Birdwatching in Croatia | Birdwatching area 5

Location: Nature park Biokovo, Delta of river Neretva

Birdwatching area Nature park Biokovo

Biokovo is a part of the Dinaric Mountains and as such has a direction of NW-SE. The material in the lower parts towards the sea and on the opposite Zagorje side is mainly made up of Eocene Flysch sediments while the higher parts are shaped into carbonate sedimentary rocks.

Based on previous research it can be concluded that the fauna of Biokovo is distinctive and varied although, unfortunately, still insufficiently explored. In the area of Biokovo there was a large number of endemic and tertiary relicts due to the fact that it is situated in a part of Europe which during the Tertiary was not largely affected by glaciation.

Botanical garden is located on the coastal slopes of the mountain slope above the village Kotišina, at an altitude of 350-500 meters and is an integral part of Biokovo Nature Park.

Birdwatching area Delta of river Neretva

Neretva Delta is the river delta of the Neretva, a river that flows through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and empties in the Adriatic Sea. The delta is a unique landscape in southern Croatia, and a wetland that is listed under the Ramsar Convention as internationally important, as the wetland extends into the Hutovo Blato in Herzegovina.

The total alluvial area of the delta is estimated at around 19,000 ha (73 sq mi), while today the delta takes up roughly 11,490 ha (44.4 sq mi).

A total of 1,620 ha (6.3 sq mi) of the delta are designated protected areas:

ornithological reserves: Prud, Orepak, Podgredom
ornithological and ichthyological reserve at the river mouth
protected landscape: lake Modro oko

Birdwatching area South Dalmatia, mountain Biokovo and delta of the river Neretva

Biokovo – Mount with steep cliffs and sinkholes of rises almost directly from the sea. It is the best location for watching some high-mountain species such as Alpine accentor (Prunella collaris), Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Rock Thrush(Monticola saxatilis) and Red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax Pyrrhocorax). For last 50 years Neretva Delta is a large area that is meliorated intense, but still full of birds, with important populations of purple heron (Ardea purpurea), Pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus), Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) and Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis).