WILD 2017 in SLOVENIA

The time has come for the traditional yearly review of our best wildlife encounters in 2017. In this final post there is as usual a selection of plants and birds, but also butterflies - our new summer addiction! Among other things, at the beginning of 2017 we spent two months in Romania (highlights at Wild Delta Experience), while in the autumn we launched our long-term project - the WildSlovenia website. It was an important and decisive year indeed!
More exciting wildlife to come in 2018, so stay tuned and enjoy the pics! ;-)

Footprint of Lynx Lynx lynx in the snow; Mt Snežnik, January.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos; Javorniki Mts, April.
We found this female by sound and discovered it was excavating a nest-hole.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, Javorniki Mts, April.

Fritillaria orientalis; Karst, April.

Orchis pallens; Karst, April.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius; Karst, May.
Sara found the species' first nest of the Karst. Watch the video.

Paeonia officinalis; Karst, May.

Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus; Karst, May.

Neotinea ustulata; Karst, May.

Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria; Pivka temporary lakes, May.

Iris sibirica; Nanoščica river basin, May.

Lady's-slippers Cypripedium calceolus; Kamnik-Savinja Alps, May. 

The most exciting find of 2017!

Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis; Mt Nanos, May.

Watching Rock Thrush on the rocky slopes of Nanos in May.

Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia; Mt Nanos, May.

Woodland Brown Lopinga achine; Mt Slivnica, June.

Scarce Fritillary Euphydryas maturna; Mt Slivnica, June.

Purple-edged Copper Lycaena hippothoe; Mt Slivnica, June.

Clouded Apollo Parnassius mnemosyne; Mt Slivnica, June.

Field naturalist, always ready for the job: from birds to butterflies!

Nigritella lithopolitanica; Kamnik-Savinja Alps, June.

Lilium martagon; Trnovski gozd, June.

Lilium carniolicum; Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, June.

Black Storks Ciconia nigra; Ilirska Bistrica, July.

Stag Beetle Lucanus cervus; Karst, July.

This summer's largest Stag Beetle, climbing the house's wall to take off.

Lesser Grey Shrikes Lanius minor; Vipava valley, July.

Eagle Owl Bubo bubo; Karst edge in northeast Italy, July.

Echinops ritro ssp. ruthenicus; Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, July.

Gentiana lutea; Southern edge of Trnovski gozd, July.

Scarce Large Blue Phengaris teleius; Ilirska Bistrica, July.

Alpine Marmot Marmota marmota; Mt Črna prst, July.

Our new alpine cottage! :-)

Gentiana pannonica; Pokljuka plateau (Triglav National Park), August.

Peričnik waterfall (Triglav National Park), August.

Adder Vipera berus; Triglav National Park, August.

Alpine Ibex Capra ibex; Montasio plateau (northeast Italy), August.

Linaria alpina; Montasio plateau (northeast Italy), August.

Jersey Tiger Euplagia quadripunctaria & Silver-washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia; Triglav National Park, August.

Alpine Eryngo Eryngium alpinum; Mt Črna prst (Triglav National Park), August.
One of the most exciting and rare plants we've seen this year.

Large Copper Lycaena dispar; Nanoščica river basin, August.

Bluethroat Luscinia svecica; Škocjanski zatok, September.

Brown Bear Ursus arctos; Snežnik plateau, September.

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos; Mt Nanos, September.
We witnessed an attack to an Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra - watch the video.

 Autumn Lady's-tresses Spiranthes spiralis; Karst, September.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus; Snežnik forests, October.

This is how we photograph Three-toed Woodpeckers!

 Autumn colours in the Dinaric mountains (Snežnik), October.

Polyporus squamosus; Snežnik forests, October.

Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum; Snežnik forests, October. Watch the video.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis; Javorniki mountains, October.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos; Snežnik forests, October.

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris; Mt Snežnik, October.

Paul enjoying the sun on Mt Snežnik, October.

Dipper Cinclus cinclus; Planinsko polje, November.

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria; Predjama, November. 

Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus; Bloško polje, November.

Bittern Botaurus stellaris; Škocjanski zatok, December.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius; Karst, December.

Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris; Snežnik forests, December.

Snowshoeing in the Snežnik forests, December.

Happy new year, see you in 2018!

Snowy Karst

In the past two weeks or so, we haven't been much in the field, except for a few walks on the snow-covered Karst. In fact the weather has been mostly unfavourable with rain, snow and strong winds. Forests in some areas of central, southern and northern Slovenia have suffered greatly from wind storms combined with heavy snow. Large amounts of trees have been severely affected and the damage to Slovenian forests is comparable to that of the ice storm in 2014. Nevertheless the situation in western Slovenia was calmer and one snowfall after the other made the countryside look truly wintry. Here is some of the wildlife we encountered recently with a few photos of the snowy countryside:

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius - 2 different birds observed near Postojna.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor - male.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, using an "anvil" to hammer a spruce cone and feed on the seeds.

Marsh Tit Poecile palustris

 

 Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus

 

Yellow-berried Mistletoe Loranthus europaeus - parasite on oak trees, with beautiful yellow berries that ripe in winter and adorn the grey canopies of broadleaved woodlands.

Track of Badger Meles meles, close to a sett.

Tracks of Red Deer Cervus elaphus

 

Up to 10-15 cm of snow have fallen in the inner part of the Karst. The strong winds on mount Nanos (last pic) usually sweep away most of the snow.

 

 

The master of reeds

Winter has arrived at last. Birds in the countryside are increasingly scarce and wetlands offer greater chances to see a wide variety of wildlife. Yesterday afternoon we visited Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve on the coast - a prime wetland site in southwestern Slovenia. The main attraction there (and our main target) was the above Bittern Botaurus stellaris. It was trying to avoid detection by moving slowly at the edge of a reedbed, but our sharp eyesight was simply too efficent :) Actually you can just see (last pic) how difficult it can be to spot such a well-camouflaged bird in its natural habitat. 

Only a few pairs of Bittern breed in Slovenia, mostly at Cerkniško jezero, where in spring they can be commonly heard booming. The species is slightly commoner in winter and on migration when it can be observed at different wetland sites. Škocjanski zatok is a regular wintering area for one or two birds. The newly-constructed observation tower at this nature reserve helps a lot with spotting the birds, especially those hiding over large patches of reedbed.

Other interesting birds at the reserve included a drake Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, 2 Greylag Geese Anser anser (scarce winter species), Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti, Water Rail Rallus aquaticus and Gadwall Anas strepera. In recent years the reserve has also become a regular wintering site for Bearded Tits Panurus biarmicus - those will be the target for the next visit!