Travel
We flew with Lufthansa from Manchester to Ljubljana via Frankfurt. We arranged car hire with Sixt. The car provided was a brand new diesel Volkswagen Golf which was perfect for the two of us plus luggage, scopes etc. The cost, including full waivers, and two drivers was £400 for 7 days – rather expensive but it seemed the best of the options available.
Accommodation
For our two nights in the Brežice area we stayed at Splavar Rafter’s Pub www.splavar.si a very comfortable and friendly place with good food, helpful staff and reasonable prices.
In the Triglav National Park we found the really excellent Gostisce Andrejc guesthouse in Soča www.sloveniaholidays.com/ANDREJC . The friendly landlady spoke good English and was a very good cook. The setting of the guesthouse was wonderful – a front and backdrop of snow-clad mountains and right next to the River Soca – turquoise with melt water. There are numerous well-marked tracks around the valley providing good early morning birding before returning for a hearty breakfast.
Other accommodation was found almost randomly. There seemed to be very few parts of Slovenia that did not have reasonable accommodation at sensible prices although once away from the more touristic routes, English was not always understood. However, with a combination of Italian and German (often in the same sentence!), we were able to communicate sufficiently.
Literature
For general information and finding accommodation we used both The Rough Guide to Slovenia (ISBN 1-84353-145-3) and the Lonely Planet Guide to Slovenia (ISBN: 9781741044805).
For general bird planning, we did refer to Birding in Eastern Europe by Gerard Gorman (ISBN 1- 8986-6507-9) which gives a reasonable background to birding potential in Slovenia. However, being a book covering 11 different countries in just over 250 pages, the detailed information was a little sparse and for actual fieldwork, we found the information on the Birdlife International website www.birdlife.org of much greater use. The website contains factsheets about all the Important Bird Areas in Slovenia with downloadable maps.
Language
Most young people spoke good English. Of the older generation we found that those that did not speak English understood either German or Italian and occasionally Russian.
Weather
The weather was remarkably warmer than we had anticipated - sunny with temperatures 22-28°C in most places (with the exception of the Triglav mountains where it was a little colder at either end of the day).
Daily log
7th April 07
We spent the most of the day exploring the area known as Ljubljansko Barje (46°2’N, 14°26’E) just south of the capital. This is an area described in the guides as being of excellent potential with extensive wet grasslands, flood plain woodlands etc. We were frankly disappointed as the area seemed to have been heavily developed very recently and there was little wetland visible. New houses had recently been built or were in the process of being built all over with the obvious drainage such development entails. It was clear that the Barje has become the place for Ljubljana’s fashionable set to have country homes and unfortunately this meant that there was heavy disturbance from walkers, cyclists and motorists.
In the late afternoon we drove the small country roads to Brežice admiring the lovely scenery and stopping occasionally to scope for raptors. The day ended in Brežice where we had pre-booked two nights stay at Splavar Rafter’s Pub.
Selected Species for the day:
Grey Heron
Mallard
Buzzard
Kestrel
Lapwing
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Stonechat
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Nutcracker
Tree Sparrow
Serin
8th April 07
In the morning we explored Krakovski Forest (45°53’ N 15°24’ E) a beautiful area of traditional wet woodland in the central Krško Valley. The road around the perimeter afforded some viewing, but to really work the site, we needed to go into the forest which was not easy. There were few tracks and most of them quickly became unwalkable because of the water level. (With hindsight we should have taken Wellington boots) although we did find 3 separate points in which we could penetrate to a meaningful distance. Once inside the forest, the whole forest floor was a botanist’s dream with a wide variety of wildflowers. There was also lots of evidence of woodpecker activity, but the only positive identification we could make was of Great Spotted Woodpecker. There was also a large number of Hawfinches.
In the afternoon, we went to the Kozjansko area, but stopped off for lunch at a small bar just outside Trebče. It was a lucky stop, because the only other person in the bar was the local tourist guide, Ivan Kolar. Ivan spoke excellent English (and also speaks fluent Italian) and seemed quite knowledgeable about local birds. In particular, he mentioned that the best site for Bee-eater was only a couple of kilometres away. He gave us directions to the site which we visited immediately after lunch. Ivan is happy to be contacted for future visits either for sites or accommodation. His email is joe@volja.net and his phone number is +386 41 33 77 68.
The Bee-eater site is just past the village of Bizeljsko (46°01’N 15°41E’). Take the first road going right (signposted Zupjek) and take the first right fork which leads to a (disused?) sand quarry. Park at the building on your left and follow the track up hill for 250m where there is a viewing hide overlooking the whole site. Although the birds had not returned when we visited, judging by the number of holes in the quarry walls, the place must be alive with bee-eaters in their breeding season. Given that this is an ‘official’ site complete with interpretation boards (in Slovenian) it’s strange it didn’t feature in any of the literature we had.
Most of the afternoon was spent driving around the stunningly beautiful rolling countryside of the Kozjansko area stopping frequently to scan the meadows and coppices for birds. On the way back to Brežice we visited Krško and discovered some excellent gravel pits. Take the small road running between the railway line and the river, keeping the station on your left. Follow the road past a power station and at the fork, turn left towards an obvious landfill site. Continue past the landfill and also past a Go-Karting centre. The gravel pits are immediately after the Go-Karting centre. Park up and scramble up the sides of the pits for excellent views of wildfowl. If you continue beyond the pits, turn right and the road follows the river back to Brežice affording good views most of the way.
Selected Species for the day:
Great Crested Grebe
Grey Heron
Mallard
Garganey
Shoveler
Pochard
Ferruginous Duck
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Buzzard
Coot
Kestrel
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Crested Lark
Stonechat
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Serin
Hawfinch
9th April 07
Drove north towards Ormož Reservoir (46°24’N 16°09’E). All the maps show an unnamed reservoir/lake just to the North West of Podčetrtek which we decided to investigate on the way. A road runs right alongside what is in effect a failed Dam built on the Slovenian/Croatian border. The reservoir that was there has now almost dried up – at the time of our visit there was barely enough open water to support more than a few Mallards but the presence of 30+ Grey Heron suggested that maybe we were there at a particular low water time. What was of particular interest was the huge array of scrub which had grown up since the reservoir’s decline. The whole river bed was full of low scrub which was alive with Blackcap and Wryneck and presumably later in the spring it would be a real magnet for other warblers – as it must be for waders in autumn and winter.
We drove directly from Podčetrtek to Ormož Reservoir and then followed the River Drava back to Ptuj Reservoir (46°25N 15°52’E) and from there downstream for a few kilometres. There was very good access to Ormož Reservoir which held a reasonable selection of wildfowl. Ptuj Reservoir was less easy to access and had fewer birds, possibly because it also had much greater disturbance from walkers and cyclists.
We decided to head for the Triglav National Park rather than stay around Ptuj and found a small 2 star hotel in Radlje ob Dravi (46°36N 15°13’E) where we could break the journey overnight.
Selected Species for the day:
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Grey Heron
Pintail
Garganey
Tufted Duck
Marsh Harrier
Buzzard
Kestrel
Coot
Lapwing
Black-headed Gull
Common Tern
Hoopoe
Wryneck
Green Woodpecker
Crested Lark
Yellow Wagtail
Black Redstart
Stonechat
10th April 07
In order to get to the Triglav National Park as soon as possible, we crossed the border into Austria just north of Dravograd (46°36N 14°59’E) and quickly made our way onto the excellent A2 motorway which we followed to Villach, where we re-entered Slovenia just north of Kranjska Gora (46°31N 13°45’E). The mountain scenery was absolutely stunning as we drove to the National Park Information Centre in Trenta where the staff were very helpful and provided us with maps, accommodation listings and even telephoned ahead to book a room for us in the next village of Soča . The alpine meadows were really beautiful, but the passerines had not yet returned so we were unable to see them at their best.
We spent some time exploring the side roads, driving up as far as the snowline. It was whilst watching a flock of 50 Alpine Choughs in Mlinarica Gorge that we first heard and then saw a pair of displaying Golden Eagle which put on a wonderful show in superb light. There was however no sign of Wallcreeper and we were later told that we were too early for them as they did not return to the mountains until May. We had various sites were they had been seen before, but all of them were inaccessible because of snow.
Selected Species Count for the day:
Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Kestrel
Grey Wagtail
Black Redstart
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Goldcrest
Alpine Chough
Raven
11th April 07
The river Soča, which flows past the Guesthouse, produced Dipper before breakfast which always starts the day off nicely! Drove across the National Park to Lake Bled (46°22N 14°06’E) in a clockwise direction. The scenery is majestic, but Bled is just totally touristic. The scenery there is lovely and it is certainly a highly photogenic place, but far too disturbed for any decent birdwatching. We returned to the Soča Valley by following the anti-clockwise route stopping at various places on the way. Just outside of Bovec (46°19N 13°31’E) we found a track going down to the river where we had singing Icterine Warbler and a pair of Marsh Tits. We stopped at a parking place at Stefanca (46°19N 13°31’E) where there had been some tree-felling going on. The loggers had cut the branches off the pine trees they had felled and left them piled against the road. To our delight, the area was a feeding ground for Crossbills. The cut branches were full of them and we watched from the car as they systematically went through the cones still attached to the branches. Whilst watching the Crossbills we also saw a party of Long-tailed Tits moving through the same cut branches.
Selected species for the day:
Buzzard
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
House Martin
Dipper
Black Redstart
Icterine Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Goldcrest
Long-Tailed Tit
Marsh Tit
Coal Tit
Nuthatch
Serin
Goldfinch
Crossbill
12th April 07
We left Triglav National Park after breakfast and drove to Akocjan Regional Park (45°40N 13°55’E). This is the original ‘karst’ area with limestone caves, sink holes and canyons. Economic change has meant that vast areas of the formerly farmed areas have been abandoned and are now undergoing natural succession to shrubland and forest. We arrived in the middle of the day when it was warm and windless – not the best time or conditions for areas like this-but there was still quite a lot of passerine activity. The whole countryside was really beautiful and would obviously be alive with birds when full migration was happening. (We learnt subsequently that this is a really good area for wintering Wallcreeper and Alpine Accentor).
In the afternoon we drove down to the coast and made for the Sečovlje saltworks (45°30N 13°39’E). Access is very simple and affords excellent views of the salt pans which were hosting a wide variety of waders. We also had our first Swifts coming in off the sea. After a couple of hours of excellent birding, we drove to Akocjan Bay (45°32N 13°43’E) where we had good views of waders, wildfowl and passerines.
Selected Species for the day:
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Shelduck
Shoveler
Buzzard
Kestrel
Kentish Plover
Temminck’s Stint
Dunlin
Ruff
Spotted Redshank
Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Black-winged Stilt
Yellow-legged Herring Gull
Common Tern
Swift
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Crested Lark
Yellow Wagtail
Dipper
Black Redstart
Common Redstart
Stonechat
Wheatear
Icterine Warbler
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Fan-tailed Warbler
Goldcrest
Marsh Tit
Hawfich
Yellowhammer
13th April 07
Drove straight to Lake Cerknica (45°45N 14°23’E). This was probably the best birding site we came across. There was still plenty of water in the lake even though there had been an unusually warm and dry Spring. It was here that we met Dejan Bordjan, the only other birder we were to meet all week. It turned out that he was actually the Park Ranger for the Notranjski Regijski Park and a keen birder who spoke excellent English. He is happy to be contacted by any visiting birders at dejan.bordjan@notranjski-park.si . The area was really good for waders with Yellow Wagtails (mainly ssp Feldegg) in abundance. In the evening we drove to Kočevje where we found a good Guesthouse.
Selected Species for the day:
Great Crested Grebe
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Garganey
Marsh Harrier
Buzzard
Coot
Lapwing
Black-winged Stilt
Ruff
Whimbrel
Curlew
Spotted Redshank
Wood Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Black-headed Gull
Yellow-legged Herring Gull
Cuckoo
Swift
Yellow Wagtail
Black Redstart
Whinchat
Wheatear
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Marsh Tit
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting
14th April 07
Early morning birding on the woodland road from Kočevje to Podturn (45°40N 15°00’E). The whole area is wonderful old woodland with a mixture of very old and relatively modern plantations slowly ascending up to 1500m. Excellent views of Grey headed Woodpecker with Cuckoos and Stock Doves calling incessantly.
Selected Species for the day:
Buzzard
Stock Dove
Cuckoo
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Black Woodpecker
Black Redstart
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Nuthatch
Tree Sparrow
Crossbill
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Great White Egret Egretta alba
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
White Stork Ciconia ciconia
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Pintail Anas acuta
Garganey Anas querquerdula
Shoveler Anas clypeata
Pochard Aythya farina
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nycoca
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
Coot Fulica atra
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus
Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckii
Dunlin Calidris alpina
Ruff Philomachus pugnax
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus>
Curlew Numenius arquata
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus
Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans michaellis
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Feral Pigeon Columba livia
Stock Dove Columba oenas
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
Swift Apus apus
Hoopoe Upupa epops
Wryneck Jynx torquilla
Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis
Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor
Skylark Alauda arvensis
Crested Lark Galerida cristata
Swallow Hirundo rustica
House Martin Delichon urbica
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava feldegg
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
White Wagtail Motacilla alba
Dipper Cinclus cinclus
Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
Dunnock Prunella modularis
Robin Erithacus rubecula
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
Redstart Phoenicurus Phoenicurus
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
Blackbird Turdus merula
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis
Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Goldcrest Regulus regulus
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
Marsh Tit Parus palustris
Coal Tit Parus ater
Blue Tit Parus caeruleus
Great Tit Parus major
Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Jay Garrulus glandarius
Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes
Magpie Pica pica
Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus
Rook Corvus frugilegus
Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix
Raven Corvus corax
Starling Sturnus vulgaris
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Serin Serinus serinus
Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Common Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Yellowhammer Emberiza citronella
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus