Into the wild

Red Deer Cervus elaphus (dominant stag & doe), 
Snežnik, September 2016 (first pic by Sara Cernich).

Red Deer Cervus elaphus (group of does & fawn), 
Snežnik, September 2016.

Red Deer Cervus elaphus (stag chasing females in the mist), 
Snežnik, September 2016.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, 
Snežnik, September 2016.

Red Deer rutting season in Slovenia has reached the climax in the past week. During some recent visits to the Snežnik forests I could fully enjoy this spectacle from a close distance. A Red Deer Cervus elaphus stag (male) in particular was very photogenic (above) when it was trying to impress the does (females) on a forest glade in the evening. Quite a lot of rutting and chasing around was going on till darkness, when 2-3 BROWN BEARS Ursus arctos joined the show and visited the glade for feeding. The light was too poor for taking any photos, but views were quite mystic in the fading light and the soft foggy layer on the glade made the scenes even more spectacular. Earlier in the afternoon 2 Ural Owls Strix uralensis were spotted in the forest, while hunting in an open beech stand. Mammal supporting cast included: Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Fox Vulpes vulpes, Edible Dormouse Glis glis, Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus, Beech Marten Martes foina & Brown Hare Lepus europaeus, while interesting birds were Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius and Tawny Owl Strix aluco. Increasing numbers of Jays Garrulus glandarius gathering acorns, indicate that autumn is in full swing. Have a good one!

Forest life

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Bark beetle Ips typographus, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.
Note the "channels" or galleries carved into the bark.

The work of a Black Woodpecker on the forest floor under a dead spruce. 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Norway spruce Picea abies hit by the bark beetle, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Black Woodpecker's feeding signs, 
Trnovski gozd, 4th September 2016.

Lichens in a spruce forest, 
Trnovski gozd, 4th September 2016.

Colchicum autumnale, 
Trnovski gozd, 4th September 2016. 
Common autumn flower on meadows and forest clearings.

Brown Bear's Ursus arctos claw marks on a spruce, 
Trnovski gozd, 4th September 2016.

Fox Vulpes vulpes, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus, 
Karst/Notranjska border, 19th September 2016.

Recently I've spent some time in various forests not far from the Karst. Yesterday evening was particularly interesting - I had up to 4 Ural Owls Strix uralensis on a forest track somewhere between the Karst and the Notranjska region. Two were showing close by (pic above), but I had not enough light for proper pics. Red Deer Cervus elaphus rutting season has now begun, so several stags were heard too, along with a Tawny Owl Strix aluco and the quintessential "chorus" of squeaking Edible Dormice Glis glis (a very good year for them!). In the afternoon I also investigated a small stand of conifers infected by the bark beetle Ips typographus and spent quite some time before spotting the tiny beetles, carved into the bark (more here). Overhead, on the dying spruces 4 Black Woodpeckers Dryocopus martius were exploiting the food abundance by hammering at the bark. 

A Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus was a nice bonus on the road to the forest. It was hunting on an area of open grassland, close to where a breeding pair is known to be present.

On a recent evening trip to Trnovski gozd (Trnovo forest) I enjoyed dusk by a forest glade with a singing Ural Owl Strix uralensis, 1 Tengmalm's Owl Aegolius funereus and a Nutckracker Nucifraga caryocatactes.

Predatory Bush Cricket & autumn orchid

Predatory Bush Cricket Saga pedo on Eryngium amethystinum, Trieste Karst, 13th September 2016. This 10-12 cm long grasshopper from the Tettigoniidae family is a rare species of dry karstic grassland. As it feeds on other grasshoppers and insects, it favours areas with low grass vegetation where it can hunt them more efficently. Such areas are becoming increasingly rare on the Karst (land abandonmed and overgrowing), therefore the species' rarity. Saga pedo is listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN and is protected by EU's Habitats Directive. Although I wander quite a lot around the Karst, I've only seen it twice before in my life. Thanks to Paul Tout for the tips and to Peter McGrath (the finder of this specimen).

Mantis religiosa on Eryngium amethystinum, Trieste Karst, 13th September 2016. One of these (common insects) was on the Saga pedo's menu a few days ago - see the photo selection in this forum (pics taken at the same location as mine).

Spiranthes spiralis, Trieste Karst, 13th September 2016. This amazing little orchid is the last representative of the orchid family to bloom (in Slovenia from late August to September/October). On the Karst is quite scarce and favours dry meadows and grazed grassland with short turf.