lovely report dave, thanks. done a couple of trips to kosova working, wished i'd have had time for me bins...

I spent a welcome break from work last week at Makarska in Croatia, not so much for the birding but mainly for a rest. I kept the binos in my hand luggage and was rewarded with views of 2 Little Egrets and a dozen Med gulls resting at a small bay viewed from the mini bus 20 minutes from Split Airport. At Makarska beneath my balcony at the hotel was a small waterfall and pond surrounded by plants, over the week it was visited by a Cuckoo, Turtle doves, 2 Sardinian Warblers, Whitethroat, Yellow wagtails, Hooded crows and a number of warblers that I was unsure of their id. I even saw a Myna bird which bullied the doves about and tried to move them away from the pond, this bird was definatly an escapee. The birds came to drink or wash mainly around 7am before it got too hot, the temperature stayed around 30' each day and most birds disappeared for the day until it went cooler in the evening. The area had not had a lot of rain and was extremely dry, no smoking warnings were displayed in most of the pine forests which surround the area. Unfortually one morning a massive fire took hold in a large forest on the mountain behind the resort, it took two large planes which scooped up water from the sea and dropped it on to the fire 7 hours to bring it under control. Next day 2 Griffon vultures soared over the area looking for a meal. Walking through the pine forests turned up LE Owls, Barn Owls ,Hooded crows are very common, Chiffchaffs, Firecrest and many Chaffinches. Around the scrub land Red-backed Shrikes were the most common bird, they must breed pretty well as there were many juveniles about. I managed to find 1 Woodchat Shrike which perched just long enough while I got my Collins bird guide out, I had not seen one before. Overhead and nesting in the villages many Swifts were about and I also saw 12 Alpine swifts which were nesting on a high cliff facing the sea. If I had got up at 5am every morning when it was cooler I would have probably seen more birds about but I was happy with what I did see especially the Woodchat Shrike. I have made a couple of trips to Croatia and have always seen interesting birds, its probably the safest country in Europe to go walking on your own and its one of the most beautiful places I have visited.