This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
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. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? And a war to extinction??
In Belgrade, Serbia, winter months offer surprisingly good birding possibilities. Two more aspects contribute to bird diversity: these are the inner city waters, so hunting is forbidden, and the Danube rarely freezes, and even then it would be the last water to freeze. And so, there the birds are, in the middle of the city.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Once upon a time, vast forests of Quercus robur , known as common, pedunculate, European or English oak blanketed the Sava River floodplain, all the way from Croatia down to the river’s confluence in Belgrade, Serbia. Also, there was a Black Kite awaiting us, as well as one Red-footed Falcon sitting on a dead oak branch.
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?
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.
Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, offers several great birding spots and here are some recommendations for areas to go birding in and around the city, how to get there by public transport, and some of the bird species you might expect to see. Kosutnjak Park , a former royal deer-hunting forest, is located to the west of the Topcider Park.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
When I reached the levee earlier that morning, I met an elderly hunter from whom I learned that there was an ongoing duck and pheasant hunt, but no one was shooting from, nor towards the embankment, hence I should be safe there. Photographed within Beljarica: six wild boars by Snezana Panjkovic. All in the name of progress.
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?)
Twenty years ago, flocks consisting of a thousand European Turtle Doves were a common sight in Serbia in spring. As we speak, in Serbia these birds are still hunted in August and September. In all European Union countries to the north and east of Serbia (except Romania), Turtle Doves are strictly protected.
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.
How long that circumstance would obtain if Serbia were (for example) in the European Union, with its agricultural monocultures, is questionable, she says.
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.
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 30+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content