WILD 2018 in SLOVENIA

Another year is coming to an end, so it's time to summarise our best wildlife moments of 2018. In spring and part of the autumn we've been busy guiding tours for different companies like Naturetrek, Honeyguide and Wildlife Worldwide, as well as local tour operators. In winter, spring and part of late summer we also carried out several censuses and bird monitorings for DOPPS-BirdLife Slovenia, as usual. In summer we concentrated mostly on butterflies, looking for species we haven't seen yet and added many lifers. However we also enjoyed in the usual botanising and birding, as well as the underwater wildlife of the Adriatic sea. 2018 has been a very successful year for Brown Bear observations: we have seen a total of 16 different bears this year, 9 of which were from bear-watching hides, while the other 7 were found by chance in the forest and were perhaps even more thrilling than those seen from the hides! Even more amazing was an extremely rare sighting of a Wolf in April, ranking among the major highlights of our entire life so far! This year we've been lucky to spend quite a lot of time in our favourite environment (forest), tracking, studying and showing to our guests iconic species such as Ural Owl and Three-toed Woodpecker.
The selection is arranged in chronological order and includes wildlife observed in Slovenia, except for a few pics that we took in nearby Trieste (Italy) or in Croatia. Somehow the photo selection seems to be getting longer every year... :-) Nevertheless, enjoy!

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria, Karst edge, January.  
Watch the video.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, wintering in the Karst near Sežana, January. 
A local rarity.

Eagle Owl Bubo bubo, Karst edge, March.

Dog's-tooth Violet Erythronium dens-canis, Karst, March.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius, Karst, March. 
Our traditional spring census revealed 5 new territories at new locations 
in western Slovenia, where the species is scarce and localised.

Red-necked Grebes Podiceps grisegena courting at lake Cerknica, April.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis (dark morph), Loški Potok, April. 
We observed this cooperative bird several times from the beginning to the end of April, as it used a very small hunting area. We also documented one of its successful hunts (top pic).

Brown Bear Ursus arctos, Loški Potok, April. 
This year we were lucky to escort several visitors to bear-watching hides 
and thus we enjoyed several close encounters with Slovenia's most charismatic animal.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, Loška dolina, April. 
A new bird discovered at a new location during a census.

Common Crane Grus grus, Planinsko polje, April.

Wolf Canis lupus (photo by Alberto Nevola), Cerkniško jezero, April. 
This truly mega encounter was certainly one of the most exciting of the whole year! We observed the wolf in complete daylight on the last day of our Wild Slovenia tour to the Notranjska region, while the group was returning home after 4 days packed with the very best of Slovenian wildlife.

Brown Bear Ursus arctos, Javorniki mountains, April. 
This cooperative male bear, observed at the side of a forest road
was one of the 3 bears seen during our Wild Slovenia tour.

Wildcat Felis silvestris, Loški Potok, April. 
Another excellent find during our Wild Slovenia tour to the Notranjska region.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos, Snežnik, April. 
This male was observed during our Wild Slovenia tour.

Enjoying a Ural Owl Strix uralensis in the Javorniki-Snežnik forests 
during our Wild Slovenia tour in April.

Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia, Karst, May. 
Marking the start of the "fritillary season" and the butterfly season in general.

Wild Peony Paeonia officinalis, Karst, May.

Eastern Stone Grasshopper Prionotropis hystrix, Karst edge, May. 
An Illyrian endemic grasshopper of sub-Mediterranean dry grasslands.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Loška dolina, May.  
Watch the video.

Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis, mount Snežnik, May. 
A rare breeding bird in mountain Dinaric forests.

A patch of old-growth forest on the northern slopes of mount Snežnik, where during two visits in May we observed all the main Slovenian forest specialities including Brown Bear, Ural Owl, Three-toed and White-backed Woodpecker, as well as Collared Flycatcher.

Brown Bear Ursus arctos, Loški Potok, May. 
One of the 9 bears observed from the hides during the Brown Bear Weekend 
organised by Wildlife Worldwide for the readers of BBC Wildlife Magazine.

Summer Bolete Boletus aestivalis (B. reticulatus), Javorniki mountains, May.

Birding in the Dinaric forests during the Brown Bear Weekend in May.

Photographing White Storks Ciconia ciconia at lake Cerknica  
during the Brown Bear Weekend in May.

Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, Karst, May. 
Watch the video.

Carniolan Lily Lilium carniolicum, mount Nanos, May.

Rock Thrush Monticola saxatilis, mount Nanos, May.

Clouded Apollo Parnassius mnemosyne, mount Nanos, May.

Kojnik's Iris Iris sibirica ssp. erirrhiza, mount Nanos, June.

In early June we took around our friend Peter on a two-day general wildlife tour to southern and western Slovenia. We explored a wide variety of habitats and enjoyed mostly butterflies, plants as well as Ural Owl and a few other breeding birds.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Loška dolina, June. 
An adult male close to its nest-box which has been 
successfully occupied earlier in the season.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, Javorniki mountains, June. 
After an extensive search we discovered this nest in late May and kept an eye on it until mid June. We also accompanied several small groups to see it; the guests could watch these fantastic and rare birds from a safety distance with the aim of telescopes.

Poplar Admiral Limenitis populi, Snežnik forests, June. 
This rare species is Slovenia's largest butterfly and was certainly the butterfly highlight of the year!
We saw at least two during the Naturetrek's Wild Slovenia tour in June.

Owlfly Libelloides macaronius, Karst, June. 
A common species of Karst meadows observed during
Naturetrek's Wild Slovenia tour.

Yellow Daylily Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus, Iška river, June. 
One of the plant highlights during Naturetrek's Wild Slovenia tour.

Paul in front of a stand of Scopolia carniolica on mount Slivnica, 
giving a history lesson about J.A. Scopoli to the Naturetrek group 
during the Wild Slovenia tour in June.

Naturetrek group at lake Cerknica during the Wild Slovenia tour in June.

In June we also took some time off and went canoeing on lake Cerknica, 
enjoying the freshwater wildlife, especially all the amphibious plants.

Purple Emperor Apatura iris, Rakov Škocjan, June.

Mountain pic-nic for the group during Naturetrek's Julian Alps botanical tour in June.

Carniolan Lily Lilium carniolicum, Soriška planina, June. 
One of the plant highlights during Naturetrek's Julian Alps tour.

Yellow Bellflower Campanula thyrsoides, Soriška planina, June. 
During Naturetrek's Julian Alps tour.

Red Vanilla Orchid Nigritella rubra (N. miniata), 
Pokljuka plateau (Triglav National Park), June.
During Naturetrek's Julian Alps tour.

Zois' Bellflower Campanula zoysii, Vrata valley (Triglav National Park), June.
One of the most interesting finds during Naturetrek's Julian Alps botanical tour.

Scarce Copper Lycaena virgaureae, Mostnica (Triglav National Park), June. 
The butterfly highlight during Naturetrek's Julian Alps tour.

Female Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus (photo by Peter Burgess) walking a forest road on the Pokljuka plateau (Triglav National Park), during Naturetrek's Julian Alps tour in June. Unfortunately this bird was seen only by the few lucky participants sitting in the front van.

Naturetrek's botanical group enjoying the tiny Lesser Twayblade Listera cordata 
in the forests of Pokljuka in June.

Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Vipava valley, July. 
Despite the very small size of the Slovenian breeding population, 
the colony in the Vipava valley seems to be doing well. 
This summer we observed several fledged juveniles.

Chasing butterflies in the dry grasslands 
at the southern edge of Trnovski gozd in July.

Styrian Ringlet Erebia stirius, southern edge of Trnovski gozd, July. 
A rather localised mountain butterfly of the South-eastern Alps.

Queen of Spain Fritillary Issoria lathonia in our garden in the Karst, July.

Apollo Parnassius apollo, southern edge of Trnovski gozd, July. 
After several fruitless visitis this and the previous summer, 
we finally found a site where we observed up to 7 
of these charismatic and very rare butterflies.

We must've seen +20 "Beech Longhorn Beetles" Morimus funereus this summer,
while on a quest to find its rarer cousin - the Rosalia Longicorn Rosalia alpina.

In July we also went on a sea & wildlife holiday to Croatia, 
where we observed, among others, several Rock Nuthatches Sitta neumayer.  
See here the complete report.

Queen of the Alps or Alpyne Eryngo Eryngium alpinum, mount Črna prst, August. 
A summer visit to the queen of all alpine plants has become traditional in recent years. 
The species is extremely rare in Slovenia and grows only on a handful of mountains.

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos with a Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus in the talons, 
on mount Nanos in August (see here for complete account on this extraordinary sighting).

Dryad Minois dryas on Amethyst Eryngo Eryngium amethystinum, Karst, August. 
Both the butterfly and the plant are characteristic sights of late summer in the Karst.

Lorkovič's Brassy Ringlet Erebia calcaria on  
Edelweiss Leontopodium alpinum, mount Vogel, August. 
This butterfly is endemic of the Julian Alps & 
Karavanke of NW Slovenia and the Alps of NE Italy.

Zois' Bellflower Campanula zoysii, mount Vogel, August. 
Endemic species of the Julian, Carnic & Kamnik-Savinja Alps 
and Karavanke (hence the t-shirt!).

Tufted Horned Rampion Physoplexis comosa, Kriški podi (Triglav National Park), August.

Lower Križ lake on the Kriški podi plateau (Triglav National Park), August.

Shepherd's Fritillary Boloria pales, Kriški podi (Triglav National Park), August. 
A rather rare high-altitude butterfly we encountered several times this year 
during our mountain excursions.

Alpine Ibex Capra ibex, Kriški podi (Triglav National Park), August.

Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, Kriški podi (Triglav National Park), August.

Relaxing by the mountain hut at Kriški podi, after a 4 hours hike uphill.

Rosalia Longicorn Rosalia alpina, found dead in the Trenta valley, August. 
The quest goes on next year...

Goldline Sarpa salpa (above) and Greater Weaver Tracinus draco (below) 
in the Adriatic sea. More on our summer snorkeling in this post.

Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta, Duino-Devin (Gulf of Trieste), September. 
A regular, but difficult-to-see species in the Gulf of Trieste; 
this individual spents most of the summer under the sea cliffs of Duino.

Pelagic Stingray Pteroplatytrygon violacea, Trieste, October. 
A pelagic species, as the name suggests; this individual apparently lost its way 
and remained blocked in a sea canal in the town of Trieste for several weeks, 
before being caught and released into the open sea.

Large Copper Lycaena dispar, Vipava valley, September.

Brown Bear Ursus arctos, Loška dolina, September. 
With a few more bear sightings in autumn, our yearly tally rose to 
16 different bears seen in 2018!

Bronze Bolete Boletus aereus, Karst, September. 
A huge specimen - the most exciting mushroom find this autumn.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Karst, September. 
One of 3 birds observed repeatedly in September in a forest not far from Sežana, 
suggesting a possible colonisation of the species into western Slovenia.
Watch the video.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, mount Snežnik, September.

Primeval Dinaric forest of beech Fagus sylvatica and silver fir Abies alba 
on mount Snežnik, September.

Osprey Pandion haliaetus, Medvedce reservoir, September. 
One of two birds observed on the same day.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos, Snežnik forests, October. 
In autumn we were lucky to observe two females on the same day, 
in an area where the species' densities are rather low.
Watch the video.

Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum, Snežnik forests, October. 
This rare little owl was one of the highlights 
of the Autumn Forest Birding tour to Notranjska.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis, Snežnik forests, October. 
Several were observed during the Autumn Forest Birding tour.

Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa, Karst, October. 
2018 was an exceptionally productive year for nature's fruits, seeds and berries.

Autumn Emperor Moth Perisomena caecigena, Karst edge, October.

Phone-scoping a Ural Owl Strix uralensis 
in the Javorniki mountains in November.

Greater Spotted Eagle Clanga clanga, Istria (Croatia), November. 
See post.

Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii, Duino-Devin (Gulf of Trieste), December. 
A great rarity in our areas; less than 10 records exist for the whole of Italy. See post.

Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes, Postojna, December. 
Watch the video.

We'll end the post with our recent video featuring

forest birding and bear watching in Slovenia.

Enjoy & see you in 2019!

A cracking Nutcracker!

Today we were absolutely blown away by a very close encounter with a tame Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes. We observed the bird near a small village close to Postojna, as we were driving past a walnut tree. At first we noticed an unusually dark "Jay" dropping to the ground under a walnut and seconds after realised it was no usual Jay but a beautiful Nutcracker! We pulled over, right close to the tree, some 5 meters away from the bird - it completely ignored us and kept searching for walnuts. After collecting a walnut and taking it away to a nearby conifer forest, it returned to the site, repeating the operation for at least 5 times. We remained positioned in the car right under the tree and enjoyed the bird making its cache at very close quarters for about half an hour. 

Nutcracker is a widespread species through mountain forests of Slovenia, but present in low numbers and always rather tricky to observe. Most of our yearly sightings of this species in the Dinaric forests involve heard-only or distantly-seen birds, especially in the autumn. The species is somewhat commoner in Alpine forests of northern Slovenia, but views like the one we had today are nevertheless a rare event. 

Northern rarities over the border

Winter is a rather poor time of the year for wildlife watching in Slovenia. In the cold season birding seems to be the only satisfying activity that keeps us going till spring. However most of the areas we usually work (including the Karst and the Dinaric forests) become almost devoid of life in winter, due to cold and snowy weather. Wetlands on the other hand, provide the best chances for seeing a greater variety of species. Even more so, just a few kilometers from Slovenia's south-west border, in northeastern Italy, lies and incredibly rich area of shallow sandy coastline, dotted with nature reserves and wetlands, that provides wintering grounds for a whole variety of birds. The Gulf of Panzano (situated in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Trieste, near Monfalcone) is certainly Italy's birding hot-spot at the moment. About a week ago, an extremely rare Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii (aka White-billed Diver) was discovered on the sea near Duino (Devin), a mere 3,5 km from Slovenia's south-western border. As there are apparently less than 10 observations of Yellow-billed Loon for Italy, the event caused a major wave of twitching, with birders coming to see the rarity from all over Italy, but also from Slovenia and Austria. We ourselves don't usually go to see rare birds (not anymore), but as we happen to live only 25 minutes away from the site, this time we made an exception. Thus we joined the masses and enjoyed very close views of this rare northern bird. We frequently observed it diving and fishing crabs, sometimes extremely close to the shore, always at its favoured area near Villaggio del Pescatore (Ribiško naselje) at the river's Timavo (Timava) estuary.

Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii (with caught Garfish Belone belone in the last pic).

The Yellow-billed Loon breeds along the arctic coasts of Russia and winters in small numbers on the coasts of north Norway, as well as rarely in the Baltic and the North Sea. Interestingly this is not the first record for the Gulf of Trieste, as the species has already been recorded here at least two times (including in Slovenian waters). Amazing is also the fact that two winters ago we observed another rare diver for the Adriatic, a Great Northern Diver Gavia immer, right in the same stretch of coast (see this post). Not to mention that the area is a favoured wintering site for the two commoner species of the same genus: Black-throated Gavia arctica and Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata, both present here in good numbers.
Not far away from the rarity, in the wetlands along the river Isonzo (Soča), like every year, a large flock of wintering geese is present. It consists of +3000 White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons as well as a few thousands Greylag Geese Anser anser. During the last 10 years or so rarities like Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis and Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus have become more or less regular guests in these large flocks of geese. This year there's one Red-breasted and one Lesser White-front, as well as a Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis (of uncertain origin). During a short morning visit to Isola della Cona NR a few days ago, we were lucky to have the bulk of the flock right in front of our hide and were able to spot successfully all the rarities.

Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis among White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons.

Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus (center bird 1st pic and right-side bird 2nd pic).
Note also a Greylag Goose Anser anser with yellow collar in the 2nd pic.

Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis

Flock of White-fronted Anser albifrons and Greylag Geese A. anser descending over the marsh.

At Isola della Cona two Sacred Ibises Threskiornis aethiopicus (probably escapes) were also present, as well as 2 Black-throated Divers Gavia arctica. A Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis was also reported the day before, but we weren't able to find it. However we rounded up the day with an interesting Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris sporting an unusually pale fur - probably a kind of leucism. 

Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

Lake Cerknica and its forests

The temporary lake of Cerknica is always worth a visit, even in a relatively calm season like late autumn. A few days ago we headed to the lake area, hoping to catch up with some good birds, including perhaps the odd migrant Common Crane. The lake was full of water and held quite a lot of birds too. First of all there was an adult White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla perched on a pole at the lake's shore. Then we checked the wildfowl and spotted some interesting wintering birds like the first Goldeneyes Bucephala clangula of the season (7 in total), 2 Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca and the commoner Pochards Aythya ferina, Tufted Ducks Aythya fuligula and Wigeon Anas penelope. Interesting was also the presence of 40 Shelducks Tadorna tadorna (a rather scarce bird inland) and 7 Black-necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis. 

White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla

Then some loud and very distinctive calls alerted us to the presence of a flock of Common Cranes Grus grus passing overhead. On such a beautiful sunny day, they were migrating straight overhead to the west, but passed relatively low above the lake. We were very happy to see them indeed, as these were our first (and only?) cranes of the autumn passage this year. Even this year large numbers passed above our region in late November.

Common Crane Grus grus - with mount Triglav (Slovenia's highest peak) as a backdrop!

Minutes later we heard again some loud calls in the sky, but these belonged to White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons. A flock of around 80 birds was migrating westwards, probably to the farmland and wetlands of northeastern Italy, where large flocks are already present. Actually a wintering flock of at least 3000 White-fronts, present at Isola della Cona Nature Reserve near Gorizia, hosts also a Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis and a Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus. We didn't go to look for these rare geese yet, but we migth give them a try in the coming weeks. 

White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons

Lake Cerknica with mount Slivnica dominating above it.

Mount Triglav (2864 m) in the distance - about 80 km away from lake Cerknica.

After spending the morning around the lake, we simply couldn't resist to the call of the forest and so we were soon driving on the forest tracks of the Javorniki-Snežnik mountains. We wanted to spend some time looking for a Three-toed Woodpecker and that's exactly how most of the afternoon was spent. Finding a Three-toed Woodpecker usually requires some walking up very steep and rocky forest terrain, where the species likes to hide itself, in old and undisturbed conifer stands. The usual giveaway of the presence of this rare woodpecker is the characteristic tapping on trees that the bird does when it feeds. When you hear it, you simply need to follow the sound. The problem is there are Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major too around and distinguishing the different tappings isn't always easy. A general rule applies here: if the bird insists with its tapping when you approach, then it's probably a Three-toed, while if the bird flies away it's probably a shy Great Spot. Three-toed Woodpeckers aren't shy at all and when feeding they usually allow very good and close views. After an exhausting hike uphill, following one such "good" sound, we were finally putting our eyes on a fantastic male Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus! Nearby was also a female and the two birds (a pair we actually already observed in the same area) were frequently feed together on large wind-fallen silver firs. We stayed with them and enjoyed in the constant sound of "knocking" for more than an hour. Despite this, we didn't manage to take any good photos, but we were very happy nevertheless. We then rounded up the day with a Ural Owl Strix uralensis that we flushed from the side of the road, as we were driving back home in the evening.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus - male.

Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus - pair feeding on the same tree!

Earlier last week we made one or two brief walks in the karstic woodlands near Sežana and observed a pair of Middle Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos medius, as well as a flock of more than 40 Redwings Turdus iliacus, feeding in the leaf litter and on ivy berries in the trees.

MIddle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius

Redwing Turdus iliacus