Trip Report Slovakia and Poland June 2018
- Bob Croxton
- Jun 24, 2018
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 29, 2024
Wednesday 6 June
Flew Rynair Manchester to Bratislava, 20 minutes late. Nightingale singing on the walk to my hotel in the dark.
THURSDAY 7 June
Picked my hire car up at 0800 and drove along the north side of Danube/Hungarian border. Stopped and explored a number of floodplain forests and fishponds, picking up the following birds.
Great Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Buzzard, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Coot, Moorhen, White Stork, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Crested Lark, Bee-eater, Swallow, House Martin, White Wagtail, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Blackcap, Great Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Hooded Crow, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Swift, Grey Heron, Golden Oriole. Then headed north following the River Vah to my base at Hlohovec.
Friday 8 June
Reservoirs and woods north of Chtelnica
Black Redstart, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Pheasant, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Green Woodpecker. In the afternoon I visited a large memorial high on a hill to the NE of Brezova pod Bradlom. Main hope was to try and find Honey Buzzard soaring in the warm weather, but only Common Buzzard showed. Back in Brezova pod Bradlom, I noted that some communist era flats had Swift boxes fitted to the side of them and they seemed to be well used by a healthy population of Swifts. Returning to Hlohovec I found that during refurbishment, many of the flats there, also had Swift boxes fitted.
Saturday 9 June
Fishponds adjacent to Madjuce and Drahovce
Lots of Golden Orioles and Nightingales, plus Hawfinch and Red backed Shrike. Many butterflies including Great Banded Greyling and Lesser Purple Emperor.
Sunday 10 June
Fish Ponds next to Koplotovce
Little-ringed Plover with young and most of the same birds from yesterday.
Monday 11 June
Drive up to my next destination for four nights at Oravská Polhoranear next to the Polish border in NW Slovakia. At a T-junction high above Zliechov two Corncrakes and Skylarks singing in an upland meadow. Visited the ski resort above the town of Terchová, considered going up the ski lift in search of some of the mountain birds, but with a forecast of thunder, I abandoned my quest. There was then two torrential downpours, while I had my lunch back in the town. Called in at a ‘special protection area’ around the villages of Novo and Mútne, where the farming is fairly traditional and hay is put onto hayricks to dry. Lots of Buzzards and Kestrals around and managed to find a single Lesser Spotted Eagle. Near my apartment at Oravská Polhora was a quiet lane over a hill to a small tourist area Mokrá Lúka. Nearby was a peat bog reserve called rašelinisko Slaná voda. At the bog there was a 0.5 kilometre boardwalk, paid for with an EU grant in 2014, which was already rotting away. Typical plants you would find at a good UK bog. Two Corncrakes calling nearby.
Tuesday 12 June
Morning walk after heavy rain starting at Mokrá Lúka. Lots of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, plus Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, White-throated Dipper and a good selection of butterflies. In the afternoon in warm sunshine drove over the border into Poland, but fairly quiet. Explored the woodlands around Orava Reservior in the hope of some woodpeckers. Note many of the woods described in “Gorman’s Birding in Eastern Europe” have recently been felled!
Evening walk from Mokrá Lúka found little other than Chiffchaff, Tree Pipit and Corncrakes from just after nine.
Wednesday 13 June
Again early morning rain. Went for a walk along a forestry road but abandoned after too many lorries went past. Then went over the border into Poland to walk through a conifer forest, found little and drove around for a while struggling to find any quiet roads. In the afternoon back at Mokrá Lúka birds fairly quiet, Camberwell Beauty was a great find, but the only other find was the first Black Stork of my trip. Evening rain made me give up on wildlife and go to the local eatery, Pizza €3:60, large beer €1:00. Don't think they get many English up here.
Thursday 14 June
Rained almost non-stop until 4.30 pm. Drove around Orava Reservoir with a few short walks but found nothing new. Drove back into Poland for a while in the rain, but very disappointing. Parked the car at the apartment and walked over the hill thorough the grasslands to the bar at Mokrá Lúka. The barman was reluctant to stop watching Russia in the World Cup to serve me! Later what I took to be his wife came into the bar, took one look at him watching the football, shook her head and walked away. Bought another beer at half time, but struggled to get him away from the TV, to pay my bill. On the way back found a singing Willow Warbler.
Friday 15 June
Travelled back to Hlohovec on a warm sunny day, slowly on the quietest, most remote roads I could find, disappointingly finding no new wildlife.
Saturday 16 June
Fishponds adjacent to Madjuce and Drahovce
Nightingales, Golden Orioles, Turtle Dove, Black Stork, Wryneck etc. Tufted Duck on canal.
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Sunday 17 June
Koplotovce fishponds
A female flycatcher showing a white wingbar was of interest, from a distant photo I was able to determine that it was probably a Pied Flycatcher. A Wryneck was very active, but difficult to get a decent photo, also Hawfinch and many butterflies including Silver-washed Fritilaries.
Monday 18 June
Koplotovce fishponds
Wryneck, Syrian Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Spotted Flycatcher.
Find of the day was a complete surprise, when first two and then elsewhere a single Martin, were leaping through grass. I have seen both Pine and Beech Martins in the past, due to the closeness and speed in which they passed; I was unable to make a positive identification. Both species are likely in the habitat I was in, according to “The Atlas of European Mammals”. (A. J. Mitchell-Jones et al. Poyser London. 1999)
Orešany Airstrip
Crested Lark, Turtle Dove, Tree Sparrow. By the manure dump I noted a white Starling and my hopes rose of it being Rosy. On closer inspection it turned out to be a leucistic Common Starling. Out on the surrounding prairie like arable farmland, a whole procession of raptors were dropping into a wheat field and coming up with prey, being Buzzard, 3 Marsh Harriers and Kestrel.
Top of pass on Road 499 between Piešťany and Radošina
A walk south along a long distance footpath found Nuthatch and Lesser Purple Emperor in the woods plus many other butterflies in the open areas.
Tuesday 19 June
Gave a short talk to students about Sheffield and wildlife, at one of my daughter’s schools in Trnava early morning.
DobráVoda
A long hot woodland walk found lots of soaring raptors, but only Buzzards identified. Very good for butterflies.
Back at Hlohoveca Serin was in the garden.
Wednesday 20 June
Time to go home today. As I usually do, I made my way via the Austrian border.
A reliable spot to increase my visit list is the drainage ditch between Plavecký Mikuláš and the big army training area. Again I was not disappointed Sparrowhawk, Yellow Wagtail, Stonechat, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting, plus Great Reed Warbler.
A few kilometres to the south of the village Vysoká pri Morave there is a tarmac track that ends with a no-vehicles sign at a floodbank. If you park here, it is possible to walk further along the track through floodplain forest and meadows. You then end up on the Slovak side of the River Morava/March opposite the eagle monument at Marchegg Stadt in Austria. In old birds guides such as Dave Gosney’s Eastern Austria, prior to the fall of communism, when access was difficult to Slovakia. You would go to the eagle monument (Austria), in the hope of seeing distant eagles over the border. However, way out on the recently cut meadows two eagles where feeding. on what I took to be a carcass. Eventually they took to the sky and from the wedge-shaped tail, it was obvious they were White-tailed Eagles. They were dive-bombed by a Buzzard that looked tiny by comparison. Soaring above them was a mixed flock of at least a dozen Black and Red Kites, this being the best place in Slovakia, I have found for these two species. Also present White Storks and a Swallowtail butterfly. It was then back to Bratislava for my flight home. Note there are no petrol stations on the motorway from the city side of the airport; you have to come off the motorway and find one, before the airport! Ryanair excelled coming home and arrived 15 minutes early at Manchester.
Butterfly List (In no particular order)
27 species without putting much effort into finding species.
Camberwell Beauty, Great Banded Greyling, Holly Blue, Small White, Large White, Green-veined White, Purple Emperor, Lesser Purple Emperor, Map, Marbled White, Nickerl’s Fritillary, Northern Wall Brown, Painted Lady, Pearly Heath, Small Heath, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Red Admiral, Silver Washed Fritillary, Small pearl-boarded Fritillary, Small Skipper, Weaver’s Fritillary, Peacock, Comma, Cleopatra, Common Blue, Swallowtail, Meadow Brown, Ringlet.
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