Slovakia/Austria - March/April 2023
- Bob Croxton
- Apr 14, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 8
Locations in brackets after the date, are where I stayed that evening.
Wednesday 29 March (Bratislava)
Arrived at Bratislava late and stayed overnight at a nearby hotel.
Thursday 30 March (Sokolovce)
Light showers early and late, cool to mild, occasional sunny.
Šúr (A large nature reserve just to the NW of Bratislava. On the entrance sign it states it is a Ramsar Wetland Site. Apart from a pond, it seems to be grassland and woodland. Needs further visits to see what is actually there.)
Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Garganey, Little Grebe, Great Tit, Pheasant, Starling, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Robin, Hooded Crow.
Vodná nádrž Budmerice (Reservoir and fishpond surrounded by woodlands and reedbeds.)
Tree Sparrow, Song Thrush, Stonechat, Black Redstart, Red-crested Pochard, Great Crested Grebe, Garganey, White Wagtail, Coot, Teal, Swallow, Common Buzzard, Yellow-legged Gull.
Just to the north of Tranva
White Storks on nest.
Hlohovec gravel pits/angling ponds
Shoveler, Black-headed Gull.
Sĺňava Reservoir, Ratnovce
Cormorant
About
Collard Dove, Kestrel, Rook,
Friday 31 March (Turčianske Teplice)
Svrbice
Black Redstart, Tree Sparrow.
Luźany Resr
Full of water after being dry November 2022
Greenfinch, Roe Deer, Swallow.
Drive to Turčianske Teplice
Several fields with good size herds of Red and Roe Deer
Budiš
Up in the upland spruce forests now and very quiet until I dropped on Great Spotted Woodpecker and a male Black Woodpecker, Chiffchaff.
Dubocé to Sklené back lane
Crested Tit, Yellowhammer, Goldfinch, Green Woodpecker.
Turčianske Teplice
Mistle Thrush
Saturday 1 April (Turčianske Teplice)
Turčianske Teplice Fish Ponds
Great White Egret
Dubocé to Sklené back lane
Influx of Fieldfare, single Redwing, Hawfinch, Black Woodpecker, close view of a pair of Roe Deer, Crested Tits on the passenger side again, Coal Tit, Grey-headed Woodpecker, lots of common birds.
Afternoon walk up valley above Rakša
Winter pelage Red Squirrel but little else.
Turčianske Teplice
Stock Dove.
Sunday 2 April (Turčianske Teplice)
Rakša
Returned to yesterday's quiet walk early morning in the hope of a little more wildlife. Again very quiet just singing Song Thrush, with the sun out on the south side of the plateau, I did a quick drive back to Dubocé passing a White Stork on route.
As usual many birds about finches and thrushes galore, Stonechat, Black Redstart, White Wagtail, Nuthatch, Yellowhammer, Black Woodpecker third day running. New trip bird in Black Stork which flew over.
Turčianske Teplice Fishponds
6 Black Stork, 3 Great White Egret, Caspian Gulls, Grey-headed Woodpecker.
Turčianske Teplice Central Park
Grey Wagtail, Fieldfare lots of squabbling going on between birds.
Skalka
Treecreeper species, Long-tailed Tit (white-headed),
Dubocé
Revisited towards dusk. Sparrowhawk was all of note.
Monday 3 April (Mengusovce)
Donovaly Ski Resort
Good numbers of Song Thrushes, Fieldfares, two Ring Ouzel and Black Redstarts feeding on high grasslands, where snow had recently thawed.
Mountain Pass above Liptovská Lúžna
Redwing on lower slopes. Siskin and Chaffinches feeding on the roadsides full of grit and crushed spruce cones, up in the snow zone. Dunnock
Voda nádrź Besenova Reservoir
Goldeneye
Liptovská Mara Huge reservoir with little opportunities to view from a car.
Garganey
Liptovský Mikuláš Shell petrol station
Jackdaw
Stola
Immature Goshawk seemed on the small size, so presumed male. Note the breast streaking going down the body as opposed to across as on a Sparrowhawk.
Arrived at my 7 bedroom hostel type accommodation in Mengusovce in the Tatar Mountains foothills to find, I was to be the only person staying (The owner lived nearby), during the duration of my 4 night stay. Spooky at times.
Tuesday 4 April (Mengusovce)
Minus 5c at dawn barely reaching zero in the afternoon. Long walk up from the train station to a lake called Popradské Pleso in the high Tatras.
Found only a single Jay in over three hours.
Walk round ski village and frozen lake Štrbské Pleso
Goldcrest only new bird along with the usual Chaffinches and Siskins
Wednesday 5 April (Mengusovce)
Stola
Minus 8c on the car this morning. Another walk though these young woodlands. Soon after starting while crossing a bridge over a steam I found a Grey Wagtail quickly followed by two Dippers. Then just the usual Chaffinches, Siskin, Yellowhammer, Song Thrush and a lot of Coal Tits today.
Liptovska Tepliča
Upland grassland alive with Song Thrushes and a very obliging male Ring Ouzel.
Returned to Stola late afternoon for a walk. Quiet apart from a mixed flock of several of each Siskin, Chaffinch and my first of the trip Lesser Redpol. At the bridge where I had the Dippers this morning I noted a tree felled by a Beaver, thought it unusual for what was an upland shallow fast flowing rocky stream.
On entering Mengusovce there was a 100 plus flock of Fieldfare. From my bedroom window I could see a distant flock of small brown birds. In the hope of finding some pipits, I went to investigate. They were all Linnets.
Thursday 6 April (Mengusovce)
-5c with a cold wind, hazy sunshine morning, snow in the afternoon.
Podbanske - walk up the Tichá dolina (valley)
From the footbridge near the car park Grey Wagtail and Dipper.
The usual birds mainly Siskin with Chaffinch, Great & Coal Tit, a greyish bird gave brief views flying between spruces, could have been Nutcracker. After about 2 hours walking, the snow got deeper with little evidence of recent humans. I then came across some Brown Bear tracks in the snow, so with snow forecast from midday and a forecast of -11c windchill, I headed back down the valley to the car. The snow duly came, so I headed back to my accommodation for the rest of the day.
Friday 7 April (Sokolovce)
Vydrovo-Koliba
At 10:00 I found a deserted tourist spot. Went for a walk for over an hour, again Siskin by far the most common bird.
As I drove south back to Sokolovce a few signs of spring. White Storks on a nest and a few Swallows.
Orešany Airstrip
Crested Lark. A flock of over a hundred Tree Sparrows at the manure dump, despite the surrounding arable farmland being some of the most intensely farmed imaginable!
Sokolovce river, oxbow and reservoir
Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, thousands of gulls coming to roost on Gull Island.
Saturday 8 April (Sokolovce)
Sokolovce river, oxbow and reservoir
Walked around the river and oxbows all very quiet, until after a few hours while walking down the riverbank an immature Eastern Imperial Eagle flew over.
In the afternoon I was dropped off near Piešťany then walked back along the Reservoir to Sokolovce. Cold with drizzle, I was not expected much, but it turned out quiet productive Moorhen, 2 Kingfishers, Green Sandpiper and what I understand is a rare Slovak bird 4 Baltic Gulls.
Sunday 9 April (Sokolovce)
Sokolovce river and oxbows
After the usual Tree Sparrows by the car park 2 Little Ringed Plover flying around, a Raven flew over carrying a small mammal in its beak. Of note is the common sight of tree breeding Starlings in a lot of Slovakia. Just Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker a few Chiffchaff. Amazingly at the same location I had the Eastern Imperial Eagle yesterday an adult White-tailed Eagle flew over in the opposite direction. A few Swallows were heading north along the river with some House Martins. Caspian Gulls regularly passing overhead. Pair of Garganey on the Oxbow.
Orešany Airstrip
Several Crested Larks and the first Marsh Harrier of this trip a male.
Forest Ride
The local forest ranger took us for a long off-road ride in a 4X4 through extensive varied woodland including a return visit to last year's Eastern Imperial Eagles nest which is not thought to be in use this year. Despite the distance an Eagle flew off the nest. Later an adult flew into a tree and mated with his mate and hung around for a couple of minutes. Came out of the forest at Svbice to find a male Wheatear on top of a stack of straw.
Monday 10 April (Sokolovce)
Sokolovce river, oxbow and reservoir
New trip bird found quickly being pairs of Blackcap and on the river Goosander. Also about Kingfisher, Black Woodpecker and 2 pair of Hawfinch.
Orešany Airstrip
Male Marsh Harrier and a ring-tailed Hen Harrier.
Orešany Village
Came to me that I had not had a Serin yet, so a slow drive around the village looking at the top of conifers which are popular in Slovak gardens, soon found a Male.
Svbice
Skylark
Koplotovce
Quiet bird wise a few butterflies out in the sun Large White, Orange Tip, Brimstone.
Tuesday 11 April (Sokolovce)
Sokolovce river, oxbow and reservoir
Today's new bird was an interesting Little Egret which was following a pair of Goosanders on a shallow stretch of the river, pouncing on any fish disturbed by the Goosanders. All the usual birds with Nuthatch very vocal today.
Wednesday 12 April (Manchester)
Plavecký Mikuláš
A stop at this productive site in the past found a Red Kite flying over the car on arrival. Large colony of Tree Sparrows around the reedbeds. A male Reed Bunting put in a short appearance, but worringly no sign of the usual Corn Buntings. Another Green Sandpiper.
Lakšárska Nová Ves
A long walk in a lowland sandy Pine Forest with clearings and a bog reminiscent of Breckland in England. Fairly quiet apart from many Chaffinch, singing Blackcaps a Treecreeper species and by the bog, Beaver activity. Warm sunshine brought out Orange Tip, Speckled Wood and Brimstone butterflies.
Surprise when a 4X4 stopped and a ranger/keeper type guy approached me, I was well off the marked trail. I explained in my limited Slovak I was English. He then went back to his 4X4 and brought out his camera which had the same large lens as mine, smiled and went on his way!
Lapwings in freshly ploughed fields nearby.
Vysoká pri Morave
Another Red Kite.
Walk picking up a calling Hoopoe to and over the new foot/cycle bridge into Marchegg Austria. Main aim to visit the tree nesting White Storks which were busy nest building and displaying. A Black Kite flew along the river.
On returning over the bridge to Slovakia another Black Kite and the last birds of the trip a pair of Black Woodpecker.
Since the bridge was built over the River Morava and cycle lanes improved, the number of cyclists has increased dramatically. The whole area is one of Slovakia’s top nature reserves and as usual, the people who go on foot to quietly observe nature have to take second place to other interests, with the for mentioned Black Woodpeckers and other wildlife being scared away by passing cyclists.
Bad journey back to Manchester, flight late departing, arrived in Manchester at 2330 hrs, then had to wait nearly an hour for a train to get to my Travelodge in Piccadilly, all with torrential rain and a very cold wind, with waiting rooms closed.
Footnote
The following week after I left, a pair of Eastern Imperial Eagles made a new nest next to the river in Sokolovce in a very popular and visible area. My daughter and the local forrest ranger are monitoring, but no one is very hopeful of success.
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