Autumn colours in the Karst

Not much time for blogging lately and actually not much to report either. We are steadily advancing into the calmer (and most depressing) part of the year, when we need to be happy of the little things. Abundance of wildlife, diversity and colour seem already a distant memory. Mountain forests are falling silent as the last beech leaves are leaving the canopies. However the resident birds are still around. It is just more difficult to find them as they are mostly silent and roving in flocks. Recently we went tracking White-backed Woodpeckers Dendrocopos leucotos ssp. lilfordi on our usual circuits on mount Snežnik. Visiting a known territory, we located a fleeting female feeding at mid-height in the trees. The photos below show the typical feeding behaviour of the female, usually favouring rotten snags on live beeches, rather than feeding on the ground as males do more often. In our experience, following a female in the canopies is much more difficult than a male on the ground.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos ssp. lilfordi - before the peck...

...and after the peck.

White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos ssp. lilfordi (by Davide Scridel)

Beech snag in White-backed Woodpecker's habitat.

 

During our wanderings, we came (as usual) across a few Ural Owls Strix uralensis hunting along forest roads, including a quite dark, grey-morph individual (see photos). After the spring explosion, voles have literally disappeared from the forest floor and we guess the owls are now probably struggling to find food and are moving to other areas. This might explain the relative difficulty of seeing Ural Owls this autumn, when compared to spring. Nevertheless there were some other birds to keep us company like Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes, Brambling Fringilla montifringilla and the season's first Redwing Turdus iliacus. Among mammals we regularly saw Red Deer Cervus elaphus (including some shy stags with cool antlers) and even Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra in the subalpine forest on Snežnik's higher rocky outcrops. Signs of the presence of large carnivores aren't difficult to notice in these forests, as they are often found on forest roads. Thus we came across several fresh & old droppings of Wolf Canis lupus, as well as droppings & claw marks of Brown Bear Ursus arctos.

Ural Owl Strix uralensis - grey morph (note dark-barred facial mask).

Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

Brown Bear's claw marks on a fallen trunk.

Bear's droppings containing some corn (from hunter's feeding stations).

Fresh (above) & old (below) scat of Wolf Canis lupus

Autumn in the Dinaric forests.

Wild places.

Beech Fagus sylvatica in its late-autumn phase.

Veliki Snežnik's summit dominating the forested plateau.

Morning mist over the Reka river valley.

Recently most of the time has been spent locally in the Karst around Sežana. Late October and early November is the best time to enjoy the amazing autumn colours of the karstic shrubs and meadows, where the typical Smoke Bush Cotinus coggygria steals the show. However the cold and unpleasant burja wind persisted for most of October and made birding in the Karst's woodlands and meadows quite impossible. Nevertheless we were very glad when we found a Middle Spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius on a hill close to home, as well as other goodies such as Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, Brambling Fringilla montifringilla and the first Common Cranes Grus grus of the season, migrating south-west (heard only on Oct 18).

Montpellier Maple Acer monspessulanus - a typical tree of the karstic shrub.

Smoke Bush Cotinus coggygria - the autumn essence of the Karst.

Limestone scree on the top of a karstic hill, covered in Smoke Bush.

Karstic oak woodland - home of a recent coloniser, the Middle Spotted Woodpecker.

Autumn colours in the oak woodlands.

Views E and SE from Stari tabor (603 m), a panoramic hill between Sežana and Lokev.

Stari tabor (603 m) with mount Nanos in the distance.

Smoke Bush stealing the show... and Sara stealing the Smoke Bush!

From autumn to winter

Autumn is upon us. Actually these last few days feel already like winter, with low temperatures, a persistent burja (northeasterly) and the first snow in the mountains. Recently we have been active in the field only at weekends, except for our regular bird monitorings at work, on the coast. In the last days of September we enjoyed the rut of Red Deer Cervus elaphus in the hills close to home, on the eastern edges of the Karst. Red Deer used to be more of a continental/mountain species until some decades ago, but it experienced a strong expansion in recent years, colonising also the (once-barren) Karst. Nowadays in some areas it even outnumbers Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus. Not far from our home we have a nice "rutting area" where several stags gather. The rather thick foliage and steep rocky slopes make it quite difficult to see any of the rutting stags, that are usually well hidden in the forest. However, hinds (females) with calves are easier to spot. In the same area, where the habitat gets even steeper and rockier, with exposed cliffs and boulders, Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra is also present in small numbers. These animals belong to the population present on mount Nanos that has also been expanding recently. Supporting cast to our afternoon visits on the rutting stage also included the "ordinary" but always pleasing mix of our 6 lowland woodpecker species: from Middle Spotted Leiopicus medius to Black Dryocopus martius and everything in bewteen.

Red Deer Cervus elaphus - hind on a limestone scree.

Red Deer Cervus elaphus - hinds approaching the rutting grounds.

Red Deer Cervus elaphus - up to 4 stags rutting together in the valley (volume to max!).

 

A puddle in the forest, where Red Deer roll in the mud.

Alpine Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra on a limestone scree.

Raven Corvus corax

 

At the beginning of October we were again in our favourite area, the Snežnik plateau, enjoying a taste of the beautiful autumn colours produced by beech trees Fagus sylvatica (a thank to Silvio Davison for some of the pics in this blog!). At higher altitudes (1300-1400 m) the colours were already spectacular, while lower down (1000 and below) the forest was still green. Despite some nasty and unpredicted wind, we managed to find several interesting species, among which the highlights were two Pygmy Owls Glaucidium passerinum. One was only heard, while the second showed itself pretty well in the early evening. We first spotted its distinctive shape on the top of a fir, while later it moved lower down the tree, on a more hidden and shaded branch. Among other birds there were also several Nutcrackers Nucifraga caryocatactes, Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus and large numbers of Ravens Corvus corax (flock of 50 feeding on a glade), while overhead the first flocks of migrating Woodpigeons Columba palumbus were passing in their hundreds. Apart from many Red & Roe Deer and a showy young Fox Vulpes vulpes, in the evening we also had good views of a female Brown Bear Ursus arctos with cub that we "flushed" from the forest road.

Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum - typical view.

Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum (phone-scoping shots & video)

 

Pygmy Owl habitat in the Dinarides.

The very best of autumn colours in the Dinaric mountains (Beech Fagus sylvatica).

A young and handsome Fox Vulpes vulpes by the side of the road.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Raven Corvus corax

Woodpigeon Columba palumbus on migration (part of a flock).

Cep (Penny Bun) Boletus edulis

Mt. Snežnik from its northern slopes.

 

Last weekend (10th Oct) we attended the annual regional bird race "Ptičarijada", organised by DOPPS-BirdLife Slovenia. This year the race was taking place in the wider area of Bohinj & Bled in northern Slovenia. Although it was a cold and windy day, with terrible conditions for forest birding (our primary target was the Pokljuka plateau), we managed to record a nice diversity of birds, totalling 63 species (in about 8 hours). It wasn't that bad, given the almost total absence of water bodies with decent habitat for waterbirds in the region. Highlights included Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum (heard on Pokljuka), Red Kite Milvus milvus (rare migrant through Slovenia), first Woodcock Scolopax rusticola & Brambling Fringilla montifringilla of the season, Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Woodlark Lullula arborea (regional rarity), Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes and Goosander Mergus merganser. Some of the other teams also had Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus by the airport of Lesce. Also the season's first snow greeted us on the surrounding mountains - it arrived very early this year!

Bitterly cold on the Pokljuka plateau at dawn (1 degree C while watching this scene).

Red Kite Milvus milvus near Koritno (Bled).

Checking the river Sava for Dipper Cinclus cinclus & Goosander Mergus merganser.

The girls in action at lake Bled.

Bled's castle on top of a potential Wallcreeper's cliff.

Mt. Stol (2236 m, Karavanke Mts).

Mt. Begunjščica (2060 m, Karavanke Mts.) & the church of Sv. Peter.

 

Meanwhile, the early autumn time has been relatively quiet at Škocjanski zatok, mostly due to mainteinance work at the nature reserve and consequently the freshwater marsh being almost completely dry. However some of the seasonal goodies were still to be found with a bit of perseverance. The autumn's highlight is always represented by good numbers of Bluethroats Luscinia svecica making a stopover at the reserve. Although the best time with greater numbers is the end of August and the first week of September (15 seen in one day this year!), single birds lingered to the very end of September. Other birds of note in the same month included Black Stork Ciconia nigra, White Stork Ciconia ciconia, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Little Crake Zapornia parva. In the very first days of October a Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor, the true harbinger of winter, announced the arrival of the cold season.

Bluethroat Luscinia svecica

Little Crake Zapornia parva

Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor