves, tits, nuthatches, flycatchers, starlings, redstarts and goldeneyes. [music, sounds of nature] In the interior of the hollow you can also find squirrels, martens, Muscardinidae and bats. Apart from them. certain invertebrate species, for example, the hermit beetle. [sounds of nature] The great spotted woodpecker is the most numerous species among the Polish woodpeckers. It is estimated that in Poland there are 600 - 900 thousand of breeding pairs of this species, and its number shows a moderate growth. [sounds of nature] It inhabits all types of forests. [sounds of nature] It is much smaller than the black woodpecker and has a completely different coloration. [sounds of nature] It selects a tree trunk or its side branches for its hollow. The woodpecker forges it at heights from half to even 20 meters. [sounds of nature] Hatched chicks, staying in a hollow about 25 days, are very noisy. As soon as they grow up a little, they start chirping incessantly and spend a few days before their departure ooking out of the hollow and waiting for their parents to come with food. [sounds of nature] The main food of the great spotted woodpecker are insects and their larvae, but in autumn and winter, conifer seeds also appear in its diet. [music, sounds of nature] A very rare species of woodpecker in the Polish forests is a three-toed woodpecker, slightly smaller than the big woodpecker. Its number is estimated at 1000 - 1400 breeding pairs. [music, sounds of nature] A feature that distinguishes it from other woodpeckers are three toes, hence its name. [music, sounds of nature] Its hollow is forged in dead spruces, at the height from a few to a dozen or so meters. [music, sounds of nature] Its breeding period runs from April to the beginning of July. [music, sounds of nature] A three-toed woodpecker occurs only in two regions of the country - in the extensive forest complexes in the north-eastern Poland and in the Carpathians. [sounds of nature] It is strongly associated with old spruce forests abounding in dead and dying trees. It also feels good in alder forests. [sounds of nature] A blue tit is a small bird from the tits family. [sounds of nature] It prefers broadleaved and mixed forests that allow a lot of sunlight. It also likes all kinds of groups of trees. sounds of nature] It is a very mobile bird. [sounds of nature] It moves nimbly among thin branches of trees and shrubs, searching for food. It can have two broods a year. It lays up to 13 eggs with a white colour with red flecking. [sounds of nature] The chicks are altricial nestlings and remain deeply hidden in the hollow for about three weeks. [sounds of nature] A large number of offspring requires parents to make a huge effort in finding and supplying food. [sounds of nature] The chicks at that time devour powerful amounts of insects, arachnids and other small invertebrates. [music, sounds of nature] In the bright, old forests, at the edges of parks, near meadows and fields, we can come across one of our most colourful birds, a roller. [music, sounds of nature] Formerly it was common throughout Poland, and currently it is extremely rare. [music, sounds of nature] In our country, ornithologists have now registered only a dozen breeding pairs. [music, sounds of nature] It nestles in large, spacious hollows. During the year it can have one brood. It hunts mainly for insects, but it also appreciates small vertebrates. [music, sounds of nature] The edges of large forests, avenues and individual trees adjacent to open areas the habitat of a hoopoe. It is slightly larger than a starling, and its head is decorated with a characteristic, fan-shaped tuft. [music, sounds of nature] There are no obvious sexual dimorphism in the hoopoes, the female is only slightly smaller than the male, with a slightly lighter plumage. [music, sounds of nature] A long beak is used for searching for a prey hidden underground, which mainly consists of small invertebrates. [music, sounds of nature] Birds of this species are willing to use large hollows as their nests, where the female lays 4 to 7 eggs. [music, sounds of nature] After the hatching of the chicks, mother does not leave the young at first. The male brings the food, gives it to the female through the hole of the hollow, [music, sounds of nature] The young leave the nest after about 22 to 25 days. [sounds of nature] Hoopoes avoid thick forests, but they can be found in age-varied forest plantations, preferred in the modern forestry model in Poland. [music, sounds of nature] Nuthatches, as secondary hole-nesters, eagerly use the woodpeckers' hollows. [sounds of nature] However, the original inlet holes are too large for them, therefore the birds cover their parts with clay or mud mixed with saliva, adapting them to their own size. [sounds of nature] The way of moving around the trunks is also characteristic for nuthatches. [sounds of nature] They “walk” with their head down, looking for prey in the hollows of tree bark. [sounds of nature] They feed on different foods, including seeds in autumn and winter, but in the spring and summer insects are the main ingredient of their diet. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] In forests of a natural and semi-natural character, the best conditions are found by a collared flycatcher. [music, sounds of nature] In Poland, it is a rare nesting bird, occurring mainly in the southern and eastern part of the country. [music, sounds of nature] It can be found, among others, in the Białowieża Forest. Its biotope are extensive older deciduous and mixed forests with a correspondingly large number of hollow trees. [music, sounds of nature] A flycatcher feeds on insects caught mainly in flight. [music, sounds of nature] The prey is also collected from branches, leaves, trunks, flowers and from the ground. [music, sounds of nature] However, it is a less common practice and only when it is cold or rainy, as insects do not fly then. [music, sounds of nature] There is a distinct sexual dimorphism between the female and the male. [music, sounds of nature] A collared flycatcher is a daytime bird. And it is a typical forest bird. [music, sounds of nature] Among the secondary hole-nesters, often found in our forests, there are owls, such as tawny owl, boreal owl or pygmy owl. [music, sounds of nature] Wherever the hollows are lacking, foresters help the birds by hanging nest boxes. [sounds of nature] They are often inhabited by tits, redstarts, flycatchers, starlings or wrynecks. [sounds of nature] A wryneck belongs to the family of woodpeckers, but it cannot make a hollow. Its beak is too weak for it. [sounds of nature] It has a very mobile head and neck, hence its name. [sounds of nature] A wryneck can be found all over Poland, although it is a rare nesting species. [sounds of nature] It arrives in April and stays until September. [sounds of nature] It prefers quiet and warm edges of forests. It feeds on beetles, caterpillars, aphids. [sounds of nature] However, its main delicacy are ants, which a wryneck extracts from the anthill with a long, almost 7-centimeter tongue. [sounds of nature] It is believed that the wryneck tongue is the longest among European tongue of bird species. [sounds of nature] At rest, the tongue is wrapped around the skull. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] Near the forester's lodges, which are usually found in the depths of the forest and its outskirts, there are several characteristic species of birds at benefit from the close proximity of humans. [music, sounds of nature] They build their nests in various strange and surprising places. [music, sounds of nature] A black redstart male in the mating plumage is slate-black with a characteristic, rusty tail. [music, sounds of nature] The female is brighter. [music, sounds of nature] A black redstart is a very mobile bird. [music, sounds of nature] When it sits down somewhere for a short moment, it often shakes his tail. [music, sounds of nature] It prefers to build its nest in accumulated stones, in rural attics or in the ruins of buildings. [music, sounds of nature] Access to open spaces is extremely important to a black redstart, where it searches for food by running and jumping. [music, sounds of nature] It eats mainly insects and their larvae, collecting them from tree trunks, branches and leaves, just above the ground. [music, sounds of nature] It can also hunt with agility in flight. [music, sounds of nature] In the course of the year, it can have two broods. [music, sounds of nature] The young are fed by both parents. [music, sounds of nature] The chicks leave the nest after about sixteen days and are still under the care of adult individuals for a long time after departure. [music, sounds of nature] A black redstart is common in Poland. [music, sounds of nature] It flies away in the winter. [music, sounds of nature] Chicks of all species of birds must have animal protein provided in their diet, which means that their diet consists mainly of insects, arachnids and vertebrates. [sounds of nature] There are, however, species that are unique among birds, which provide the chicks with the necessary ingredients “from their own breasts”, specifically from the crop-sac epithelium exfoliated at that time. These include pigeons. [music, sounds of nature] The breeding period of a wood pigeon is from February to September. [music, sounds of nature] In one season, these birds can have up to 4 broods. [music, sounds of nature] Most often, however, only two are successful, due to the high mortality of the chicks, caused by the pressure of predators. [music, sounds of nature] The nests built by them in the treetops resemble loosely stacked platforms, assembled from carelessly arranged twigs. [music, sounds of nature] After about seventeen days from laying white eggs, one or two chicks without feathers hatch. [music, sounds of nature] Adult wood pigeons produce a substance called a pigeon's milk. [music, sounds of nature] The young eat nutritious mush, submerging their heads in the crop-sac of the parent. [music, sounds of nature] For practical reasons, feathers on the head and neck develop last. [music, sounds of nature] The chicks remain in the nest for about 4 weeks, and for the next 2 weeks stay offered by the male. [music, sounds of nature] The female during this time begins the second brood. [music, sounds of nature] Not all birds that nest in the depths of the forest are closely related to it. [sounds of nature] Some of them are looking for food outside of forests, in open areas. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] The highest layer of the forest, where birds find suitable conditions for nesting, are the crowns of trees. [music, sounds of nature] For this group of birds, the appropriate space to reach the nest flying is important. [music, sounds of nature] Here, at an altitude of up to 25 meters above the ground, large spacious nests are built by black storks. [music, sounds of nature] The diameter of the nest can reach up to 2 meters, which is why the birds choose pines and oaks with wide branches. [music, sounds of nature] A black stork, although considered a
typical forest species, needs wetlands with small and shallow ponds, where it can feed. [music, sounds of nature] It feeds mainly on fish that account for up to eighty percent of its diet. [music, sounds of nature] [sounds of nature] Another large group of birds nesting in the crowns of trees are birds of prey that are active during the day. [sounds of nature] The largest domestic bird of prey in the hawk family is a white-tailed eagle. [sounds of nature] Its wingspan reaches two hundred and forty cm. [sounds of nature] It chooses old, tall trees near lakes, breeding ponds, dam reservoirs and rivers to build the nest. [sounds of nature] The white-tailed eagle's nest is a powerful construction where birds feed from one to three young. [sounds of nature] Their diet consists mainly of fish, water birds, and rarely mammals. [music, sounds of nature] In autumn, white-tailed eagles usually feed on drained fish ponds, where they gather into larger herds. [music, sounds of nature] In winter, when there is a problem with the availability of fresh prey, they also eat carrion. [music, sounds of nature] In wetland deciduous forests, in the plains with access to lakes, swamps and wetlands, a spotted eagle has its habitat. [sounds of nature] It prefers deeper parts of forests with older stands, over sixty years old. [sounds of nature] A spotted eagle has a clandestine lifestyle. [sounds of nature] It usually builds a nest in the crown of a deciduous tree, near the trunk. [sounds of nature] It occupies such a nest for several seasons. [sounds of nature] A spotted eagle can have one breeding season a year. [sounds of nature] Out of two chicks in the nest, only one is able to survive, because they hatch at different times, and the mother feeds mainly the older and stronger one. [music, sounds of nature] Birds, such as black storks, white-tailed eagles, spotted eagles and many others species endangered by extinction, have special protection zones. [music, sounds of nature] In the Polish forests, they started to be created in 1984. [music, sounds of nature] The protection includes nesting places of endangered species, and various rays of all-year and periodic protection zones are applied. [music, sounds of nature] In such areas, at certain times it is forbidden to reside and perform any activities that would change the nature of the habitat. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] In the depths of the forest or on its edge, in the old tree stands, a hawk has its breeding period at the turn of
February and March. [sounds of nature] Its nest is located near the trunk, in the central part of the tree's crown, about ten to twenty meters above the ground. [sounds of nature] From 2 to 4 white, lightly speckled eggs, after about five weeks of incubation, hatch chicks without feathers. [sounds of nature] The young grow quickly. [sounds of nature] After 41 to 43 days, the chicks leave the nest and hide among the branches of the trees, where for the next few weeks they are still fed until they are fully ready to fly. [sounds of nature] At the turn of August and September, the young become independent, and to reach sexual maturity they have to wait until next spring. [sounds of nature] [music, sounds of nature] A bird that is very similar to a hawk, though almost a half smaller, is called a sparrowhawk. [music, sounds of nature] It prefers younger, pine and spruce forests, cut by slips and clearings, but also mid-field clumps of trees. [sounds of nature] It places the nest near the trunk or on the branch going away from the trunk. [music, sounds of nature] In open areas, near smaller or larger forest complexes with stands of less density, we can find a buzzard. [music, sounds of nature] It is one of the most common Polish birds of prey. [music, sounds of nature] It hunts mainly in fields and meadows. [music, sounds of nature] It starts breeding in March or April. Its nest is built at a considerable height, in the branch fork. [music, sounds of nature] The chicks hatch after 35 days of having been incubated by both parents. [music, sounds of nature] They are fed with small vertebrates. They usually include voles, moles and small birds. [music, sounds of nature] The young leave the nest after about forty days. [music, sounds of nature] The group of birds that nest in tree crowns also includes owls. [sounds of nature] From 2012, in the Sobiborskie Forests, the breeding of the great grey owl started to be observed, the bird which until then only occasionally had flown to Poland from the Belarusian part of the Białowieża Forest. [music, sounds of nature] Great grey owls use broken trunks for nests, but most often they settle in abandoned nests of birds of prey, especially buzzards and hawks. [music, sounds of nature] These birds hunt from a raised hide, mainly for small rodents. [music, sounds of nature] The chicks leave the nest about four weeks after hatching. [music, sounds of nature] They can not fly yet, but they climb well and stay in the nest area for a few weeks. [music, sounds of nature] There they are fed by their parents. After 8 weeks they are already volatile and can obtain food by themselves. [music, sounds of nature] All birds living in our forests are a very important element of this ecosystem. [music, sounds of nature] Currently, almost all wild bird species in Poland are subject to strict or partial protection. [music, sounds of nature] For decades, protection zones have been created in forests for some species, especially those threatened with extinction, which has a positive effect on their population. [music, sounds of nature] Currently, over 3,000 protection zones have been established in the State Forests. [music, sounds of nature] Thanks to the deepening knowledge about birds, their behaviour and environmental requirements, foresters can provide them with proper protection. [music, sounds of nature] Proper care for the habitat will not only save many species of birds present in our forests for future generations, but it will also preserve countless numbers of other animals, plants and fungi. [music, sounds of nature]
