In the Ojcow National Park, you will find a beautiful blue Kingfisher, interesting species of Woodpeckers (white-backed and grey-headed), as well as White-throated Dipper over the rushing mountain streams. Very rare Wallcreepers live on the rocks in the Babia Góra National Park, while at night, you can hear the sound of the largest owl in Poland: the Eurasian Eagle-owl. The Gorczański National Park is home to species that do not like people’s presence, i.e. Black Stork and Western Capercaillie. On the rocks in the Pieniny National Park, you can find Wallcreepers, while sometimes you can spot a bird of prey, the Lesser Spotted Eagle. In the Polish Tatra Mountains lives a very unique and amazing bird of prey, the Golden Eagle, and from time to time, the place is visited by the fastest bird in the world, i.e. Peregrine falcon. The Magurski National Park in the Low Beskids is home to the Golden Eagle and the Lesser Spotted Eagle, as well as the smallest of Polish owls: the Eurasian Pygmy-owl. You can also watch birds in large wood complexes, among which the most interesting is the Niepołomice Forest. You can find Black Storks and Collared Flycatchers here. Birds can also be admired in the vicinity of fish ponds, e.g. in the Skawa and Vistula valley near Spytkowice. You can find many water species here, such as: Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Bittern, Little Bitterns, Greylag Goose, a few species of Terns, and the very rare Black-crowned Night Heron. The large water reservoirs in Dobczyce, Rożnów, Czorsztyn and Klimkówka are also worth visiting, particularly during bird passages (Mar-May and Aug-Oct). The best season for bird watching is the early spring. At this time of year watching is not disturbed by leaves on trees and bushes, and it is an opportunity to spot a few rare migratory species that do not settle in Małopolska.

Ornithological trips in the summer and spring periods: Małopolska Ornithology Society (www.mto-kr.pl); nature excursions with bird watching: “Bird Service” Nature and Active Tourism Office (www.bird.pl). Information on birds watching: www.ptaki.dobczyce.pl (information about birds of the Dobczyckie Lake), www.czaplon.most.org.pl (information on Herons and other water and marsh birds of the Upper Vistula Valley), www.carpatica.org (information on bird migration in the Carpathian Mountains).