I had a relatively cheap and easy few days in Croatia, with just a single target bird species.. Rock Partridge, but hopes for a few other animals, plus several Orchids. The trip was made more enjoyable having purchased a new camera in the weeks leading up to the trip and had an intense few days getting used to it’s features.
I flew to Dubrovnik with Easyjet, and stayed in a reasonably cheap AirBnB near the airport. My hire car was also fairly cheap and basic. To be honest, I didn’t really venture far, most of the time within sight or hearing distance of Dubrovnik Airport.
There was a nice mix of habitats ranging from rocky hillsides, woodland, lowland pastures and rocky coasts. I spent a decent amount of time in all the habitats. Weather was mostly fine although strong winds dictated when I could venture to the hills. I quickly found out it was a lost cause in the hills, if there was a breeze at sea level.
I initially failed to find Rock Partridge at the well publicised watchpoint overlooking the airport. The first morning being quite blustery. However, it was milder on subsequent visits, and Rock Partridges seemed to be quite easy to see albeit with mainly distant views.
Other good birds were Orphean Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Black Headed Bunting, Alpine Swift, Bee-Eater, Nightjar, Black-eared Wheatear, and Short-toed Eagle.
Orchids were surprisingly easy to catch up with, and on my first morning I had seen some very nice Scented, Horned, Bee, Loose-Flowered, Tongue, and Pyramidal. Later on, in the first day I found Sparse-flowered.
So, nice to see all my main targets on the first day, which left 4 days to try out my camera with many bugs, Grasshoppers, Butterflies, a few nice Moths, and lots of wild flowers keeping me busy.
Sightings on iNaturalist at the following link:
#Wildlife #Croatia #Flowers #Birds
Peter Jones Wildlife Blog 
Leave a comment