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I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. When choosing the top birding area of Serbia for a weekend visit, head for lowlands, Deliblato Sands and Labudovo Okno complex with 250 bird species. Serbia – the big picture. How he prepared for his tour of Serbia?
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 night temperatures in Belgrade, Serbia, were already below minus 10 Celsius / 14 degrees Fahrenheit for two weeks. Up to the mid-20th century, Pygmy Cormorant was a common breeding species of wetlands around Belgrade until most wetlands were drained and the birds were lost, at one moment – from the entire territory of Serbia.
“I would certainly recommend Serbia to visiting birders. Nonetheless, I visited some excellent habitats, especially the flooded wetlands, and saw some good birds,” wrote the UK Birdwatch Magazine journalist Mike Unwin of his bird tour of northern Serbia 15 years ago. What has changed in the meantime?
It is part of the international ecological corridor and the “Confluence of the Sava and the Danube Rivers” Important Bird Area (IBA), already proposed for a nature reserve by the Government’s Institute for the Protection of Nature of Serbia. Covering it in concrete would make the floodwave higher, faster and stronger.
Worried by the lack of appropriate action by the authorities (as described in the previous post ), this year I invited two more wildlifeprotection organisations to take part in the annual census of Pygmy Cormorants in Belgrade. The study was prepared in 2012, but no protection has been declared to date.
The night temperatures in Belgrade, Serbia, were already below minus 10 Celsius / 14 degrees Fahrenheit for two weeks. Up to the mid-20th century, Pygmy Cormorants were a common breeding species of wetlands around Belgrade… until the wetlands were drained and the birds were lost, at one moment – from the whole of Serbia.
I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital. So, the perfect country to move to needs to have at least twice as many species as Serbia. And it shows.
During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. In 2010, a joint expedition by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) and the Sudanese Wildlife Society (SWS) found a further 17 electrocuted Egyptian Vultures.
Not just mine, but all the most active birders of Belgrade, Serbia, were visiting this site at least 2-3 times a month: it is so conveniently close to the city, and even reachable by the city bus 108. Reva Pond was my favourite local patch until, a few years back, construction works started there.
While Serbia claims to strive towards the EU membership, it is back to the Chinese credit and Chinese environmental standards. Afraid that, against millions in investments wildlife may not be an argument enough, I reached for another – the wellbeing of Belgraders, further downstream. Or is it the EU membership that is of no importance?
Have you heard of a small town in Serbia graced by the presence of its 700 communally roosting Long-eared Owls ? You may have read about them in the Wall Street Journal , the BBC Wildlife Magazine , or perhaps watched them on BBC, who filmed them here twice, for the Planet Earth II in 2015 and for the One Planet in 2018.
My agenda is to help to make the Ross Sea an international marine protected area. E.g., up to 10 percent of the European population of Pygmy Cormorants overwinters in Belgrade , Serbia. This is WHY. And I do need YOUR VOTE for that. But am I qualified for the job? What experience do I have to confirm my qualifications?
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