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| Hoopoe Upupa epops (juvenile), Karst near Trieste, 24th July 2016. Quite frequent (but still declining) bird in the Karst, inhabiting mostly dry stony grassland and pastures. |
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| Eryngium amethystinum, Slovenian Karst, 18th July 2016. The most typical late-summer flower on stony karstic meadows. |
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| Digitalis laevigata, Slovenian Karst, 18th July 2016. Scarce plant found only in some parts of the Karst. In the area of Divača I found it growing quite commonly. |
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| Spiranthes aestivalis, Bloško polje, 22nd July 2016. Very rare orchid species in Slovenia, only found on Bloško polje - a wetland area with a meandering river in the Notranjska region. |
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| Epipactis palustris, Bloško polje, 22nd July 2016. Beautiful summer orchid of wet meadows and damp forests. |
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| Cuckoo Cuculus canorus (juvenile), Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. |
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| Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Habitat of the Apollo butterfly Parnassius apollo, which has a small and isolated population on these rocky slopes. Most of the Slovene population of this endangered and declining butterfly is found in the Julian Alps. |
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| Sedum album, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Feeding plant for caterpillars of Apollo Parnassius apollo. |
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| Sempervivum tectorum, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Very common, but always attractive plant of rocky limestone habitats all over the Karst. |
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| Zygaena carniolica (or similar), Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. |
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| Satyrus ferula - female (left) & male (right), Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Rare butterfly of dry rocky grassland of the High Karst in western Slovenia. |
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| Argynnis aglaja, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Very common, together with A. paphia. |
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| Gentiana lutea ssp. symphyandra, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. A typical plant of High Karst meadows, found on sunny, grassy slopes. Nowadays it's not as common as it used to be. |
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| Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. Grassy pastures are confined to the very edge of the limestone plateau. The Golaki mountains (in the Trnovo forest) are standing in the back. |
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| Epipactis atrorubens, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. |
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| Otliško okno (Otlica "window"), Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. A natural "window" between two massive limestone blocks, through which you can enjoy spectacular views over the Vipava valley. |
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| Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, 19th July 2016. A nest with two chicks (just about to leave) is present in one of the cliffs above the Vipava valley. Amazing to see one of the parents bringing a prey into the nest and feeding the chicks. Later also perched in full view on a nearby tree. |
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| Fomitopsis pinicola, Menišija plateau, 22nd July 2016. Forest fungi growing on conifers. |
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| Fomes fomentarius, Menišija plateau, 22nd July 2016. In Slovenia, a common fungi found on old and decaying beech trees Fagus sylvatica. |
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| Fungus sp. Menišija plateau, 22nd July 2016. |
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| Entrance to Grotta Azzurra/Pečina na Leskovcih, Trieste Karst, 15th July 2016. |
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| Troglophilus neglecta, Grotta Azzurra/Pečina na Leskovcih, Trieste Karst, 15th July 2016. Common cave grasshopper. In Slovenia, also T. cavicola is present. |
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| Natural entrance and stalactites at Torri di Slivia cave (Pejca v Lascu), Trieste Karst, 20th July 2016. A nice, small cave, close to Trieste, which in terms of cave phenomena and beauty is comparable to the more famous Postojna, Grotta Gigante, Škocjanske jame ect. |
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| "Curtain" stalactites in Torri di Slivia cave (Pejca v Lascu), Trieste Karst, 20th July 2016. |
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| Mighty stalagmites & stalactites at Torri di Slivia cave (Pejca v Lascu), Trieste Karst, 20th July 2016. |
Recently I've been around various places in western Slovenia and also locally on the Karst, visiting some caves - excellent places where to escape during the summer heat! Hope to visit some more in the coming months and see some interesting cave animals.
My main obsession at the moment is seeing this. Tried a few places in the past weeks, but unsuccessfully. Hope to catch up with one of these amazing and rare Natura 2000 beetles soon!
