Academy of Nature in Roztocze
The best experience with the Academy of Nature in Roztocze
A passion for birdwatching combined with an excellent knowledge of the terrain ensures an exciting experience every morning. Active rest in the fresh air in a group of several people is an opportunity to establish mutual relations and get to know the unique nature of Roztocze.
RegisterEnjoy bird watching with the Academy of Nature in Roztocze
Bird watching in the morning is a real emotion and positive energy for the whole day. Birdwatching combined with cycling gives wings to the mind and body. This elite hobby is achievable for all of us.
Upcoming expeditions
We offer trips Bird & Bike and Bird & Car, which provide observations of the most interesting species of birds living in Roztocze. The offer is constantly modified and takes into account changes in the number of individual bird species related to their biology and current environmental conditions.
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
Bird spring in Roztocze 12.05
News from Roztocze
Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
Jay (Garrulus glandarius) - a watchful and timid bird known to all. He can warn other animals of impending danger. In autumn, she eats a lot of acorns and hides a lot of them in various places in the forest, stocking up for the winter - hence the long name of the acorn. However, not all acorns are found by jays in winter and young trees sprout from them in spring. This is how jays plant valuable oak forests and create mixed forests. Now is an opportunity to observe these cunning raven birds.
Great Spotted Woodpecker(Dendrocopos major)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) - is one of the ten most common woodpeckers in Poland. It lives in forest areas, parks and gardens, and often visits feeders in winter. Its menu consists of insect larvae and seeds of conifers. The great woodpecker has also been observed eating ants, as has the green woodpecker. He does not despise nuts, which he cleaves efficiently in a prepared forge. This omnivorous predator sometimes eats bird eggs or chicks. Its strong beak and efficient movement through trees enable it to forge a new hollow in a living tree each year when it breeds. The used hollows left by the great woodpeckers constitute breeding places for other birds, therefore the great woodpecker is a key species for the existence of other species in the environment.
Shameless stinker (Phallus impudicus)
Mushrooms accompany us every day all year round and are everywhere. Sometimes we are happy to use their benefits (e.g. yeast) or fight their effects (e.g. mycoses, gray mold), but we most willingly collect edible mushroom fruiting bodies in the fall. How do mushrooms spread? - mainly by spores, which produce enormous amounts in favorable climatic conditions. One of the interesting ways of dispersing spores uses the phallus impudicus. Young fruiting bodies of this mushroom are spherical - so-called "devil's eggs". On the other hand, the mature white stalk with the cone-shaped cap is covered with black-olive mucus on which flies and even snails accumulate. Why is this happening? Well, this fungus gives off a very strong carcass-like odor that attracts numerous insects, and they eat and spread the spores of this fungus. The disgusting smell can already be felt when you are several dozen meters from the place where the fruiting body of the shameless stinkhorn is ripening. This and other interesting species of mushrooms can now be observed in Roztocze during walks and bicycle trips.
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
The Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is one of the four flycatchers found in Poland (apart from the Spotted Flycatcher, the white-necked flycatcher and the small flycatcher). It lives on the edge of forests, glades, parks, gardens and orchards. Its species name fully reflects its characteristic features. It is gray-brown on the back, lighter - dirty white on the belly, has a lineed forehead, short black legs and a dark beak with a wider base that makes it easier to catch any insects. It is a bird that catches flies - it hunts insects. It lurks on them on a branch or other exposed observation point, then it chases them in the air, sometimes it flies up and then dives down. The observation of a hunting gray flycatcher is an extraordinary experience. This bird is our natural ally in the fight against biting insects in the summer. Let us invite gray flycatchers to our parks, gardens and farms by hanging half-open nesting boxes. Such booths are best placed on the walls of buildings, under the eaves of the roof, so that potential predators (marten, cats) would not have access to them.