10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2021

The White-tailed Eagle is one of the easiest birds to observe in Belgrade, Serbia (almost guaranteed). Ten pairs mean 20 territorial adults staying here year-round, plus usually 20 young birds every spring, plus more than 20 immatures overwintering in the Danube backwaters. There are about ten pairs around the city.

Eagles 264

Eagles Bald Eagle Eggs Serbia 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Out of just under 200 bird species I observed this year in SE Europe, there are 6 threatened species. Some of them were always uncommon in the region, others are highly localised, some are hard to notice among thousands of similar birds, but others were abundant recently and one of them still is, despite the decrease in numbers.

Serbia 202

Serbia Greece Montenegro Bulgaria 202

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle.

Geese 181

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 181

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

And so on… not much of a birding day, heh? Serbia has a large number of pigeon fanciers and a long history of lack of law enforcement in the field of wildlife crime ( Newsweek on poaching in the Balkans ). APRIL 12: Second flight of a b h and then she hunts. Conservation Peregrine Falcon poisoning Serbia Switzerland'

Switzerland 198

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The Christmas Bird Count was the answer. The IWC census starts from mid-January following the logic that it is the period when the birds have reached their wintering grounds and are rather static, so the chance of double-counting the same flock is minimal. But it is so frustrating to pass the birds by without IDing them!

Geese 151

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 151

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 220

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

Some five years ago I was involved in a project of ecotourism evaluation of the river Danube in Serbia, which included the city of Belgrade, founded at the bank of this river. Yet, I narrowed the city limits to encompass only the urbanised areas (220 km2) and skipped many good birding spots nearby.

Serbia 250

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 250

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

Either way, they are perhaps more central to our stories and lore than other birds, a familiar example, as Darlington reminds us, being Shakespeare’s Macbeth. How long that circumstance would obtain if Serbia were (for example) in the European Union, with its agricultural monocultures, is questionable, she says.

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

While there are some two dozen birding spots in Belgrade, Serbia, that stand out, in this guideblog I will focus on the river Danube and its floodplain, inside the Important Bird Area “Confluence of the Sava and the Danube Rivers”. The next winter bird spot lies some 4.5 Bus: 79 & 24. eBird list.

Serbia 240

Serbia Birds Ducks Eagles 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

What do you think makes for a good bird hide? I have asked myself that same question many times over the last six months, until last week, when I was involved in an opening ceremony of five new bird hides at the Palic Lake, by the town of Subotica in the very north of Serbia, along the border with Hungary (all photos are from that area).

Serbia 251

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 251

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Marshes are the habitats with the greatest species richness in moderate zones, also significant as breeding, wintering and migratory stopover sites for birds; it therefore comes as no surprise that this one is among the 10,000 Important Bird Areas of the World (one per each bird species?). Saxicola rubetra.

Greece 196

Greece Serbia Hunters Cows 196

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2014

Near the bridge is a lagoon, there should be some birds, although it is an awful spot to stop the car – the only possibility is in the middle of the lane. The next site is grazing pastureland called Mali Pesak and there, while having coffee among the snowy dunes, we observe the hunting attempt of one beautiful Hen Harrier male.

Killing 237

Killing Mali Geese Serbia 237

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

I am preparing for the new census of one of the rarest birds of Serbia, the globally threatened Great Bustard , taking place two days from now. Together with African Kori Bustard (which I observed on a camping trip in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve), this is the heaviest flying bird in the world. m–8 ft 10 in).

Serbia 105

Serbia Romania Hungary Hunting 105

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

I was canoeing the Danube backwaters inside Belgrade, Serbia, on a warm and sunny November day when a Northern Goshawk tried to catch one of two Pygmy Cormorants. Yet, one other hunting attempt in the same area I do remember. The next memorable hunt came from winter 2006/07. Northern Goshawk in Serbia, (c) Szekeres Levente.

Serbia 252

Serbia 2004 Eagles Chickens 252

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

And then, two canids appeared in my scope field of view… My plan was that the downpour should finally be over in the morning, so I could go birding. They are sitting in the wet grass at the edge of the water, observing the bird movements around them. I am thrilled: this is more than just birding, this is a full-scale safari!

Serbia 134

Serbia Sheep Birds Eagles 134

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

As you know, I started to bird from a canoe, exploring the Danube backwaters in Belgrade, Serbia. When inundated, in spring, it is exciting to paddle through the trees, yet birds that often forage on the ground will be pushed away. Perhaps the best example of such habitats may be the Central Beljarica floodplain hotspot.

Beavers 124

Beavers Serbia Eagles Hungary 124

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

How much time do you devote to birding? How high is birding on your list of activities – is it the very first or merely one of? These are the types I recognise: Coffee Break Birding – 10-15 minutes, usually not planned ahead but squeezed out of your schedule. It is a good option if you know that there is that one special bird.

Birds 115

Birds India Africa Serbia 115

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2014

Can birding possibly compare? I haven’t put myself in life threatening situations while birding (unless you count paddling with crocodiles ?). The intensity of experience is not the same, but, e.g. focusing on a single bird and trying to solve the puzzle… or finding the rarest owl of India , that was a mind-blowing one.

Farming 244

Farming Serbia Europe India 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

It was not the first note I have published, but was the only one about a bird I have never laid my eyes upon! During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. However, these birds used to live in my country and I still wanted to see them closer to home. Reasons for this situation are numerous.

Sudan 233

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2017

Actually, I am not waiting for them, but for the Eastern Imperial Eagle to come here to hunt Susliks – an eagle from one of the last two remaining nests in Serbia. On some earlier occasion I observed an Imperial Eagle hunting. No Susliks are to be seen – they are waiting for the sun. Alas, there is no eagle to be seen either.

Eagles 105

Eagles Squirrels Cattle Serbia 105

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2017

I go to the Hotspots page to click on the Past week only, to see which reachable Belgrade sites – especially my favourite patches – were recently visited and which birds were spotted there. And the birds moved to the island. They lay eggs in late January or early February, and the Statehood Day of Serbia is in mid-February.

Montenegro 108

Montenegro Eagles Serbia Fish 108