Hvar birds, September 2024

In early September 2024 a birdwatching couple visited Hvar and we are delighted to report that their trip was reasonably fruitful!.

European Turtle Dove European Turtle Dove

Eco Hvar received this request for advice on September 2nd 2024:

"We are a birdwatching couple that will be visiting Hvar island from this Monday till Friday. Would you be able to share with us popular trails of watching birds? Specifically, also good places to watch bird migration? We are staying near Zavala on the island. Thanks in advance!"

Juvenile Red-Backed Shrike

Our reply:

"Many thanks for your inquiry. Unfortunately our resident birdwatcher Steve Jones has left Hvar due to family reasons, so it is difficult for us to recommend the best places for birdwatching. It is also true that bird numbers have declined dramatically over the past few years. This year the hot summer also seems to have taken its toll.

That said, we hope that around Zavala you will be able to enjoy some birdlife, especially if you head towards Gromin Dolac; other possible good areas are the upper track above Zavala towards Humac; the area around Soline near Vrboska; the pond in the Stari Grad Plain.

I expect you've seen the birdwatching reports on our website? Steve made an interesting report in the spring this year. If you look back over his reports from September / October from past years, you should get some idea of what to expect in the area between Stari Grad / Dol and Jelsa / Vrboska. For instance from October 2018.

It seems the bee-eaters have already left, also the swallows. The Scops owl has not been in evidence round my way in the last few days, whereas the eagle owl has been calling, which I always take as a sign of changing seasons. Your visit may be too early to see the cranes migrating, but you may well see others gathering and making their way our...

I'm sorry not to be able to help more, as we don't have 'trails' for birdwatchers. But you may find local people in Zavala who are interested and can give you some better guidance."

Female Blackcap hovering

The birdwatchers' report:

"Thanks a lot for your extensive reply. We ended up visiting the Stari Grad pond (which due to the weather was more a puddle) and the airport field, the area near Soline and we paid attention to birds near our stay in Gromin Dolac.

Short-toed Snake Eagle

We managed to (primarily) hear and see multiple bee-eaters during our stay (probably migratory birds), saw a Short-toed Snake eagle near the airport field, as well as Eurasian Sparrowhawk,

Eurasian Sparrowhawk

We also saw Tawny Pipit, Barn Swallows and Northern Wheatear, besides Red-Backed Shrike and Blackcap .

Tawny Pipit at the airfield

Near the Soline beach, we saw six (!) European Turtle Doves, but nothing else worth mentioning.

European Turtle Dove

Most exciting was probably overhearing multiple Black-Crowned Night herons in Gromin Dolac at night (still needs to be confirmed, but we have high hopes!). We also overheard Scops owl, but only once. 

Thanks again for providing us with the information, we really appreciate it!"

We in turn are extremely grateful to these keen birdwatchers for sharing their experiences on Hvar with us, we hope they will come again for a longer stay.

Nalazite se ovdje: Home Novosti iz prirode Hvar birds, September 2024

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Elnur Soltanov recorded speaking with fake oil and gas group that asked for deals in exchange for sponsoring talks

    The chief executive of Cop29 has been filmed apparently agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals at the climate summit.

    The recording has amplified calls by campaigners who want the fossil fuel industry and its lobbyists to be banned from future Cop talks.

    Continue reading...

  • The right funding now can protect the frontlines of the climate crisis from the worst effects of extreme weather events

    As we approach Cop29 in Baku, world leaders are due to set a new climate finance goal – a sum set aside to help poor countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of the climate crisis. Their negotiations take place against a backdrop of increasingly severe weather events. This year alone, we have witnessed deadly heatwaves across north Africa, Mexico, India and Saudi Arabia; a historic drought across southern Africa; catastrophic wildfires in the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands; record-breaking hurricanes in the Caribbean and the US; and plenty more. The climate emergency knows no borders and spares no one.

    These events serve as stark reminders of the pressing need for world leaders and all of us to protect vulnerable communities on the frontline of the climate crisis. For many developing countries, particularly in Africa, the cost of climate impacts is staggering. African nations are losing up to 5% of their GDP because of climate extremes, while some are diverting as much as 9% of their national budgets to overcome the fallout from them. The latest report by the World Meteorological Organization estimates that Africa south of the Sahara alone will need $30bn-$50bn annually over the next decade just to meet the costs of protecting communities facing unprecedented climate-related disasters. We will not be able to reduce poverty, eliminate hunger and build a prosperous and resilient global community without addressing the climate crisis.

    Ban Ki-moon is a former secretary general of the United Nations and co-chair, Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens

    Continue reading...

  • The new president’s disruptive policies will challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s green goals. But with strong leadership he could enhance Britain’s global influence

    Donald Trump’s electoral earthquake in America will complicate Sir Keir Starmer’s plans. Nowhere will the shock of Mr Trump’s win be more intensely felt than in environmental policy. His stance on climate – advocating a US exit from the Paris climate agreement and rallying behind “drill baby drill” – is more disruptive than constructive. This should concentrate Sir Keir’s mind as he heads to Cop29, the UN’s annual climate summit, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    At last year’s conference, world leaders agreed to “transition away” from fossil fuels in a just and orderly manner for the first time. Mr Trump, however, dismisses the climate crisis as a hoax. With this year likely to be the hottest on record, the devastating effects of global heating are undeniable, as extreme weather batters the planet. Mr Trump may ignore the facts, but the trail of climate-related chaos and destruction speaks for itself.

    Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

    Continue reading...

  • Black Mountains, south Wales: I pass statuesque bulls with brass rings through their nostrils, up a twisting ridge to the top

    Holy mountains are ten a penny in the “Celtic realms”, of course, but even among this plethora of landscape spirituality, Skirrid Fawr, at 1,594 feet, stands out, its great distinguishing landslip cleft clearly visible on its weather slope, gothically accentuated and strange.

    I’d viewed it the previous evening, a blue peak with a rockfall on its western scarp. So I ambled towards it on a dank afternoon from the valley of the little Afon Troddi, along delightful paths enlivened now and again by statuesque bulls sporting great brass rings through their nostrils.

    Continue reading...

  • On the eve of Cop29 in Baku, António Guterres says dangers are underestimated as irreversible tipping points near

    The world is still underestimating the risk of catastrophic climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse, the UN secretary general has warned in the run-up to Cop29, acknowledging that the rise in global heating is on course to soar past 1.5C (2.7F) over pre-industrial levels in the coming years.

    Humanity is approaching potentially irreversible tipping points such as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest and the Greenland ice sheet as global temperatures rise, António Guterres has said, warning that governments are not making the deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions needed to limit warming to safe levels.

    Continue reading...

  • Farmers’ union to bring 1,800 members to Westminster in protest, but some say mega-rich landowners are the problem

    In the next few weeks tractors full of angry farmers could roll through the stately streets of Westminster. They have had enough, they say. The change to inheritance tax in the government’s budget last week was a blow – but it was also the most recent of a long series of blows. This is, apparently, as much as they can take.

    Rachel Reeves stirred up anger when she made a surprise announcement at the budget that farmland worth more than £1m would be subject to inheritance tax. Since 1992, agricultural property relief (APR) has meant family farms have been passed down tax-free in a policy intended to bolster food security and keep people on the family land.

    Continue reading...

  • Record carbon emissions, melting ice sheets and the return of the former US president will all be under the spotlight at this week’s climate summit

    It has been a remarkable year for meteorological mayhem with intense heatwaves and storms of extreme intensity battering many parts of our planet. Last month these culminated in the devastating floods that struck eastern Spain and killed hundreds.

    Ahead of this week’s Cop29 summit, scientists believe disasters like these are becoming more frequent because major changes in our climate are occurring as emissions from the burning of fossil fuel continue to rise.

    Continue reading...

  • If Trump’s re-election is getting you down, these innovations in medicine and technology should cheer you up

    Ian Sample

    Continue reading...

  • This marvel of nature can survive dehydration for years – but watering it will reveal beautiful green leaves

    Why will I love it?
    The fascinating resurrection plant (Selaginella lepidophylla) is a marvel of nature that can survive extreme dehydration for years by curling into a seemingly lifeless brown, dry ball, only to “resurrect” itself and turn green again when exposed to water.

    Light or shade?
    It thrives in bright, indirect light.

    Continue reading...

  • Prospects of strong outcome appear dim but there is hope the talks will address pressing issue of climate finance

    More than 100 heads of state and government are expected to land in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, over the next few days and the first thing they are likely to notice is the smell of oil. The odour hangs heavy in the air, evidence of the abundance of fossil fuels in this small country on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

    Flaring from refineries lights up the night sky, and the city is dotted with diminutive “nodding donkey” oil wells raising and lowering their pistons as they draw from the earth. Even the national symbol is a gas flame, epitomised in the shape of three skyscrapers that tower over the city.

    Continue reading...

Novosti: Cybermed.hr

Novosti: Biologija.com

  • Doba u kojem živimo obilježeno je sve bržim promjenama koje se name?‡u morskom okolišu, a gotovo za sve odgovorni su ljudi. Obalna zona Sredozemlja, pa tako i našeg Jadranskoga mora,  mjesto je na kojemu obitava više od polovice ukupnog stanovništva Mediterana te zbog toga ovo usko područje predstavlja i jedan od najugroženijih morskih okoliša.

  • U našem dijelu svijeta, koji zovemo zapadnim i smatramo razvijenim, prije samo 50 godina nisu sve žene imale pravo glasa na izborima, nisu imale jednak pristup obrazovanju, nisu mogle voditi države i nisu imale pristup visokim pozicijama u poslovnom svijetu.

  • Gotovo svi su upoznati s činjenicom kako oceani i mora prekrivaju više od 70 % površine Zemlje. Me?‘utim, nedovoljno je prepoznato kako su oceani, mora i obalna područja esencijalni dio Zemljinih ekosustava te kako o njima ovisi cijelo čovječanstvo, bilo na obali ili u dubokoj unutrašnjosti kontinenata! Zašto?

  • Ovaj cilj održivog razvoja odnosi se na ostvarivanje održive proizvodnje i potrošnje u čemu trenutačno ne uspijevamo jer je ekološki otisak koji ostavljamo i dalje ve?‡i od resursa koje imamo na raspolaganju. Dakle, potrebno je promijeniti načine na koji proizvodimo hranu, smanjiti bacanje hrane, pove?‡ati udjele obnovljive izvore energije u ukupnoj proizvodnji energije, pravilno gospodariti otpadom tijekom čitavog njegovog životnog ciklusa kako bi, me?‘u ostalim što manje utjecali na zaga?‘enje zraka, vode i tla.

  • Razvoj industrije i infrastrukture kao temelja za pove?‡anje životnog standarda za sve ljude, uz okolišno prihvatljiva rješenja te uključivanje novih tehnologija tema je cilja održivog razvoja koji se odnosi na okolišno prihvatljivu industrijalizaciju, kvalitetnu, pouzdanu, održivu i prilagodljivu infrastrukturu, a sve uz primjenu novih tehnologija, istraživanja i inovacija.