10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2023

North of Belgrade, Serbia, lies once a vast floodplain (155 mi2 / 400 km2) mostly dried up and turned into a bread basket, but several larger floodzones between the rivers and embankments remain. Pity, it is the sleeping hours and not the hunting (morning/evening), but at least they are not forced to socialise with people all day.

India 172

India Africa Serbia Birds 172

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. Habitat destruction combined with hunting has pushed them away from their former breeding grounds. m–8 ft 10 in).

Serbia 104

Serbia Romania Hungary Hunting 104

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 246

Serbia 2004 Eagles Chickens 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

A shot or two coming from the opposite bank, but they do not sound like geese shooting – more like boar hunting. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle. This section of the river is known as the Labudovo okno reserve, a Ramsar site and the most important waterbird wintering area in the whole of Serbia.

Geese 173

Geese Boars Hunting Serbia 173

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. Serbia Birding calendar. Short-toed Treecreeper is a bit tricky. And statistically, it is true in most cases. Additional reading.

Serbia 248

Serbia Woodpeckers Albania Eagles 248

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The other day I counted my favourite section of the Danube River, the wide and shallow Labudovo okno Ramsar site in Serbia. The biggest count ever was less than 10 birds in the whole of Serbia. Several poachers were waiting in ever thickening darkness (Serbian legislation forbids night hunting).

Geese 143

Geese Serbia Ukraine Estonia 143

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”. Trips birdfinder Europe Serbia' In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 231

Serbia Ducks Birds Eagles 231

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

As you know, I started to bird from a canoe, exploring the Danube backwaters in Belgrade, Serbia. And that was the time when all 400 km2 were still open to annual rhythms of flooding and represented a famous waterbird hunting ground. Nevertheless, Nagy was right. Among the common species, Nagy mentions the Corn Crake.

Beavers 118

Beavers Serbia Hungary Eagles 118

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

These birds have already left my native Serbia, further north, and this is not just the only one I have seen in Greece, but my last bee-eater of the season. From their point of view, I suppose, they are putting those marshes to a good use (to be completely honest – pretty much like birding Serbia). Saxicola rubetra.

Greece 187

Greece Serbia Hunters Cows 187

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 104

Eagles Squirrels Cattle Serbia 104

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2014

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. Trips Europe Serbia wetlands' After that, birds gradually thin out and winter drowsiness overtakes me.

Killing 228

Killing Mali Serbia Geese 228

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

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 241

Serbia Spain Birds Hungary 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2014

More of a hunt? Birding Europe Serbia wetlands' Being a birder redefines ones travel views and arrangements – unlike old churches, birding tourist attractions have wings and tend to use them, which makes locating them more of a game. Satisfying the most ancient need in one hunter-gatherer’s mind? To be… alive?

Serbia 234

Serbia Farming India Europe 234

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. And so, I was driving from Greece to Serbia… in central Macedonia, two birds were circling not far from the motorway… black and white (above)… perhaps White Storks on migration? Reasons for this situation are numerous.

Sudan 223

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

The gamekeeper drives by, I wave my greetings but do not mention the jackals I am observing at the moment: this animal is not protected in Serbia and is allowed for killing year-round (one may say “hunting” instead, but I am having problems trying to spot the difference).

Sheep 127

Sheep Serbia Eagles Mammals 127

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2017

They lay eggs in late January or early February, and the Statehood Day of Serbia is in mid-February. In a few short weeks these eaglets will leave their nest, but remain in the neighbourhood for a month or two more, till the end of summer, still awaiting their parents with food while learning to fly and hunt for themselves.

Montenegro 106

Montenegro Serbia Eagles Eggs 106

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

North of Belgrade, Serbia, lies once a vast floodplain (155 mi2 / 400 km2) mostly dried up and turned into a bread basket, but several larger floodzones between the rivers and embankments remain. Pity, it is the sleeping hours and not the hunting (morning/evening), but at least they are not forced to socialise with people all day.

India 111

India Birds Africa Serbia 111

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

For example, I simply cannot comprehend how such seemingly common species such as the Common Pochard (yes, for the third time, the common), still allowed for shooting in Serbia and many other countries, found its way into the Red List of Threatened Species. There are many reasons for their decrease and yet, all of them (but one?)

Montenegro 200

Montenegro Serbia Greece Bulgaria 200

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2021

The White-tailed Eagle is one of the easiest birds to observe in Belgrade, Serbia (almost guaranteed). There are about ten pairs around the city. One pair even breeds on the island at the very confluence of the Sava and the Danube rivers, less than a mile from the central city square.

Eagles 263

Eagles Bald Eagle Eggs Serbia 263

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

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 Finland Serbia 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Ackerman understands how to set a scene, fill it with charismatic real-life characters, and top it off with magic–the hoot of a distant Great Gray Owl, a Burrowing Owl evading capture, an old barn sheltering young Barn Owls, a tree full of Long-eared Owls in the middle of a small town in northern Serbia. They are also hunted.

Owls 207

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 207