A day with a Pygmy Owl

In many respects, autumn is like a second spring. Forests come to life and animals are again very active, after the long and calm summer. They seem to be more numerous and somehow more visible. Some days ago we headed to Trnovski gozd (Trnovo forest) in western Slovenia, where we enjoyed the spectacle of the orange autumn leaves and some interesting wildlife too. One of the most thrilling encounters, that one can hope for in autumn, is with Europe's smallest owl: the Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum. A combination of experience and luck gave us the possibility to spend the day in the company of this interesting species. First I whistled its song, then after some minutes the bird began to call back, so we went looking for it. After a short walk and with quite a surprise, we found the bird sitting in the canopy of a beech tree Fagus sylvatica. It remained there for a long time, not really bothering our presence, so we decided to have lunch under its tree. The bird then changed perches several times, behaving spontaneously, so we could still follow its movements, also because it was clearly indifferent with our presence and allowed a close approach.

Pygmy Owl is a rare mountain owl of conifer and mixed forests, found predominantly in the Alps, but also in the Dinaric mountains. In Trnovski gozd we know a few territories, but finding this species is never easy, so a certain amount of luck is required too. The most typical encounters are those in the last picture, when the bird perches on the top of high conifers and sings. That's how we saw it for the last time, when in the mid afternoon it began singing spontaneously once again, marking its territory.

At first, the Pygmy Owl was perched very high up in a beech canopy and the best views were had from right under the tree.

The surrounding forest looked excellent for a variety of interesting birds, due to its large amount of dead conifer and beech wood. While we were following the owl, we also heard a Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus nearby. The area is most probably a breeding site for both species as we already had them here a couple of times.

This Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus also came to investigate us, while we were busy with the Pygmy Owl. One or two Black Woodpeckers Dryocopus martius were calling not so far away. A truly excellent piece of forest!

Another very interesting find was that of the rare Hericium alpestre (syn. H. flagellum), a saprotrophic fungus, growing in old-growth forests on old silver firs Abies alba (more rarely also on other conifers). There are several species in the genus Hericium and all are known for their medicinal and culinary uses. But we, of course, like to see them on dead trees in their natural habitat!

The commonest bird in mountain forests at this time of year is probably the Crossbill Loxia curvirostra. Noisy flocks of this species fly around the tops of conifers and frequently perch on them. With their characteristic "crossed" bills (visible in the pics) they can easily extract spruce seeds from the cones. Male in the first two pics, female in the last.

Another beautiful, but common fungus in mountain forests is Fomitopsis pinicola, found on the bark of old conifers. Very occasionally it can also grow on deciduous trees. It is perhaps one of the prettiest fungi adorning our forests.

For the end some more beautiful colours of a mixed forest of beech and silver fir (Abieti-Fagetum) in Trnovski gozd. A spectacle worth seeing and enjoying before the leaves are shed.

Autumn in the primeval forest

A few days ago we visited the forests of the Snežnik plateau, which are turning to beautiful autumn colours. We took a walk through the very interesting Snežnik-Ždrocle reserve, an old beech forest on heavily karstified limestone terrain, full of sinkholes, caves and depressions. The area has been recently proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it contains sections of primeval forest. 

Most of the Snežnik-Ždrocle reserve is beech Fagus sylvatica forest with additions of silver fir Abies alba (known as Abieti-Fagetum), but in the depressions where cold air gets trapped, native stands of Norway spruce Picea abies occur as well (more). One of the birds we saw is completely dependant on conifer trees...

As soon as we left the main road and took the path into the forest, Sara had already spotted the above Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, feeding on a dead conifer. It was a beautiful male and we met face to face, some 5 meters close! The observation proved that this part of the forest with its protected reserve certainly suits woodpeckers, even the rare ones.

After a while we arrived to a large forest glade, where we surprised a beautiful Ural Owl Strix uralensis that was hunting in complete daylight. As it frequently happens with this species, the bird was not preoccupied by our presence and continued to hunt from its perch. We watched for several minutes, before it glided into cover.

On the forest floor the colourful Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria caught our attention. This iconic fungus usually grows under the shade of conifers. It is a poisonous species and also because of its beauty, it should be left on the forest floor.

This amazing and very large fungus is Polyporus squamosus, a bracken fungus found in old growth forests. Its favourite host tree in Slovenia is beech Fagus sylvatica. We found at least two of these during our visit to Snežnik-Ždrocle, as well as one during a visit to another forest reserve on Snežnik, about a year ago (see post).

In autumn the forest is full of fungi, but most of them are unfortunately unknown to us. All we can do is admire them in their beauty of colours and shapes and sometimes enjoy in the more characteristic and easy-to-tell species. The last one above is a puffball, probably Lycoperdon perlatum.

The Snežnik-Ždrocle forest reserve is full of fallen and standing rotten trees - a very important element for the feeding and nesting of woodpeckers and other animals. A few pairs of the very rare White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos reside in this forest and take advantage of the high amount of dead beech wood. The large fungi on beech in the above pics are Fomes fomentarius, while the holes in the second pics are feeding signs of Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius.

At the end some views on the autumn forest. Most beech trees are already sporting orange and red colours, while others still have green leaves. Combined with the yellows of sycamores Acer pseudoplatanus and the dark greens of firs and spruces, the colours in the forest look just perfectly balanced. This spectacle won't last for long, so make sure you catch it in time!
Our trip was rounded up in the evening with the observation of at least 8 Red Deers Cervus elaphus on a glade, while the forest resounded with the last stag's rutting.

Bluethroat at Škocjanski zatok

September is an excellent month for bird migration and Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve on the Slovene coast offers good birding opportunites. After several days of rainy weather, yesterday the skies cleared a bit and a northeasterly wind kicked in. So we set for an afternoon visit of Škocjanski zatok, hoping to see a Bluethroat Luscinia svecica - a regular autumn migrant to this area. We were successfull quite soon...

This female Bluethroat Luscinia svecica was feeding at the edge of small reedbed patch, close to the main observation tower. In late August and September this is a quite easy species to see at Škocjanski zatok, as several birds stop on migration at the freshwater marsh. The best technique for spotting this species is scanning the muddy edges of freshly-cut reeds; sooner or later a Bluethroat will appear and feed out in the open for a few seconds, before jumping back into cover. A few years ago we observed up to seven Bluethroats at the reserve.

The same searching technique is also excellent for spotting migrant crakes, feeding at reedbed edges. We were also lucky with that...

This handsome Spotted Crake Porzana porzana was on view for several minutes, not far from the spot where the Bluethroat was feeding. Spotted and Little Crakes P. parva are regular migrants to Škocjanski zatok with September and March being the best months to observe them. In Slovenia both species are rare breeding birds at continental wetlands, for example Cerkniško jezero.

Yesterday at the reserve we also observed a few other migrants, including Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides, Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, Hobby Falco subbuteo, Sand Martin Riparia riparia, Swallow Hirundo rustica and Whinchat Saxicola rubetra. A large flock of Starlings Sturnus vulgaris (+1000) was preparing for the roost in the reserve's reedbed, while a Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus was also of note.

Two views on Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve and its freshwater part. In the first pic the imposing wooden visitor center is obvious. The second pic shows the variety of habitats within a few kilometers from the coast: the wetland of Škocjanski zatok in the very front, the hills of Slovenian Istria, the limestone cliffs on the Karst edge and mount Slavnik in the far back.

WildSlovenia - NEW website

Finally the time has come, for a new, more serious website. After several months of work, WildSlovenia is now live. What about its contents? You can see it by yourself: www.wild-slovenia.com

Don't worry, in the future this blog will continue to do its work, so keep tuned and enjoy the site in the meantime!
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Golden Eagles vs Chamois

A few days ago we had a relaxed raptor-watching session on the grassy plateau of mount Nanos in western Slovenia. Our primary target was checking the local Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos and catching up with some migrants. We succeeded with both. We spotted a family of eagles quite soon as their juvenile was calling loudly. Three birds, male, female and this year's juvenile were together in the sky, flying quite close to our position and giving excellent views. Later as we continued to watch the eagles, the juvenile left their parents and drifted towards a distant rocky hill. We almost thought it will land on a rock, but instead it stopped in mid air a few meters from the ground; underneath there was an angry Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, trying to defy the attack. The Chamois was obviously too big for the eagle and the latter then landed on a nearby tree. After a motionless face to face of several minutes between the two animals, the eagle's parents joined in and the aerial attacks resumed. The Chamois was proudly defending its position and actually scaring off the eagles several times. Perhaps it was trying to defend something we couldn't see... its young hidden in the grass? The dispute went on for several minutes, after the three eagles decided to abandon their target. 

It was an amazing scene... one that we would expect to see only in documentaries! Fortunately we managed to film it, so have a look below (sorry for the shaking and bad quality, but this is pure documentation). If the video doesn't open, watch it here.

After the "attack" we observed the three eagles several more times, but other raptors kept us also entertained. The migrant's highlight was an Osprey Pandion haliaetus, drifting in a straight direction from north-east to south-west, heading towards the sea. The same direction was held also by several migrating Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus (6 in total), a Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus and 3 Common Buzzards Buteo buteo. Two Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus were instead flying north-westwards, to the Alps. On Nanos' rocky summit we also had a fleeting enconuter with a juvenile Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis, while earlier in the day we observed a Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus, perched on a pylon by the motorway.

After the intese rainfalls of the previous days, fungi sprouted all around. The above is the edible Parasol Mushroom Macrolepiota procera, seen commonly on meadows in autumn.

On the botanical front, Satureja subspicata ssp. liburnica is now the most prominent plant of dry karstic meadows in mountainous areas. The similar, but white-fowered Winter Savory Satureja montana is typical of lower altitudes (despite the name!).

Our raptor watching position on Nanos' edge, with the Karst and Gulf of Trieste in the distance. From Nanos one can have the best landscape panorama in the whole of Slovenia. Most of western Slovenia, northwest Croatia and northeast Italy is visible in clear and windy weather.

In Brown Bear's kingdom

Autumn is an excellent time for mammal watching on forest glades. A few days ago we set for a good location on the western slopes of the Snežnik plateau, to try our luck with the Brown Bear Ursus arctos. We chose an elevated point overlooking some open grassland, that Bears like to cross in the evenings. Soon after the sun set, we were lucky as we spotted a large Bear. It was a brief encounter, perhaps only half a minute long, while the animal trotted over a grassy slope, before disappearing in the vegetation. However it was on view long enough to catch it briefly in the scope and also take some pictures. 

Bears are mostly nocturnal animals and individuals that usually venture out at twilight are young or immatures, trying to avoid the older and more agressive individuals; the latter being very wary and only wandering around in pitch darkness.

Open grassy areas bordering the Snežnik forests offer great opportunities for mammal watching as many animals come out of the forest to feed at dusk. The Snežnik forests are home to a strong Brown Bear population, as well as a few packs of Wolves Canis lupus and the only few remaining Lynx Lynx lynx in Slovenia.

When darkness came, we started to hear the first rutting Red Deer Cervus elaphus - their mating season has begun! During the evening we observed several other mammals, including Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus, Brown Hare Lepus europaeus and Fox Vulpes vulpes, while birds included a Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus and a Scops Owl Otus scops hunting by the road.

A nice full moon made a few brief appearances in the cloudy sky. Animals are usually more active during full moon nights. Although we didn't hear any forest owls, we know by experience that such nights are the best for wildlife observation in the Dinaric forests.

Earlier in the afternoon we also observed two female Black Woodpeckers Dryocopus martius feeding on a large pile of black pine logs. The trees were visibly ill and obviously still very attractive to the woodpeckers. There's currently a large disease (bark beetle or something) affecting most of the black pines in the Karst and woodpeckers are clearly taking advantage of it. This is quite great as black pines were actually introduced to the Karst in the 19th century.

Allium ericetorum (syn. A. ochroleucum) is a common species of leek on dry karstic grasslands. It is typical of the autumn and at this time of year one of the few flowering plants on grasslands. Its pinkish counterpart, Allium senescens (syn. A. montanum) is also common at the moment.