Croatia .. a country of a thousand islands, surrounded by the beautiful Adriatic Sea, home to one of the last remaining European populations of free wolves, bears, lynx and other endangered wildlife species…also, a country where west and east met in order to create a unique mixture of culture, tradition, architecture and lifestyle… but, what about Croatia as a birdwatching destination? Interested?

Croatia is a small country, that covers the area of only 56 000 km2 (which is about 10 times less than the surface of Spain) but still is one of the most interesting countries on the European birdwatching map. Why, you ask?

One of the main reasons is the fact that in such a small area you can find 4 different types of habitats: the lowlands of the green continental Croatia, the mountains that form a barrier between the continental and Mediterranean climate and the coastal area together with it’s beautiful Adriatic archipelago of more than 1000 islands! These habitats can be classified as habitats of four basic zones: Pannonian, Continental, Alpine and Mediterranean.

Within these habitats, you can find 8 national parks, 11 nature parks, many reserves, and as much as 23 IBA-s in Croatia. What is more, each passionate birdwatcher will be pleased to hear that in Croatia there are 20 ornithological reserves and four wetland sites that are on the list of the Ramsar Convention – these sites are NATURE PARK KOPACKI RIT, NATURE PARK LONJSKO POLJE & MOKRO POLJE (INCL. KRAPJE DJOL), CRNA MLAKA and DELTA NERETVE (the delta of river Neretva). What is more, Croatia is home to one of the last remaining natural river beds in Europe – river Drava – also called, “The Croatian Amazonas”!

Many of these areas are covered within our programs of birdwatching in Croatia.

Such a variety of different landscapes creates a home to a bird population that covers almost all of the categories – montane, lowland, boreal, wetland and marine birds. Croatia’s rich avifauna consists of 387 bird species, of which 233 species are nesters. What is more, 178 species are classed as threatened on the national level, 69 on the European level and 21 on the global level. For a complete bird checklist for Croatia, with their status and level of endangerement, please check here.

Some of the main reasons for birdwatching in Croatia

• A variety of different types of habitats – thus, a bird population that covers almost all of the categories – montane, lowland, boreal, wetland and marine birds – if you want to cover as much of these different populations in one program, you will want to choose our 8-day program “Birdlife of Croatia – from north to south”
• A high level of nature protection, giving us the opportunity to visit several RAMSAR sites in one program – birdwatchers especially interested in wetland bird populations will enjoy in our program “Secret birdlife of the Green Croatia”
• Croatia is home to many bird species endangered on the European and global level – for example, it is the only eastern European country that has breeding Cory’s and Yelkouan Shearwaters, Audouin’s Gull and Eleonora’s Falcons! Birdwatchers especially interested in “checking” these species on their checklist will enjoy our “Weekend on the islands of Dalmatia”
• In addition to all of this, it is important to say that Croatia has a rich and colorful wildlife in general, that can be found in many protected areas that we visit, so for each birdwatcher interested also in flora and fauna in general, our programs will be a memorable experience
• After a full day spent in the nature, in search of birds you dream of having on your check-list, you will also enjoy the world-wide known traditional Croatian cuisine and wines; Croatia is proud to still be able to offer fresh and healthy home-made food prepared in a traditional style, served together with wines that have won rewards across the world for its eco-production and exquisite taste; so, if apart from being a bird lover, you enjoy good food and wine, our programs will offer you gastro-enological surprises you will definitely remember!

Perhapse you might think how close to Croatia there are several other countries already You will be amazed how in such a short time you can meet and explore