The Balkans - September 2024 - Trip List

Here's the customary trip list, sorted by country. 102 species in all, with four more added in Finland. As I said in earlier posts Spring would be the time to go, the trouble is you want to be everywhere in spring....

Dubrovnik coast

The Balkans - September 2024 - Day 1 - Croatia to Montenegro via Bosnia

The aim of this trip was really to visit two new countries. Mick and I had realised that if we flew to Dubrovnik it was but a short hop over the border into Bosnia and Herzogovina, and from there only a short distance to Montenegro. Three countries could easily be taken in over a long weekend, Friday to Monday. Our plans changed a bit shortly before we left when our return flight to London on Monday evening were cancelled, but we made the best of it and enjoyed an afternoon in Helsinki on the way home.

Friday evening requires little coverage. We landed at around 8.30pm, collected our car and then had a roadside meal on the way to our hotel in Cavtat.

Day 1 - Saturday

One of the most reliable sites in the Western Palearctic for Rock Partridge is the Velji Do overlook right next to Dubrovnik airport. This is where we started at first light. It is a good road, albeit narrow, and about two thirds of the way along, slight west of the end of the runway, is a stone-built platform offering a panoramic view south. Rock Partridge is not guaranteed, and indeed we had read multiple reports of failure, but our luck was in on this particular morning. Mick spotted a familiar profile on a ridge down the slope, and after setting the scope up we confirmed a new bird for our lists. I don't think any of the other species are present here, so if you see a Partridge this is what it is. Careful scoping revealed a further four birds, and as we returned to the car we flushed another eight from just west of the lookout point. It is always a relief to get the target bird out of the way so early, and this meant we could get on with the rest of the trip, as well as freeing up our Monday morning reserve session. We also saw a couple of migrating Tree Pipit here, and heard a distant Quail.

From the lookout point we had identified an agricultural area that looked promising near the village of Zvekovica. Most of the valley was shrouded in heavy mist but this spot was clear. In little over half an hour we recorded 20 species, with lots of migrants heading south including more Tree Pipit, a Red-throated Pipit, 100+ Alpine Swift, hundreds of Barn Swallow and House Martin, and three Honey Buzzard. We had breakfast at the same place we had eaten the previous evening, Pizzeria Zupcica at Soline. This had a Blue Rock Thrush on a nearby building, and another Honey Buzzard flew south. Our destination was the border crossing at Ivanica, along the 223, and at the start of this road we stopped at a quarry which had a number of Alpine Chough flying around. At the border crossing itself was a really smart Eastern Black-eared Wheatear.

Alpine Chough

The authorities here do check both passports and the car documentation, although I can't remember which side this happens at. You first go through the Croatia exit post, drive a little way through no man's land, and then have to stop again at the Bosnian entrance post. Out time in Bosnia was limited to about an hour, that was how long it would take to drive between Ivanica and the Montenegro border at Ilino Brdo. We stopped at near the village of Volujac where the landscape became more agricultural and we figured there would be more birds - the aim being to get as many species as possible on our Bosnian list before crossing the border. I don't think many birders with scopes are seen here, and we were bothered by someone pretending to be an official of some desciption who was basically being nosey. Policeman my arse. However this half hour stop was pretty decent, with loads of Alpine Swift passing overhead with House Martin and Swallows. We were able to pick out at least two Red-rumped Swallow with them. Of note were tons of Spotted Flycatchers, at least 16 around a small orchard. Another Tree Pipit zeeped over and with all of the passerine activity it was no real surprise to find a Merlin barrelling around.

At Trebinje we had a quick look at the river which produced Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Mallard and Cormorant for our fledging Bosnia list, and a little further along the river where a rickety bridge crosses a wider stretch we added Pygmy Cormorant, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Red-backed Shrike, Spanish Sparrow and various other common birds. It is actually quite fun being in a new place and trying to scoop up as much as possible as you pay attention to birds you might otherwise ignore. In a forested area just before the border crossing we found a couple of Crested Tit at a random roadside pull-in. 

So that was it for Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had been in the country for a mere two hours as we crossed the very bottom corner on our way to Montenegro, 32 species the final tally. Once again the car paperwork was checked, but it all stacked up and we were in our second new country of the day. We turned left and headed north to an area detailed by Gosney near the village of Petrovici. It is remarkable how little things can change, but the thing to bear in mind is when Gosney travels vs when you do as that is probably responsible for the biggest differences. So we found the various unpaved roads he mentioned pretty easily, but it was much harder to find the birds he mentioned! We  felt we did OK here via a number of short stops along perhaps a six mile section of the track. Highlights were Goshawk, Short-toed Eagle, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, several Red-backed Shrikes, Woodlark, Redstart, Whinchats and Wheatears, a pair of Rock Nuthatch, Cirl Buntings and a Rock Bunting. I imagine this area would be terrific in spring.

By now it was mid-afternoon and we were running out of time. Plus ca change. We had a brief stop and a late lunch at Grahovo, a flat valley reached after a steep descent from the hill country. More Red-backed Shrikes here, a flock of Linnet, Hooded Crows, and three Short-toed Eagle over the hillside. We continued south along the P11, our destination the picturesque town of Kotor at the bottom of a huge hammer-shaped inlet above the bay of Kotor, itself separated from the Adriatic a narrow channel. As we descended towards Lipci a quick stop added Blue Rock Thrush, several more Rock Nuthatch and some Rock Bunting. Once back at sea level we scoped up a number of Yellow-legged Gulls, as well as the highly photogenic church island of Skrpjela. We were able to see this from high up on the hillside, and once closer we could see that it was a wedding photography factory! 

At Kotor we parked outside the walled town - with some considerable difficulty it must be said, but just about managed it. The town itself is hugely beautiful, but also massively touristy which is why it has loads of accomodation. Of note was that every establishment claimed that their card machine wasn't working on the evening of our visit, and did we have cash? This included our hotel who cancelled our booking when we were in the room, and then hounded me for money for the rest of the next day when we were long gone! Clearly this is just their default position, but it's not a good look for the tourism industry. Something to bear in mind if you ever find yourself there as I expect that all the machines will still be mysteriously inoperable. 

The Balkans - September 2024 - Logistics and Itinerary

Logistics

• A long weeked in late September with Mick with the aim of visiting two new countries, Bosnia and Montenegro. We figured that we could easily fly into the very south of Croatia, spend a morning crossing over a small corner of Bosnia to Montenegro, and then scoot down to the coast and work our way back up to Croatia. Naturally we would eBird the whole way, with the "map" functionality rapidly taking over from any of the "Countries I've visited" style apps. And the birds would be decent too, with a chance of Rock Partridge right next to Dubrovnik airport.
• Flights: British Airways from Gatwick on late Friday afternoon, landing at Dubrovnik at 8.30pm. Booked with a car making it into a BA holiday. No time for birding that evening so we checked into a nearby hotel and effectively started the trip on Saturday morning. The original plan had been to fly back late on Monday evening, so a full three days in the Balkans, but shortly before we left our return flight was cancelled. Options were very limited and we had to return via Helsinki on Finnair on Monday morning. Not exactly direct but thankfully I enjoy flying and this did at least allow for a bit of birding in Finland.
• Transport:  Cheap as chips hire car from Avis. We had to pay a hefty €80 "fee" to take the car over the borders to Bosnia and Montenegro. Frankly this is a tourist tax and had we booked flights only and then hired a car from a local company there would have been no charge. The car paperwork was checked at each international border. Driving was very straightfoward.
• Accomodation: Generally bargain hotels close to where we wanted to be birding the next morning. The first night we just wanted to be close to the Rock Partridge location so stayed very near Dubrovnik airport at Cavtat. Second night in Kotor in Montenegro, and the third night back close to Dubrovnik airport for the morning flight to Helsinki.
• Literature/Resources: We read a few trip reports which seemed to confirm that the premier location for Rock Partridge were the steep slopes directly inland of the runway at Dubrovnik. We then used eBird to discover the best birding sites along our itinerary with a view to seeing as many species as we could in both Bosnia and Montenegro before returning to Croatia. Finally we also had a copy of "Finding Birds in Montenegro and Herzegovina" by Dave Gosney. I am not sure how old this one was, but even the ones published many years ago are good for general areas in which to search for birds, even if you don't follow the maps to the letter.
• Other: Croatia and Montenegro both use Euros. In Bosnia it's Marka, but I am not sure we stayed long enough to use any. In Kotor, where we stayed overnight in Montenegro, the entire town is running a scam whereby their credit card machines are all mysteriously 'broken' and could we please pay cash? This happened at the hotel, the restaurant, the café....

Itinerary

• Day 0 - Evening arrival into Dubrovnik. Overnight on the coast at Cavtat, north-west of the airport.
• Day 1 - Early start on the hillside above DBV runway (Velji Do overlook) for Rock Partridge. A bit of birding back at sea level before crossing into Bosnia mid-morning at Donji Brgat-Ivanica. Birding in Bosnia was very limited. We drove through Trebinje to the Montenegro border at Dolovi, and then birded around Brocana and Klenak. Then down to Kotor via Grahovac and Perast. Overnight at Kotor.
• Day 2 - Started the day at Solila NR near Tivat. Then down to the coast and south to Virpazar, a good wetland area on Lake Skadar. From here we ascended north-west into Lovcen NP, exiting through the far side and descending back to Solila for the evening. We then drove back to Croatia and stayed overnight near Komaji.
• Day 3 - A quick session at Cadmos Marsh before flying to Helsinki as part of a very roundabout journey home. We had worked in a five hour layover so as at least to be able to do something in Finland, a new country for Mick. In the event we took a local train a few stops to Vantaa  and went birding for an hour and a half before catching the onward flight to London.