Destination country: Serbia. Start and finish from Beograd,
Serbia.
Next
schedule: Upon request.
Duration:
8 or 12 days (extensions available up to 30 days; see below!)
Price:
Ask!
We are sorry, but exchange rates are so hectic, that we
can't give fix prices here.
Price includes: accommodations and meals (lunch is
typically picnic!), drinking water, vehicle hire with fuel
and driver guide, park entrance fees and ranger guides.
The
price exclude: bank transfer loss, international flight,
visa, tips, drinks, personal travel insurance and any other
activities of personal request e.g. laundry, toalet fees,
phone calls, etc.
Accommodation:
Three-star hotels with all rooms en suite.
Numbers:
Min. 3, max. 6 tour participants.
Transport:
2 x 4WDs.
Description:
"...The nature of Serbia is amongst the most intact
in Europe with absolutely breathtaking scenery and many
superb birds, including one of the most dramatic Griffon
Vulture colonies in Europe. Post-war Serbia is now a safe
place where in our experience, where the local people welcome
tourists and birders from all over the world.This birding
tour will guide you from unique wetlands to indigenous forests
– some of Serbia’s most threatened natural areas.
Over 40 possible sites were researched before these 20 were
chosen. Avoiding the birding spots of troublesome southern
Serbia, itinerary is carefully planned to ensure trouble-free
land travel and comfortable overnight accommodation, taking
you at the same time to some of the best birding spots in
the east, north and west of Serbia..."
When to go:
Depending on your particular interest, March/April (spring
migration), May/June (breeding in full swing), August/September
(autumn migration) and November to February (wintering wildfowl)
are probably the best months to bird.
Top birds:
Great Bustard, Pygmy Cormorant, Ferruginous Duck, Great
White and Little Egrets, Spoonbill, Squacco Heron, Glossy
Ibis, Bittern, Little Bittern, Goosander, Red-necked Grebe,
Black-necked Grebe, Black, Whiskered and White-winged Black
Terns, Mediterranean Gull, White and Black Storks, Common
Crane, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Stone
Curlew, Griffon Vulture, Long-legged Buzzard, White-tailed
Eagle, Imperial Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Golden
Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Peregrine
Falcon, Saker Falcon, Levant Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Montagu's
Harrier, Little Owl, Scops Owl, Eagle Owl, Long-eared Owl,
Rock Partridge, Nightjar, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Roller,
Hoopoe, Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Woodpeckers (including
Three-toed), Lesser Grey Shrike, Red-backed Shrike, Black-eared
Wheatear, Bearded Tit, Penduline Tit, Sombre Tit, Crestet
Tit, Willow Tit, Rock Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Rock Thrush,
Collared Flycatcher, Golden Oriole, Alpine Accentor, Dipper,
Nutcracker, Tawny Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Woodlark and Rock
Bunting.
Habitats:
Resava Gorges, Kucaj Mountains., Iron Gates National Park.,
Miroc Mountains, Dubovac, Deliblato Sands National Park,
Carska Bara Bird Sanctuary, Uzdinski Ribnjak fishpond, Slano
Kopovo Lake, Mokrin Pastures, Selevenj Steppe, Lake Ludas,
Danube floodzone, Begecka Jama Pool, Fruska Gora National
Park., Bosut Forests, Zasavica Oxbow, Mt. Cer, Tresnjica
Gorge, Mt. Tara, Mt. Zlatar, and Uvac Gorge National Park.
Sample
itinerary:
(12 days Serbian birding in cooperation with
Dragan Simic).
Day
1: Resava Gorges, Eastern
Serbia. Arrival to Belgrade Airport and
transfer to the Resava Gorges
– an absolutely superb area of limestone cliffs with
numerous caves, blanketed in vast beech forests and dotted
by the thickets of wild lilac that burst into clusters of
bluish-purple flowers in May. En route visit to the picturesque,
fortified 14th century Manasija
Orthodox Monastery and the 2,830 m long
Resava Cave (with 900 m of walk paths). After 170 km, tarred
road ends by the Lisine Motel, 2 km from the entrance to
the gorges (the dirt road through the gorges is negotiable
by ordinary cars). Visit to the nearby 24 m high Veliki
Buk waterfall, and then to the Suvaja
gorge in the afternoon, to hear and hopefully
see Eagle Owl in its prime habitat: steep, overgrown slopes
and cliffs surrounded by good hunting grounds.
Day
2: Iron Gates, Eastern
Serbia. After
breakfast - “wilderness experience”, early morning
drive through the Resava Gorge
with birding stops along the route for Crag Martin and Peregrine
Falcon, continuing along the same dirt road through the
wooded hills of the Upper Resava some 30 km toward the Bor
Lake. From there by tarred roads through
deciduous forests of Kucaj
Mountains (looking for Grey-headed and Middle
Spotted Woodpeckers and, with a bit of luck, also White-backed
Woodpecker) toward the Djerdap
Gorge National Park, internationally known
as Iron Gates after its old Roman name Porta Ferea. The
Park stretches along the right bank of the Danube River
from well preserved 15th century 9-tower Golubac
Castle to the Iron Gates Dam near the town
of Kladovo.
Day
3: Iron Gates, Eastern
Serbia. Early
morning birding along the dirt roads through dense deciduous
forests of the Miroc Mountain
(768 m a.s.l.). Habitats here include large lake, exposed
limestone cliffs (keep your eyes open for Red-rumped Swallow,
Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon), broad-leaved deciduous
woods (Eagle Owl, Black Stork). Possible Chamois sighting.
Also present are the mammals like Red Deer, Wild Boar and
elusive Lynx (a way too elusive for an encounter). Later
during the day, visit to the Lepenski
Vir Museum - the 8,000-year-old archaeological
site with traces of 59-house settlement and numerous stone
sculptures representing human heads. Next to the museum
is small open-air exhibition of the traditional architecture
of central and eastern regions of Serbia, consisting of
a few houses with arched verandas and 4-sloped roofs with
characteristic high chimneys. These houses were saved from
the submerged Porec Island and carefully rebuilt on higher
ground here.
Day
4: Banat, Vojvodina.
Depart for Banat in the early morning to give ourselves
time to go birding along the road, keeping our eyes open
for the Levant Sparrowhawk. En route visit to the Golubac
Castle. Ferry across the Danube toward Dubovac
heronry (1000-pairs strong, including 350
pairs of the Pygmy Cormorant, also Glossy Ibis, Ferruginous
Duck). If strong easterly is blowing, we will have to drive
west to the town of Smederevo (if time allows, we may visit
25-tower 14th century castle – the last capital of
the mediaeval Serbian state) and cross the river by the
Kovin Bridge. From there we will continue through the Deliblato
Sands nature reserve. Mostly wooded (pine,
birch and false acacia), the sands are 35 km long and 11
km wide. Key species here include steppe birds such as Saker
and Red-footed Falcons, Lesser Grey Shrike, Bee-eater, Roller,
Sand Martin, Rock Sparrow and, with a load of luck, one
of the rarest raptors of Serbia - Imperial Eagle. In the
afternoon we will settle in the Carska
Bara Bird Sanctuary.
Day
5: Banat, Vojvodina.
Early in the morning: sailing the Old
Begej canal (Carska Bara) where, among scrub/grass,
alluvial woodland, mud flats, salt marsh and fishponds key
species include Great White and Little Egrets, Purple Heron,
Spoonbill, Greylag Goose, Marsh Harrier and numerous other
waterbirds. This beautiful wetland area is renowned for
its variety of birdlife, with over 260 species recorded.
After breakfast, visit to the nearby Uzdinski
Ribnjak fishpond, to look for Black-winged
Stilt and Avoset. During the day, en route we will observe
Slano Kopovo natron lake
- traditional resting place on the Crane migration. Spring
migration last from February to early April, but the best
period is early to mid-March. While autumn migration last
longer, from August to December, most birds are recorded
in early to mid November. Although average flocks number
1,000 to 2,000 individuals, flocks up to 4,500 individuals
were recorded in spring and up to 2,000 in autumn. In the
afternoon we will search the Mokrin
Pastures for Great Bustard.
Day
6: Backa, Vojvodina.
If we were not lucky with Great Bustard the previous day,
in the morning we will try again, and then continue west
toward Upper Danube.
If we were lucky the previous day, we will go straight to
the Danube riverside town of Apatin, famous upon its Jelen
lager. En route visit to the Slevenj
Steppe and Ludas Lake (with its extensive
reedbeds – one species to be expected is the Bearded
Tit). In the afternoon: Upper
Danube floodzone. Habitats: alluvial common
oak forest, Danube and its backwaters, mud flats, sand flats.
We should find White-tailed Eagle, Black Stork, Tawny Owl,
Ferruginous Duck.
Day
7: Srem, Vojvodina.
Pre-breakfast birding in the Upper Danube. After breakfast
we’re of toward the Mt.
Fruska Gora NP. En route visit to the Karadjordjevo
Forest. Beside the birds, this is the place
to observe Red Deer and Wild Boar herds. Also en route,
visit to the Begecka Jama
Pool, for its breeding Mute Swans. And after
we cross the Danube by the Novi Sad Bridge, we will reach
the slopes of 80 km long Mt. Fruska Gora NP (539 m a.s.l.),
with lower slopes covered with meadows and grain fields,
vineyards and orchards and higher parts, above 300 meters,
covered by dense deciduous forests, predominantly linden.
The bird species that may be encountered include Syrian
Woodpecker, Collared Flycatcher, Song Thrush, Golden Oriole,
Saker Falcon, Booted Eagle and eventually, with a lot of
luck, Imperial Eagle. Mountain is dotted with 8 Orthodox
monasteries built mostly in the 16th century, their architecture
often a unique blend of the Byzantine and Baroque. Also,
just to additionally spice the birding, wine tasting at
private cellars of wine-growing Baroque town of Sremski
Karlovci awaits the guests. In the afternoon
we will continue toward the Bosut Forests.
Day
8: Macva and Podrinje,
Western Serbia.
Rise early to arrive at beautiful Bosut
alluvial forest before dawn, when the bird
activity is at its greatest. Birding among two to three
hundred years old common oaks. We could see White-tailed,
Lesser Spotted and Booted Eagles, Black Stork, White-backed
Woodpecker, Marsh Tit, Redstart, Treecreeper, Song Thrush.
Midday visit to the Zasavica
Oxbow (30 km long) nature reserve. Habitats:
alluvial woodland, water fringe vegetation, standing water,
grasslands. Key species: White Stork, herons, other waterbirds.
Continuing the long afternoon haul toward the Mt.
Tara NP, en route we will – if time
allows - visit to the slopes of Mt.
Cer (looking for Sombre Tit, Syrian Woodpecker,
Levant Sparrowhawk, Scops Owl), lower entrance to the Tresnjica
River Gorge (about 120 bird species were
recorded so far, the area is the most famous upon its rich
raptor fauna: Griffon Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Golden
Eagle, Short-toed Eagle) and picturesque Trsic village open-air
museum, preserved home of 19th century Serbial language
reformer Vuk Karadzic. Late
in the evening we will settle for the night in the Mt. Tara
NP.
Day
9: Podrinje, Western Serbia.
In the morning Mt Tara NP
(1544 m a.s.l.). Habitats: limestone cliffs above the Perucac
dam (possible sighting of Chamois), boreal grassland, mixed
woods, peatlands, broad-leaved deciduous woods. Key species:
Rock Partridge, Black Woodpecker, Alpine Accentor, Rock
Thrush, Black Redstart, Nutcracker, Crested and Coal Tits,
Crossbill, and with some luck, Three-toed Woodpecker. This
superb wilderness experience may even be graced by Brown
Bear sighting.
Day
10: Podrinje, Western
Serbia. Along
the way to Uvac we will visit Sirogojno
open-air Museum of traditional wooden architecture
of western Serbia on nearby Mt. Zlatibor. These houses are
not only built but are also covered with steep wooden roofs
without real chimneys but with roofed smoke exits. Also,
several other stops in the Zlatibor Mountain. Arrive Mt.
Zlatar in the afternoon (1,625 m a.s.l.).
Day
11: Western Serbia.
This is the Griffon Vulture day and once again
we will make an early start: 30 km drive to the dam wall,
fallowed by leisurely 30 km sailing along the flooded meanders
of Uvac Gorge Sanctuary
(1000 m a.s.l.). Over 150 bird species are recorded in the
reserve, 19 diurnal and 9 nocturnal birds of prey among
them. According to the 1998 census, population of the Griffon
Vulture is 250 individuals strong, and early in the morning
we will be able to observe adults on their nests and unpaired
individuals on their roost ledges, before they took the
thermals to the sky (usually not before 9h); and enjoy magnificent
vistas of the lake (inhabited by the elusive Otter and rarest
and biggest of European fast-water predator fish species
- Huchen) surrounded with limestone cliffs with solitary
pines. Other than flooded gorge, habitats include boreal
birch and aspen woods and alpine grassland. Need we say
more? This extraordinary area abounds with unusual and fascinating
birds: Griffon Vulture, Golden and Short-toed Eagles, Peregrine
and Hobby Falcons, Goosander, Nutcracker, as well as mammals
like Grey Wolf and Brown Bear (due to their elusive nature,
our chances to spot these mammals are fairly low). In the
mid-day we’ll have picnic lunch on the bank of the
upper Uvac, and in the afternoon visit to the mediaeval
Milesevo Orthodox Monastery, famous upon its Byzantine style
fresco paintings. Well preserved “The Angel on the
Christ’s Grave” is the masterpiece of 12th century
fresco technique. In
the late afternoon/evening we should hear and see several
species of owls - hopefully Tengmalm’s Owl among them.
Day
12: Return to Belgrade
and, depending on the time of departure, sightseeing/strolling/shopping
along the Knez Mihajlova street, visit to nearby 19th century
palace of Duchess Ljubica (turned into a museum), National
Museum or Museum of Frescoes, or ancient Kalemegdan Fortress
(first built by the Romans) for views over the confluence
of the two mighty rivers, the Sava and the Danube. If you’re
lucky, you may even be graced by the sight of White-tailed
Eagle soaring high in the Belgrade sky. Transfer to the
Airport.
Extensions:
-"Former-Yugoslavia"
birding adventure together with Croatia, Montenegro
and Slovenia (up to 30 days on request).
-Hungary-Serbia birding
(up to 21 days on request).
