A selection of wildlife sites I have found/visited
Cut and paste the coordinates below the site names into Google Maps for locations
Woodlands to the NW of Chtelnica
48.613905, 17.585996
These woodlands on limestone about 32 Kilometres NW of Hlohovec have been the most productive I have found so far. Leave the village of Chtelnica in a NW direction from the square/bus station taking two right forks, the second before the church. You will eventually pass a reservoir, (Go left or right they all end up at the same place.) which is an interesting habitat, if it does not have too many fishermen. After the first reservoir continue on a narrow tarmac road until you come to a smaller reservoir, where there is plenty of parking. From here there are many marked/coloured trails, some going up onto the hills. So far from three visits in 2017, I have found Grey-headed, Black, Great Spotted, Middle Spotted and White-backed Woodpeckers. The top reservoir is good for dragonflies and the trails superb for butterflies. One of my lives' greatest wildlife moments happened in June 2017, when a Lesser Purple Emperor butterfly took a fancy to my sweaty sock, staying for several minutes. A visit to the area in March 2018 was interesting. Upon arriving at the top reservoir a Black Stork flew up from the stream below the reservoir. I then recorded a number of birds coming down to this stream to drink including Chaffinch, Brambling, Hawfinch, Marsh Tit, Song Thrush etc.
Airstrip to the NE of Orešany
48.513129, 17.911700
This airstrip about 15 Kilometres NE of Hlohovec has been fairly productive for birds. You access the strip from the main road past a big manure dump, I presume the tarmacked strip is used occasionally for crop spraying, but it always seems to be open access. Being on the ridge of a hill, makes it a good place for visible migration and I have had Curlew, Hen Harrier and Black Stork fly over. A scan will usually reveal many soaring Buzzards and Marsh Harriers in Summer. By the manure dump look for Stock Doves, Crested Lark, Tree Sparrows, Black Redstarts, Great Grey Shrike and a variety of finches. In September 2017 I had a large flock of immature and female Serins, which can cause some head scratching, when you are used to seeing singing males. Roe Deer are common in the fields. Nearby overhead lines on the road to Svrbice have been reliable in autumn for Great Grey Shrikes in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021.
Senné Fishponds - September 2017
48.696063, 22.077094
This site is regarded as one of the best wetlands for birds in Slovakia. According to Gerard Gorman’s guide to Eastern Europe access was difficult in the early 2000s. We arrived and parked at the remote entrance to the commercial fishponds, as described in the above book. A footpath sign stated the reserve part of the fishponds was a 45-minute walk in a vague direction. Entering the fishpond gate, sent a caged dog into a frenzy, a guy came out of a building and we were gestured to leave. He pointed to a rough track on the other side of a dyke, to access the reserve. This we walked on for nearly an hour past rundown farm buildings, a field full of cattle, over a rickety wooden bridge, until we came across a reserve sign and a viewing tower in the distance. The sole bird of interest on the trek was a Purple Heron flushed from the dyke. The only way around the reserve was a deeply rutted track full of puddles, so we only went to the first viewing tower. There was several species of common duck among the geese a long way away. A ringtail Hen Harrier made an interesting sight while it spent a long time harassing two Magpies in some scrub. A juvenile Marsh Harrier came close to the tower and two White-tailed Eagles were disturbing the geese in the distance. Find of the day was while having our sandwiches I noted some bat droppings on the floor of the observation tower, looking up a bat appeared at a hole. From the photo I have, presumed it to be one of the Pipistelle species. We found why the track was so rutted when a man with binoculars on a quad bike passed by, he waved at us, and we guessed he was a warden! We were the only people on the reserve that day and our opinion was that it gets very few visitors. This seems a shame as it holds many more bird species than any British reserve but access is appalling by the standards of most of the top reserves in Britain, Europe and the USA. It might be easier to turn left at the fork in the village of Iňačovce and see how far you can drive to park, there is then a track to the reserve.
Vodná nádrž Kráľová (Reservior to the south of Sered on the River Vah)
48.217169, 17.813528
Visited this area a few time now trying to find the best points of access. The reservoir is about 63 Kilometres NE of Bratislava. On the western side to the south of Sered there is walk in access from the villages of Dolná Streda and Váhovce, then about 5 Kilometers south there is a left turn to a group of hotels and restaurants with good views on top of the floodbank. On the eastern side there are two access points one from the centre of the village of Šoporňa, where there is a narrow lane opposite the church. Just to the south of Šoporňa there is a right turn to the Hotel Relax Inn, go down this road and keep to your right driving along the old course of the river, where there a large car park with good views of the reservoir atop the dam wall. The old course of the river looks good for herons, Grey and Great White Egrets, Night Herons present. The wet woodland also look good. From the top of the bank in March there were large flocks of the commoner ducks, plus without a scope I picked up Scaup, Smew and Long-tailed Duck. One of the most reliable Slovak sites for Pygmy Cormorant.
Fishponds and floodplain between Hlohovec and Piešťany
48.495973, 17.802613
In this area I have observed Osprey, Little-ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper, Common Tern, Black, Grey-headed and Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Wryneck, Hoopoe, Summer Fieldfares, Nightingales, Red-backed Shrikes, Golden Orioles and Hawfinches. The grasslands are excellent for butterflies.
On the western side of the River Vah access from the villages of Madunice and Drahovce, in both case by traveling along lanes from the centre of the villages and going over bridges that span a canal. Once over the canal there is a road mostly tarmaced following the course of the canal, with tracks off to the fishing ponds, which are used by anglers. The side of the road opposite the canal is flanked by hedgerows, Poplar woods and agricultural fields. it is possible to park in many places and walk through a variety of habitats. Best visited in the week when there are fewer anglers, but the woodland areas are fairly quiet in the morning and some of the tracks, reach the River Vah.
On the eastern side of the River Vah there is a footpath from Hlohovec all the way to Piešťany. Some of the best places to explore are to park next to the sports ground in Koplotovce and on the floodbank just to the south of Sokolovce, where there are Tree Sparrows nesting in the roof of a presumed pump house. The Oxbows in this area can have have Gargany, Night Heron and White-tailed Eagle.
Strelniky
48.721714, 19.393814
I have stayed in this upland village in central Slovakia on four occasions in early spring and autumn. I can recommend the reasonably priced 8+ bed apartment apartment https://www.opat.sk
There are many quiet hardcore tracks from the village going out into the surrounding upland meadows and spruce woods. Most can be followed downhill to the town of Ľubietová where there are regular buses with cheap fares back to Stelniky. For the more adventuous there are long distance walks into the Polana National Park. Golden Eagle, Goshawk, Peregrine. Depending on the time of year Tree Sparrow, Hawfinch, Brambling, Siskin and Yellowhammer can be very common. Woodpeckers include Great spotted, Lesser Spotted and Black. Nutcrackers are around as well as Crested Tits and Firecrest. A 15 Kilometre drive north takes you into the Low Tatras mountain range.
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