Is it worth waking up early for birdwatching?
Short answer: Yes.
I hate group trips. First, there seem always to be different expectations on what to do and when, ironically often combined with frowning upon the suggestion to split the group. Second, with groups with age gaps, there’s a difference in who can afford what, and splitting the grocery bill equally may not be the best solution for those who wouldn’t ever put those items in their shopping carts.
Going to Warta Mouth National Park, even on a group trip, I had a specific plan of how my trip was going to look like. I rented a car to be independent transport-wise and researched nearby places with open water that I wouldn’t be anxious to visit in the dark — and “in the dark” meant an hour before sunrise. At that point in time most animals like birds and frogs start to be active. The trip took place during the summer solstice, so the worst time for birdwatching sleep-wise, as it required me to wake up at 2:00 am.
When my partner heard about the waking time, they were reasonably upset — even with minimal noise and light, there still will be some disturbance caused by sneaking out with an audio recorder, binoculars, and all other stuff in the middle of the night. And there was also the question of being able to participate in the group outings, planned for a more reasonable hour. So on the first day, I went birdwatching alone.
