The mountain #limestone grasslands on #Snežnik's plateau are amazing at this time of year! Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) sitting near Scheuchzer's Bellflower (Campanula scheuchzeri) & Great Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea) in full bloom. #botany #wildslovenia

In these hot summer days, within the #Kras4us #interregITASLO project we're (DOPPS) searching the #Karst for nests of Short-toed #Eagle (#Circaetus gallicus). So far we've managed to find 2 in the canopies of Pinus nigra. The large chicks are almost ready to fledge.

Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) carrying a snake to its chick. Most often only the snake's tail sticks out from the bird's beak. The chick must then pull the whole snake out from the adult's stomach to feed on it. #Karst #shorttoedeagle #wildslovenia #Kras4us

Summer at Škocjanski zatok NR, just outside my office. Very hot & tall vegetation, but something can be always found in the freshwater marsh. Lots of juv Little Bitterns around, Purple Herons, Pygmy Cormorants, eclipse Garganeys & a Pike! #skocjanskizatok #wildslovenia

Escaping the summer heat by "diving" into #karstic #dolinas (sinkholes) such as Smrekova draga or #Paradana in Trnovski gozd. The latter has an ice-cave on the bottom, used for ice extraction until the 1960'. Amazing #alpine flora at the cave's entrance. #botany #wildslovenia

Carniolan Masterwort (Astrantia carniolica), obviously named after #Carniola (today's #Slovenia) & #Cyclamen purpurascens - both common in mountain mixed forests of the #Dinaric range & Alps. Cyclamen is some sort of harbinger of the autumn... #botany #wildslovenia

Exploring Gorski kotar, the natural continuation of Snežnik's plateau in Croatia (only 4 km from Slovenia's S border), forming the largest forest complex in southern Europe. #Dinaric forests as far as the eye can see, but within easy reach of the Adriatic. A bear-infested area!

Some #forest #wildlife from our summer excursions in the #Dinaric mountains: Silver-washed Fritillary on Eupatorium cannabinum, Red Fox, Common Frog & Red Squirrel. #wildslovenia

When you leave the grapes to ripe too much... Grayling (Hipparchia semele) & Woodland Grayling (H. fagi) having a communal feast in the garden. Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus) also likes ripening fruits of any sort. #lepidoptera #butterfly #wildslovenia #karst

"Primeval buzzard" in the #Dinaric forests on the Nanos plateau. #birding #wildslovenia #commonbuzzard

Old-growth-like #Dinaric #forests on the #Nanos plateau (W #Slovenia) showing damage signs of the 2014 ice-storm. Large amounts of #beech dead wood and apparently excellent habitat for White-backed Woodpecker. The species is very rare in this area though. #wildslovenia

Birding in the #Dinaric forest be like. Summer is a tough time for forest #birding, but in September birds start to be again more active. Lots of migrant Wood Warblers & Pied Flycatchers around at the moment, joining the local avifauna. #wildslovenia #beech

Roving the extensive dry #limestone #grasslands on mt. #Vremščica (1028 m) just "behind" home, looking for migrant #Dotterels. No luck. Of around 10 repetitive yearly visits in September, only 2 were the lucky ones with Dotterels seen. #wildslovenia #birding #migration #karst

In #Slovenia's #Dinaric forests this is the most typical indication that a Ural Owl is around (during the day). Volume on! Heavy mobbing by thrushes, Nuthatch, tits, Treecreeper, Robin & usually also Wren & Jay. (seen the actual owl, but no pic). #uralowl #wildslovenia #birding

Large & small Brown Bear's poo from the #Dinaric forests on #Snežnik's plateau. Also the time of year when bears like to turn large stones in search for ant's nests, earthworms and other invertebrates (source of proteins for the winter). #brownbear #wildslovenia

Red Deer's #rutting season has (slowly) began, both in the "lowland" #Karst and in the #Dinaric mountains. That time of year I'd like to be in the forest on a daily basis... #reddeer #cervuselaphus #wildslovenia

It's always worth to have a closer look at a damaged Silver Fir (Abies alba) in the #Dinaric forests. In this case a Fir Coral Tooth Fungus (Hericium flagellum), an indicator of old-growth forest was hiding underneath the wind-torn trunk. #wildslovenia #mycology #fungi #hericium

My yearly appointment with the latest-flowering #orchid: Autumn Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) in the #Karst near Divača. I'm lucky to live very close to some fine extensive meadows with hundreds of these tiny orchids. #wildslovenia #botany #spiranthes