Wednesday, May 08, 2019

πŸ“– BIRDING CROATIA 2019 πŸ‡­πŸ‡· ~ DAY 3

Day 3 ⛅️19Wednesday 8th May 2019 ~ I was up around 6am today but with the house-owner dropping wood chip off for the heating around 7am I decided to forego my morning walk and catch up on some blogging. It was a beautiful if not chilly morning with no wind and a clear blue sky.

Black-eared Wheater ~ A great start to my day.
After the owner departed I decided to have a coffee and some toast on the terrace. As I was pouring the coffee you can imagine my surprise when I heard a Black-eared Wheatear, best described as a speeded-up Whitethroat singing right outside the door! It was literally perched in the tree yards away, the above photo was taken from the doorway.

Waterfalls at Roski slap ~ Part of Krka National Park
After yesterdays epic sightseeing event we decided to stay closer to home today and drove the relatively short distance, just 20kms to Roski Slap Waterfalls and Krka River. The waterfalls are stunning and a range of high cliffs protrude all around. We took the 8km walk (sadly not circular) which skirts the lake and the many reedbeds and woodland. There were several Great Reed Warblers, their gruff, croaking voice echoing all around the reeds. Nightingales, Golden Orioles and Turtle Doves could be heard regularly during the walk. However, the highlight of the day came when we were alerted to a presumed Sparrowhawk harassing a Raven, which was obviously nesting nearby. The observation was difficult at first as the birds were high and almost in direct sunlight but this bird appeared more falcon-like! Thankfully as the bird turned away black wing tips were clearly evident and the tail markings rather sparse as the bird dropped rapidly I was positive this was, in fact, a Levant Sparrowhawk, which nests in this region of the National Park.


Southern White Admiral
It wasn't all about the birds today with Lizards scurrying around the undergrowth and many Butterflies and Dragonflies on the wing in the now warm sunshine.


Photos of the Day...

Dalmatian Wall Lizard

Scarce Chaser ~ Common around the river today.


Black-eared Wheatear ~ Another from this morning 
Red-backed Shrike


Cuckoos back at the house ~ Never quite mated but close!
Golden Oriole ~ A nightmare to photograph but Dazza did well

A Timely reminder when walking the scrubland that its only two decades ago this country was a war!


Notable Species Seen...

Goosander, Great Cormorant, Pygmy Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Short-toed Eagle, Black Kite, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Honey Buzzard, Levant Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Spotted Crake, Yellow-legged Gull, Rock Dove, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, Cuckoo, Common Swift, Hoopoe, Bee-Eater, Woodlark, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Crag Martin, House Martin, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Nightingale, Black-eared Wheatear, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler, Eastern Bonelli's Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Jay, Red-backed Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Hooded Crow, Raven, Golden Oriole, Chaffinch, Linnet Serin, Cirl Bunting.