One thing that keeps getting reinforced in my stubborn brain is that the more hype there is about a particular birding spot, the less likely I am to find birds there. And the more it happens, the less enthusiasm I have for carrying longer glass, even the 70-300mm zoom I have with me now.

After finding a few of my avian friends in a city park the other day, including a first-timer Great Spotted Woodpecker, I was amenable to trying a “can’t miss” spot on the outside of the city, Ptasi Raj (“Bird Paradise”) Reserve, which claims an incredible 200 species.

It comprises a triangular area bordered by an inlet, the Gdansk Bay, and a forest of largely pine and alder. The initial walk was a seven kilometer return under mosquito-filled forest canopy. I saw but two (very common) birds.

A good lunch and a nice rest parkside buoyed my spirits to try the other direction, which included the purported highlight of the “paradise,” a long breakwater along the inlet with a lagoon on the inside. After half a kilometer, I arrived to find the breakwater fenced off and closed.

While flocks of birds could be seen flying across the wetland reeds around 300-400 meters away, and a couple of raptors soared at about the same distance, there was no access whatsoever to these areas. A few swans in the lagoon were the only critter friends I could even identify.

I don’t mind a wild goose chase if there happens to be a goose somewhere along the way. But today’s outing seemed much more like a snipe hunt. Prior to the park outing the other day, I hadn’t shot longer than 90mm for the previous two weeks.

And that looks like a trend that’ll continue. You can’t shoot what’s not there.

SL2/Lumix S 70-300mm . . .