Poland, Biebrzanski Park Narodowy 2019

Sometimes people ask, “isn’t that boring, going to the same destination every time”? Or, ……… “haven’t you seen everything yet”? No, apparently not. Otherwise we would not undertake that long drive every year. If you feel hundred percent at home somewhere, it won’t bore you.
Also this year our friend Jan Chóinski took us to a new place, just somewhere between the fields and grasslands. Through all kinds of inner roads we suddenly stood there on the edge of a beautiful piece of nature. A high-living peat bog, with even the “Natura 2000” status. Natura 2000 areas are nature reserves were you can find nature with special value. However, no signs “prohibited access” or a barbed wire barrier. Not even a sign, “nature reserve”!
And it was beautiful, despite the fact that the drought was also clearly visible over here. In many places there was Common snake root (Calla palustris)growing, Sundew and Labrador Tea. An ideal location for a good search for caterpillars. In the end, this is another special habitat, with possibly new species of (night) butterflies that occur here. Soon we had a hit. A light green caterpillar was found in the berry bushes. The search for it’s name did not take much time and it turned out to be a species that, as far as I can tell, had not been reported in Poland before. When Jan also came up with an extremely hairy specimen (Acronicta leporina), the visit was already successful. The intention is to visit this pearl of nature much more often.
The rest of the holiday also yielded special observations, a sign that there is still much to discover. Worth mentioning is the discovery of a Raspberry Glass Butterfly, a very rare species for the country. These currants make it extra fun, but it is the enormous diversity that makes us continue to visit the Biebrza area for the time being. In addition, seeing our friends and acquaintances again adds to the overall picture why we call this place our second home.