Vultures at Korita Možnice in the Julian Alps

Back in Slovenia and today we had a great walk to Korita Možnice, just north of Bovec. The walk goes through beech woodland following a river as it carves it's way through limestone, creating gorges, waterfalls and pools along it's course. Just the most stunning scenery, we were surrounded by the high mountains of the Julian Alps. Birds included two griffon vultures being mobbed by a honey buzzard, several alpine swifts, a flyby black woodpecker and a black-bellied dipper. Also lots of flowers including several orchids such as bird's-nest, common twayblade and white helleborine. Many interesting butterflies including large wall brown, swallowtail, southern white Admiral, black-veined white and various blues.

Veliki Možniški slap, a waterfall through a natural arch

Griffon vultures disappeared as a breeding species in Slovenia about 100 years ago, but in 1992 a re-introduction program was started in Italy to try to bring them back to the Eastern Alps.  According the the Vulture Conservation Foundation (2020) this has been a great success with 70 territorial pairs in 2020 at 14 different colonies, resulting in at least 44 young ready to fledge. Birds from these areas are now regularly seen in Slovenia and perhaps are now nesting here as well. 

Anyway, today I was delighted to see two birds circling around these cliffs, and even more pleased to see a honey buzzard start mobbing them. This is also where the alpine swifts were.

In several places water was just pouring out of holes in the cliff.

Bird's-nest orchid.

Round-leaved saxifrage.

A hellibore sp. possibly green I think.

Black Mullein.

Nottingham Catchfly.

Meadow Sage.

Black-veined white, photo courtesy Elaine.

Singing black-bellied dipper on the river. This is just a different race of the bird that we see in the UK. The continental version has a black belly, the UK version a chestnut belly.