Sunday, January 7, 2024

Birding in Požarevac city in Serbia!

 

Požarevac 

January 7th 2023

The Čačalica Memorial Park in Požarevac city is a fairly large park (28ha) and a monument to the fallen heroes of World War II. It is located very near the bus station of the city and is a low-sloping hilly park reaching almost 200m elevation. The park is in a city with an urban population of about 50000 so it is an important green space. Even more important thant the park itself is the surrounding area of open fields, corn, hedgerows, gardens and woodlots. The mosaic is really quite interesting if your base is Pozarevac. 

I went for a two hour walk and then walked outside the park at its highest most position to two transmision towers. I saw 29 species of birds in just two hours and enjoyed finding them in the quiet woods and meadows. 

The yellow line is a general path I used going up-hill (from left to right), all the way to the telecommunication tower which has nice fields and hedgerows. I came back a slightly different way.

I followed the road starting from the entrance of the park up, where you can see a few monuments and sculptures as well. People pass by and I usually said "dobar dan" to everybody. At the top-most part of the park, there is a 32m high sculpture called "Звезда" (Star), symbolizing freedom and the fall of fascism. Besides the main path to the top, there are other paths that go through the woods, most is deciduous with some small groves of rather large trees and some clumps of interesting confers as well. Quite varied. Čačalica  is a must-visit if you are staying in Požarevac! And more people should try birding here. 

My top birds today were: Yellowhammer, Merlin, Brambling, Bullfinch, and two species of woodpeckers.

You can access my ebird list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S158370494














Friday, January 5, 2024

Along the Danube in Serbia

 


The Danube, downstream of Belgrade in Serbia. 
January 5th 2024

There are a string of intriguing birding spots along the right bank of the Danube downstream of Belgrade. I am now based at Pozarevac and enjoying the Serbian Christmas holidays. Today we drove down the right bank of the river to a grand castle monument just before the famous Iron Gates of the Danube. The Romanian shore was very close. The unique landscape of this great river valley is really beautiful. There are hills, rocky slopes, small woodlots and rather mature woodlands nearly everywhere. Very different from Western European agricultural landscapes. Authentic small villages with their poultry varieties,  summer homes along the river, forts and more castles. Highlights for me were the Common Goldeneyes a duck I usually rarely see further south....And we also saw several Pheasants! Not a option in heavily-hunted southern Balkan states. So the 'Northern Balkan' area is a realy escape for anyone from Greece.











These are the birding sites catalogued in the birding site "Birding Places". I was based at the village of Pozarevac, east of Belgrade (the place with the concentration of birding sites at Left). 

Birding in Belgrade Serbia!

 

The City of Belgrade

4th of January 2024

Beograd is a regional capital and one of the most important cities on the Danube. It could be a fantastic place for birding and bird photography. We spent a day here and wondered around the big castle park and along the river. Highlights include a wonderful sunset with 110+ Mute Swans, a magestic White-tailed Sea Eagle and wonderful flights of gulls and crows. 

Here are some of our snapshots, more to follow!