Korcula, Croatia

This isn't really a trip report. It was hot and hard work to do any nature watching but I did manage to see a few odds and sods including a single bird lifer when an Olive-tree Warbler briefly popped up in the apartment gardens one morning. Mostly it was enjoying the inverts and the odd reptile. The holiday was in two parts. The first week was hot and the second week was extremely hot.

Southern White Admiral

Birdwise it was difficult as there was an extensive pine dominated scrub which was near impenetrable across the island so birding localities were limited. I tried some raptor watching first week with very limited success - two distant buteo sp, a probable Honey Buzzard and a distant Short-toed Eagle. Due to the heat there were very few birds visible during the day aside from Pallid Swifts, Swallows and Yellow-legged Gulls. Presumably most passerines were moulting and hiding from the sun. Red-backed Shrikes were evident in the first week with recently fledged young but presumably the fledging young and increased temps meant that these went to ground when the temperature hit the late 30s and early 40s.

Slightly scruffy Red-backed Shrike

A few warblers were knocking round the apartments and it took a few days to unravel what they were due to the brevity of views and lack of song but it was soon noticeable that a couple of Sardinian Warblers were in residence plus a myriad of Eastern Subalpine Warblers and a single Olive-tree Warbler was seen in the fig tree by the pool. A jaunt along a nearby goat track in the second half of the holiday revealed more subalps and a family of Wood Warblers plus an Icterine Warbler.

Icterine Warbler

On the reptile front it was uneventful although I did have three sightings of Balkan Wall Lizard in the first week. These were incredibly quick so unsurprisingly when it heated up even more they vanished. Turkish Gecko's were a feature throughout with several including adults and juveniles present around the apartment with a juvenile even residing in the kids room from which they took great delight. The final reptile was not as it seemed. A lumbering Hermann's Tortoise was infact a walled in pet although no doubt was a product of the local hillside.

Female Balkan Wall Lizard

Butterflies were present in abundance and my inexperienced euro lep eyes managed to see some decent bits and pieces. I still have a perfusion of unidentified 'blues' but the presence of a fig tree, lavender bushes and a vegetable garden mean't that there were usually a few about. Scarce Swallowtail was usually present in the garden with the occasional visit from your common or garden Swallowtail. A Two-tailed Pacha was seen twice, both fleetingly as it graced us by the pool. Both Red Admiral and Painted Lady were seen on the lavender on occasion. A wall sp. was present in the garden along with a Clouded Yellow and Southern White Admirals were also a constant. Eastern Rock Grayling held a territory by the cars and were common throughout the island. The lavender held Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Small White as well as Small Copper including the distinctive 3rd brood morph. The only blues I have identified so far are Blue Argus and Brown Argus although I think I have a silver-studded type but more work needed. Away from the hotel I also had an Eastern Wood White with its distinctive brown tips to the antennae.

Eastern Wood White