Serbia is amazing ! (1 Viewer)

Geoff WORCS · May 6, 2014

I moved to Serbia just last October and the birding is just fantastic.
This spring just gets better and Im seeing species on my doorstep that would take me all year trolling round Blighty to possibly see.
Im in central Serbia and feel like I have the place to myself as most of the small birding community seem to live in the north around Belgrade.
Here follows todays list all inside 1 sq km. of mixed farm land and deciduous forest.

3 Red Backed Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Bee-eater
Honey Buzzard
Black Stork
Wryneck
Ortolan Bunting
Corn Bunting
Cirl Bunting
Yellowhammer
Whinchat
6 Stonechat
Black Redstart
5 Common Whitethroat
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler
Blackcap
3 Golden Oriole
Wood Lark
6 Nightingale
Turtle Dove
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Tree Sparrow
etc.

The density of species just seems incredible at times, today I stood in one spot and saw both Shrikes, Bee-eater, Ortolan Bunting, Corn Bunting, Stonechat, Whinchat, Black Redstart, Common Whitethroat and Barn Swallow and heard Nightingale,Wryneck Golden Oriole, Wood Lark & Cuckoo,

Has to be one of my best birding days in the last 35 years !

Serbia is a great place and I can thoroughly recommend it as a cheap destination, the people are friendly, food and weather is great and birds even better
My Blog is here - http://englishbirderinserbia.blogspot.com/
Also please check - http://www.birdwatchserbia.rs/catalogue/

Regards

Geoff Laight

KenM · May 6, 2014

It sounds like a ''Birder's/photographer's heaven''......keep on posting. :t:

Kits · May 8, 2014

Lucky you! Sounds great.

Geoff WORCS · May 8, 2014

Thanks Ken and Kits.

Boro Birder · May 9, 2014

Sounds great, if I am correct I am sure there is a location were you can go and see numerous amounts of LE Owls in a town centre in Serbia, looks like this country is well worth a visit.

Damian.

Geoff WORCS · May 12, 2014

Boro Birder said:
Sounds great, if I am correct I am sure there is a location were you can go and see numerous amounts of LE Owls in a town centre in Serbia, looks like this country is well worth a visit.

Damian.

Yes Damien you are quite right the town square in Kikinda has hosted up to 750 Long Eared Owls ! will definitely be considering a visit there this winter.

Cant recommend Serbia to much in many ways it still hosts many of the species that the UK had in abundance in past decades but has sadly lost due Im sure in no small part to intensive agriculture.

Geoff

Brian Stretch · May 13, 2014

Hi Geoff,

Good to see you've setup a blog. Will be following it with great interest.

As you know, birding in Worcestershire is tough at the best of times but its fair to say we are probably experiencing the worst spring on record. Numbers are lower than I can ever remember, even some of the regular migrants including Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail have been especially low in number.

Looks like you made your escape in time before our own countryside becomes a bird-less 'desert'.

Enjoy those birds and if you can spare any we would be very grateful :t:

Brian
________________
Worcester Birding
Follow Worcester Birding on Twitter @WorcsBirding

Geoff WORCS · May 13, 2014

Brian Stretch said:
Hi Geoff,

Good to see you've setup a blog. Will be following it with great interest.

As you know, birding in Worcestershire is tough at the best of times but its fair to say we are probably experiencing the worst spring on record. Numbers are lower than I can ever remember, even some of the regular migrants including Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail have been especially low in number.

Looks like you made your escape in time before our own countryside becomes a bird-less 'desert'.

Enjoy those birds and if you can spare any we would be very grateful :t:

Brian
________________
Worcester Birding
Follow Worcester Birding on Twitter @WorcsBirding

Hi Brian
Thanks so much for replying to this and for the Gen on Blighty.
My feelings are very much like yours with regards to UK birds, I too have seen some incredible declines, for me over the last, very short 35 years. Serbia in some respects is like stepping back in time, agriculture is not that intensive and I have the opportunity to see how species like Tree sparrow, Wryneck, Turtle dove, Nightingale and Red backed shrike used to breed in the UK. The Big bugs haven't been sprayed out of existence for the shrikes etc. and old and dead trees so loved by the hole nesters haven't been ''tidied'' ? out of existence.

Are you still holidaying/birding in Portugal ?

Will do my best to send you some of these migrants

Best Regards
Geoff

PS - If you are interested in a birding holiday over here let me know Im sure we can put you up for a week.

Brian Stretch · May 14, 2014

Geoff WORCS said:
Hi Brian
Thanks so much for replying to this and for the Gen on Blighty.
My feelings are very much like yours with regards to UK birds, I too have seen some incredible declines, for me over the last, very short 35 years. Serbia in some respects is like stepping back in time, agriculture is not that intensive and I have the opportunity to see how species like Tree sparrow, Wryneck, Turtle dove, Nightingale and Red backed shrike used to breed in the UK. The Big bugs haven't been sprayed out of existence for the shrikes etc. and old and dead trees so loved by the hole nesters haven't been ''tidied'' ? out of existence.

Are you still holidaying/birding in Portugal ?

Will do my best to send you some of these migrants
Best Regards
Geoff

PS - If you are interested in a birding holiday over here let me know Im sure we can put you up for a week.

Hi Geoff,

Great, thanks for that. Will let you know, sounds like a fantastic area for seeing good numbers of the birds we once had in quantity.

Wish I was still in Portugal, another country which is rich in birdlife, again due to the lack of intensive farming. Recently had a week in Lanzarote which is hard work at times, but great birding to be had in the right places.

Brian
________________
Worcester Birding
Follow Worcester Birding on Twitter @WorcsBirding

Boro Birder · May 14, 2014

It's rather this location or Southern France for me in 2016, but if I'm honest this place looks like it beats France easily, the concentration of species you are seeing Geoff is something else, lots on my wish list, keep up the reports and blog, loving them both.

Thanks
Damian

Zheljko · May 16, 2014

Geoff, are you OK? Are you being evacuated?

Geoff WORCS · Jun 8, 2014

Boro Birder said:
It's rather this location or Southern France for me in 2016, but if I'm honest this place looks like it beats France easily, the concentration of species you are seeing Geoff is something else, lots on my wish list, keep up the reports and blog, loving them both.

Thanks
Damian

Hi Damien,
sorry for the late reply with this but I didn't receive any e-mail notifications for the last couple of posts on my thread for some reason ?
Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.
I take it you are retiring abroad in 2016 ? If I can help in any way please let me know.

Geoff

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