Birdwatching, or birding (as some call it), could, and should be an extremely popular activity in Croatia. Why? Well, according to ornithologists, Croatia is home to 387 species (in oly 56 000 square km, or about 22 000 sq miles area!). Some of those are very rare, some are endangered. Nature park Kopački Rit is a virtual heaven for all bird-lovers! Croatia has woodland areas, sea, rivers, cities, mountains, plains...so all kinds of bird species live here (there are no pinguins, I admit that, although they would be quite comfortable now, with tons of snow all over the country).
I'm just a hobbist, and not a very experienced one, so if you are looking for information about birdwatching in general, there are a lot of websites written about it by people much, much better and more experienced than me. These are some of the websites:
If you are interested in birdwatching in Croatia in particular, these are some of the places that should be on your want-to-see-list:
If you have time/money to visit just one place in Croatia, this should be it. And for a very good reason. In this Nature park you can see 293 bird species! Need I say more? You could spend days and days here, observing birds in all their glory. And if you want all the luxuries of civilization at the same time, you can book a hotel in Osijek, Croatia's fourth largest city (population about 100 000), which is just a short drive away. The website is really good, and all content is available in Croatian, English, German and Italian, so make sure you check it out.
Another Nature park. This one is famous for its big population of storks (
Ciconia ciconia), although they are just one of 250 bird species that can be seen here! The park includes 2 special ornithological reserves. Čigoč is a small village, but also a great village, because it si the first European Stork village! The park is only about 2h hours drive from Zagreb, Croatia's largest city (and capital), but you can find accomodation in traditional Podravina houses in and around Lonjsko Polje, too.
Paklenica is part of Velebit mountain, which divides two geographically and climatologically different areas: Lika and Dalmacija. So on Velebit you can really see all kinds of flora and fauna and it is no wonder that Velebit has not one, but two national parks. Paklenica is older and it is on the Dalmatian side, so mostly you can see Mediterranean species.
Up to date, 230 bird species have been reported in Paklenica, some of which are: Buzzard (
Buteo buteo), Golden eagle (
Aquila chrysaetos), Peregrine falcon (
Falco peregrinus) and Goshawk (
Accipiter gentilis). The last three are endangered and rare species. Paklenica is also known as a great hiking and/or rock climbing resort, so you can combine this with birdwatching.
I find the website quite good and informative (there are Croatian and English versions).
Mountain Medvednica (eng. Bear Mountain), often called Sljeme (which is in fact only the name of Medvednica's highest peak) is not what one would typically call a heaven for birdwatchers, a must-see, for it is home to "only" about 70 species of birds: Nuthatch, Great spotted woodpecker, Chaffinch, Winter wren, Dipper, White wagtail, Hazel grouse, Gold crest, Sparrow hawk, Tawny owl, Hoopoe etc. What is fascinating about this is that these birds are living literally a few minutes away from a big city! Medvednica's greatest appeal lies in the fact that the capital, Zagreb (population about 1 000 000) is situated right there, on its slopes, then descends down to Sava river plain. Therefore Medvednica is the most visited Nature park in Croatia, "The lungs of Zagreb", it has great infrastructure (hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, roads, hiking paths, ski slopes etc.), it is well researched and, as a part of Zagreb, it has a big budget and lot of well-off fans who invest in its developement as a nature park. I personally adore Medvednica because it's so close to my home, so close to the city, so
civil, and yet, so full of wild life, undisturbed nature and gives that sense of connection to the wilderness.
Don't worry, despite its name, there are NO bears on Medvednica mountain. There used to be, of course (after all,
Nomen est omen), but sometimes someone's biggest blessing is also their greatest curse. And so it is with Medvednica. Due to increasing human population, bears are extinct on the mountain, but fortunately, we Zagrebians have learned from our mistakes, and are trying very hard to preserve all other wildlife that still graces the woods and meadows.
So if you ever come to visit Zagreb (and I'm told it's becoming ever more popular), don't miss this jewel!
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| View of Zagreb from Medvednica |
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| An old tree in the forrest |
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| A lot of springs on Medvednica, but only this one waterfall |
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