Serbian sightings
DAVID LINDO An impressive variety of birdlife can be enjoyed in the Serbian capital and beyond
Urban birder David Lindo heads to Belgrade for his birding fix
Whenever you visit Serbia you will find that a warm, indeed, almost Mediterranean welcome, awaits you in this bird-rich country. The capital Belgrade (Beograd if you are Serbian) is also bird rich and is romantically known as the ‘White City’. Situated on the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans, its location is important both geographically and historically – if you overlook the numerous incursions. Most of the tourists who visit the city make a beeline for the busy, charismatic streets of Old Belgrade. Just beyond lies Kalemegdan, a fairly wooded park that contains a Turkish fortress that directly overlooks the confluence of the rivers.
Despite its number of day-trippers, this site is a bit of an urban migrant trap as spring and autumnal visits may reward you with views of traversing warblers and flycatchers. At ground level, there are a variety of interesting animals to notice including some nice looking lizards, dragonflies and plentiful Scarce Swallowtails. During the summer, Golden Oriole are listed among the breeding birds, while there is always a Bee-eater or two to be seen.
A small colony of about 10 pairs of Alpine Swifts have recently taken up summer residency nearby, constituting the first breeding in the city. But it is sometimes a case of blink and you will miss them as they often drift and glide very high above the city streets. So, keep your eyes to the skies. Elsewhere within the site, Long-eared, Scops and Little Owls breed along with Redstart and Black Redstart, Syrian Woodpecker and the hoary-naped eastern race of Jackdaw.
Kalemegdan is certainly under-watched and presents a lot of potential for the early rising birder. Looking east across the confluence is the large and heavilywooded Great War Island, that was once the home of a fairly large egret colony. Thankfully, these birds have relocated themselves at a nearby riparian wood and the island now boasts a winter roost of more than 2,500 Pygmy Cormorant – a target for many British birders.
There is an impressive array of predatory birds nesting here, including Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Hobby, Kestrel along with Tawny, Scops and Long-eared Owls. Plus, Hooded Crow, Black, Syrian, Green and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Golden Oriole, Penduline Tit, Icterine and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers are all expected during the summer months. There are regular sightings of urban White-tailed Eagles that also breed here, too. An incongruous sight, surely?
Meanwhile, on the river, Mallard are the predominant duck, while Great Crested and Little Grebes are frequent, with Blacknecked Grebes being a nice surprise. Gulls are usually to be seen cruising over the river in varying numbers depending on the time of year. You will most likely see Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls and the occasional Little Gull can be picked out among the throngs of their Black-headed cousins, particularly during the winter.
The keen ‘larophiles’ among you may also spot the Caspian Gulls that lurk with the more regular Yellow-legs. The key to finding them is to look for the classic sloping forehead, and slenderer bill that lacks a pronounced gonys (the bulge present on the lower mandible of the larger gulls).
When on the ground it’s the leggier appearance, the pigeon-chest and sloped back you should be looking for. First calendar year birds also have a startlingly white head that is another much-quoted feature. Either that, or simply equally assign all larger gulls as ‘another big gull’!
Topcˇider Park is not an accolade bestowed upon this site to celebrate a certain alcoholic apple drink, but the name of a forest park within the city. Actually pronounced ‘Top-chida’ it is a great spot for finding breeding Spotted and Collared Flycatchers. Plus, there is a panoply of woodpeckers, including Syrian, Black, Green, Grey-headed and Lesser Spotted to be found, too. Goshawks also breed, no doubt terrorising the nesting Long-eared Owls. The winter months are quiet by Serbian birding standards. The woodpeckers would have become quiet but you can still expect to see roving flocks of Hawfinch, as well as the obligatory roosting Long-eared Owls, although not in the numbers that you will find further north in the country.
Perhaps the best place to go birding in Belgrade is literally not even on the map yet. Indeed, it is still work in progress. Mika Alas, also known as Veliko Blato – its name literally translates into English as Great Swamp – is an area of disused fishponds on the edge of the city. There are 865 acres of wetlands here that includes one large lake with a few smaller ones along with an amount of agricultural land. Housing surrounds the whole site. Its proximity to the Sava and Danube Rivers means that it attracts a lot of waterbirds. For example, the site contains a heronry with four species represented, including Purple Heron. White-tailed Eagle is a regular visitor.
The list of species recorded here is already pretty extensive, ranging from Great Grey Shrike and White-fronted Geese during the winter to Cuckoo and Barred Warbler during the breeding season. Mika Alas will certainly be a site to watch in the coming years. It is easy to reach from the city with many transport options and in fact, the conservation body managing the site are in talks with the landowners and the local council about plans to make this site into a Serbian version of the London Wetland Centre.
Thanks to: Milan Ruži´c – President of the Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia/ BirdLife Serbia: pticesrbije.rs
EuroNatur: euronatur.org/en/
MAVA Foundation: mava-foundation.org/
DAVID SAYS: Belgrade needs a new history – a birding history!