Brindisi (Italy)
An unexpected stopover in Brindisi due to two aborted (vomit inducing) landings at Dubrovnik. An hour of wandering a small area of derelict land, allotments, and marshy ground by the hotel (in the industrial part of town) produced a few interesting birds: Marsh Harrier, Alpine Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Water Rail, Black Redstart, Yellow Wagtail, Italian Sparrow. The surroundings were not very nice (understatement).
Croatia
We were in Croatia for five days, a little down on the anticipated six and a half. The weather during the first couple of days was unseasonably cold, with temperatures hovering around 10C but with a bitter northerly wind making it feel chillier. This is likely to have impacted migration, with social media posts suggesting migration had been slow across much of the Mediterranean during late March and early April. The temperatures picked up for the last couple of days, and the wind dropped off considerably. We had one afternoon of pretty much constant heavy rain but was otherwise cloudy with sunny spells.
As is often the case during spring migration, the mornings were by far the busiest periods for birding. Later in the day, migrants were presumably fattened up and hunkered down ready for departure the coming evening. A similar pattern was really noticeable on a spring ringing trip to Antykathira in southern Greece, and seemed to hold true here.
The only potential ‘lifer’ for me was Rock Partridge, and so my aim was to potter about and do some leisurely birding in the area around where we were staying. A trip into the hills was planned, but more to see the habitat than on a partridge mission.
Radovcici village
This is the small village that we were based in. About 10km south of Dubrovnik airport, set in lightly wooded hills just inland of the coast. I spent the first couple of hours early one morning, an a few hours across two afternoons birding a two tracks leading to small agricultural plots on the edge of the village. The commonest bird by far was Eastern Subalpine Warbler with birds singing of calling from every bit of cover , and there seemed to have been a bit of a ‘fall’ of them on the morning of the 6th. Only a handful of females were seen, either because they were skulking in the dense cover or the pulse of birds arriving were males. There were also a handful of Collared Flycatcher, ‘singing’ Hawfinch, and quite a few Blackcap (the latter species a definite theme of the holiday). It was much quieter during the afternoon, but with similar species seen.
Cadmos marsh and surrounding farmland
I spotted on GoogleMaps satellite imagery what looked like a patch of water and damp ground in the open valley bottom just north of where we were staying. I had planned on visiting the farmland anyway as it was much lusher than the surrounding hills, and looked likely to pull in migrants. Access to the (possibly) marshy area was via a track which led out west of the village of Gruda. There may well be other access points from the main road, but I stuck with this one as it was local t me, and the birding was good. The track was drive-able with care (and was used by the locals to access their holdings) but there were signs that heavy rain might result in large ruts forming. The last 500m to the marsh was along a farm track and was periodically fenced off to keep livestock in/out on my visits. As I started walking this last stretch of track on my first visit, the sound of a booming Bittern drifted across from the direction of the hoped for marsh – a promising sign!
The open water adjacent to the raised bank. The small willow on the left was the favorite haunt of Moustached Warbler and Little Crake 
The damp meadow edge to the southern side of the marsh held Wood Sandpiper, Water Pipit and Red-throated Pipit 
The open water as viewed from the raised bank. The Bittern was booming from the bullrushes to ahead 
Viewed from the road up to Kuna, the open water, damp meadow and the access track that runs parallel to the raised bank 
The raised bank held the only willow or scrub habitat by the water’s edge, and seemed to pull in a lot of birds
A small embankment appeared to the left of the track, but a deep drainage ditch was blocking access until I spotted the concrete base of a small derelict sluice gate, which I used to cross (about 50m further on the path along the bank actually joins the farm track). As I reached the top of the embankment I was greeted by the sight of an area of bulrushes, a small patch of open water, three Purple Heron, and one, then two, then three, then four Little Crake dashing about within a few metres of me. The Bittern boomed again.
I visited the marsh each remaining day of the holiday, and it was great each time.
The footpath along the top of the bank on the SE edge of the marsh was only about 70m long. It provided a good view across the whole area, including the small patch of open water. The handful of tiny willow trees right by the waters edge alongside the bank were particularly favoured by the Little Crakes, which dashed to this cover when startled before gingerly making there any out into the reeds. One of the willows was favoured by a Moustached Warbler where it spent much of its time creeping about just above the water and could be incredibly skulking (and challenging to photograph through the vegetation). There were also Cetti’s and Sedge Warblers skulking about, calling and singing. A male Garganey was present on two dates, 1-4 Purple Heron were there each visit, the lowest Little Crake count on any visit was three, and the Bittern was ‘booming’ every visit. Large numbers of feeding hirundines ( 100s of Swallow, c. 20 House Martin, 2-5 Red-rumped Swallow, 2-3 Sand Martin), Blackcaps, Eastern Subalpine Warblers and Zitting Cisticolas were a constant presence there. On the morning of my last visit (10th) there were also two Great Reed Warbler along the bank and a Reed Warbler in the marsh, whilst an afternoon visit that day produced a Savi’s Warbler along the raised bank.
The south west edge of the marsh was damp meadow transitioning into bulrushes, with some small patches of open water. It could be accessed by backtracking a few hundred metres along the access track to the entrance to the field. A drainage ditch (also worth checking) running east-west through the field meant that I had to walk to the far side of the field to get across, but later in the spring/summer it might be that the ditch would be dry (or it may be possible to access the southern edge of the mash directly from the southern end of the raised bank). This edge of the marsh held a group of five Wood Sandpiper, two Water Pipit, two Red-throated Pipit and lots of Yellow Wagtails, with a Common Snipe seen on one date.
Just to the north of the marsh there is a reasonably large drainage channel with dense scrub alongside it. A farm track runs parallel to the water and the habitat is worth checking (lots of warblers, Tree Pipit, a few Song Thrush, male Garganey, Moorhen on my visit).
The fields, hedges and patches of scrub around the marsh (and indeed the whole valley bottom) are worth checking for migrants, as are any pools or wet flushes. On the drive in from Gruda along the track, at a small steading with cows I saw my only Cattle Egret (and a Rook!) of the trip some very approachable Cirl Buntings, Water, Meadow and Tree Pipits, and an endless stream of Yellow Wagtails dropping in briefly as they headed north. Further along the track up to five Whimbrel fed in the cattle fields, a Wryneck was perched up in an isolated bush, a Black Kite dropped in during a rain shower, and a Black-winged Stilt fed along a wet ditch. Both Black-eared and Northern Wheatears were present in small numbers, and the fields north west of the marsh held two male Woodchat Shrikes and a Skylark (my only sightings of these two species).
The far side of the field to the north west of the marsh has a small bund and pool (on my visit at least) and is worth a look. In fact, the entire valley floor is criss-crossed by the meandering river, drainage ditches, hedges and copses and I am sure that further exploration would reveal other hidden gems.
Kuna
I spent two late mornings wandering around Kuna village, up in the hills just north of Gruda. The first visit it was bitterly cold and rather quiet,. The area looked good for Rock Partridge and Rock Nuthatch, but I saw neither. The second visit was warmer and birdier, but still was perhaps a little early in the spring for many arrivals. Rock and Cirl Buntings, Subalpine Warbler, and Black-eared Wheatear were in the village, a few Alpine Swift and Crag Martin, and a Marsh Harrier were overhead, with one then two Scops Owl calling at 11:00 a bit of a surprise.
Velji Do road
This is the well known Rock Partridge site above Dubrovnik airport, with the viewpoint, road and village offering birding potential. I visited early in our stay, a bitterly cold and windy morning which was most notable for the passage of 100s of Blackcaps north (upslope) through the open and rather barren terrain. The numbers of Blackcap more generally during the holiday was quite remarkable, with birds or small groups of birds in every location, regardless of how open the habitat. The village about 1km beyond the viewpoint was a bit birdier, with very chilly Blue Rock Thrush, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, and Hoopoe all trying to find shelter and some warmth. There is also a track that heads out to the north of the village which i walked for a couple of km. I visited again during the afternoon a couple of days later when it was much more pleasant, and was rewarded with great views of a pair of Rock Partridge feeding along the road about 500m beyond the viewpoint. A bank of rain clouds formed over the mountain tops during this second visit, pausing the migration of three Short-toed Eagles which undertook some aerial interplay. It also resulted in 100+ Alpine Swift feeding at eye level, which was superb to soak up.
I ended up with a species total of 91 for the Croatia component of the trip. The biggest surprises for me were not seeing Black Redstart or Sardinian Warbler, both of which I assumed would be super abundant. Highlights were the Moustached Warbler, Little Crakes, Red-throated and Water Pipits, the kaleidoscopic forms of Yellow Wagtails, and the trio of Collared Flycatcher, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, and Eastern Subalpine Warbler. However, it was also great seeing Mediterranean staples like Hoopoe, Woodchat Shrike, Red-rumped Swallow and Alpine Swift
The sites mentioned above:
Species trip list for Croatia:
Chatterstanes 