Sunday, December 10, 2023

The Ibar River catchment in Kosovo

 


Fish sampling in the Ibar River in Kosovo

Late August 2023

The Ibar, also known as the Ibër and Ibri (in Albanian), is a large upland river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of 272 km . The river begins Montenegro and enters northern Kosovo, where it leads back into southern Serbia to flow into the West Morava river a major tributary of the Danube. The Ibar's drainage area is 7,925 square km. We studied it this summer in Kosovo.  

In late August 2023 we were invited to participate in a mini-project to research the ecological quality of the Ibar and we concentrated on its fishes. Of course conditions in the river and its tributaries were extremely degraded, incredible severe pollution problems were documented and they obviously affect the fish. Urban, industrial, farming and other forms of  pollution and the destruction of habitats, the many barriers to fish movement and lack of any real love for the river is very sad.  Some speceis we thought we'ed encounter were missing, although we did record at least 20 taxa. And, I hope one day we can see a cleaner Ibar, more fish and a people in peace. 

These are some snapshots from our mission - incomplete since they are only from my camera. More photos may soon be added. We thank our friends from the University of Pristina for a wonderful collaboration.

THE FISHES

Squalius cephalus

Squalius cephalus

Squalius cephalus

Lepomis gibbosus
Salmo trutta (below Ujmani/Gazivoda Dam)

Salmo trutta (main stem tributary of the Ibar, several kms north of Mitrovica).

Phoxinus sp. An adult from cold waters. Minnows in this area could be the native species, perhaps Phoxinus csikii, or some translocated species.

Phoxinus sp. 

Phoxinus sp.

Barbus cf. balcanicus

Gobio obtusirostris

Romanogobio uranoscopus 
Cobitis elongatoides

Cobitis sp.
Sabanejewia balcanica

Barbus balcanicus

Perhaps Vimba vimba 

A definate Chondrostoma nasus

Rutilus rutilus

Rutilus rutilus

Rhodeus amarus

Crayfish species

THE PLACES 

Mitrovica and the Ibar

Ibar in Mitrovica

Sitnitsa in Mitrovica

Trying to find the river in a Mad Max landscape, Mitrovica.

City trash tipped into the river, Mitrovica.

Ibar near Mitrovica

Ibar near Mitrovica

Ibar in Mitrovica

Ibar in Mitrovica

Ibar in Mitrovica

Llapi tributary in Central Kosovo, near Balshaj - also very polluted.

Mountain tributary near Ujmani/Gazivoda Dam. 

The field team included Dimitris Zogaris (Univ. Thessaly) and our good friends Linda Grapci-Kotori and Donard Geci from University of Pristina.

Main stem of the Ibar upstream of Mitrovica (river-side restaurants near Koshtovë ) . 

Main stem of the Ibar, many kilometers north of Mitrovica (near Ibarska Slatina).
Main stem of the Iber in the north of Kosovo, near Rëvatskë, the northernmost surveyed site.

Small tributary in the north of Kosovo.

Landscape in the south of Kosove, near one of the Sitnitsa tributaries.




















Albania in late Autumn





Late November - Early December 2023

We spent a week working on the river surveys between Berat and Korce - this is the third and last of our expenditions for this particular HCMR project into Albania. As usual we were in good hands, hospitality, good people and interesting landscapes. 

Despite working on and overlooking fish surveys in the areas reivers, I did manage to submit 11 checklists and log 36 species on eBird. Others did most of the wet-work this time. I made two wonderful walks on Berat Castle and found through trail down below the flag-staff. This trail criss-crosses the cliff and has wonderful microhabitats including a family of Rock Nuthatches. All this done just before sunset on rather gloomy humid weather. But it was worth it.


Chaffinch on Black Poplar by the Shkumbini River.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, by the Shkumbini River.

Osumi River, downstream of Berat.

Goritsa neighbourhood, Berat.

Eurasian Collared-Dove, Berat.

Black Redstart, Berat.

In Berat.

Parsimons! (or Kakis), juicy winter treat in Albania; Berat Castle.

Black Redstart, Berat Castle.

European Blackcap, Berat Castle.

Raven, Berat Castle.

These are some of the most interesting birds for me.

 
Despite working and overlooking fish surveys, I did manage to submit 11 checklists and log 36 species on eBird. Warmest thanks to eBird for providing this service (https://ebird.org/tripreport/176295)