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Description
This little known but still beautiful place is located south-east of the city center. It presents a great mixture of habitats, including field, meadow, forest, marsh and city habitats. The fields and pastures are connected to the rest of Belgrade through Veliki Mokri Lug and Kumodraž, so it can be easily accesed. It boasts a great deal of birds year-round, with there being both common birds like Кропив’янка чорноголова, Боривітер звичайний, Горобець польовий and Дятел звичайний and birds that are less common and hard to find near urban areas such as Кам’янка звичайна, Трав’янка лучна, Жовна сива, Щеврик гірський, Мухоловка білошия, Бджолоїдка звичайна (be aware that many of the mentioned birds are not always there, you have to visit at the right time and have some luck).
The best time to visit is winter when many finch species are regular, including Снігур звичайний, Костогриз, В’юрок, Чиж лісовий, Коноплянка and Щиглик звичайний, as well as many thrush species like Чикотень, Дрізд білобровий, Дрізд чорний, and Дрізд-омелюх. Regular in winter are also Золотомушка жовточуба, Золотомушка червоночуба, Тинівка лісова, Чирянка мала, Чорна синиця, Кропивник, Щеврик лучний and many others. In winter, all of the water birds come to the ponds. Крижень can be seen from late autumn to may(can be spotted in flyovers year-round). Чирянка мала is here from late autumn but leaves before spring begins. Пастушок and Водяна курочка are guaranteed from october to april, but moorhens can stay longer(maybe even present year-round). Коловодник лісовий and Набережник палеарктичний can be spotted in winter, and are not always there.
During spring migration, many different birds can be seen, including leaving trushes and finches, and incoming birds, like Лелека чорний, Лелека білий, Трав’янка лучна, Жовта плиска, Одуд, Вівчарик-ковалик, Жайворонок лісовий, Соловейко західний, Ластівка сільська, Серпокрилець чорний, Горихвістка звичайна during the early and middle parts of migration, and Бджолоїдка звичайна, Сорокопуд терновий, Крутиголовка звичайна, Просянка, Вивільга звичайна, Кропив’янка прудка, Кропив’янка сіра Перепілка звичайна and Сплюшка євразійська in later parts of migration.
Although spring and summer are a bit worse in variety than autumn and winter, they still offer great birding. Especially in this period should you be looking out for less common flyover birds in this area and terrain, including Серпокрилець білочеревий, Підсоколик великий and Ластівка берегова. Шуліка чорний, Квак звичайний, Зозуля звичайна, Мала біла чапля, Кропив’янка садова can and all have been spotted in this period.
Autumn migration marks the end of summer and the arrival and passage of many birds, like Щеврик лісовий, Вівчарик жовтобровий, Сорокопуд терновий , Соловейко західний and Мухоловка сіра in great numbers, but you can also find Мухоловка строката and Вівчарик весняний, Осоїд євразійський is a common flyover here, and even Соловейко східний (a very rare bird in Serbia) has been spotted here for 2 years in a row.
All of these birds are here because of the diversity of this place, mentioned earlier. It is important to know what habitat to visit for the right type of bird. So for example, if you want to see Сова вухата and Сич хатній you should search the streets and roofs and backyards of houses. If you want to see Зелений дятел and Вивільга звичайна, you should search the trees and tree lanes scattered all around the place, especially in Veliki Mokri Lug. Houses and backyards in Stari Vinogradi street regulary house Золотомушка жовточуба, Снігур звичайний, Сич хатній, Сплюшка євразійська, Чорна синиця, Вивільга звичайна, Горихвістка звичайна and many others.
For some of the birds mentioned, you have to be lucky and search at the right time. Many birds have been sighted here that you will almost definetly not find because of their rarity for the region or habitat. Exampes include Лунь лучний, Яструб великий Сапсан, Серпокрилець блідий, Соловейко східний, Лунь степовий, Скопа, Вівсянка чорноголова, Берестянка звичайна Очеретянка ставкова, Очеретянка велика, Очеретянка чагарникова, Шуліка рудий, Скопа and others.
A stunning Belgrade city panorama stretching half the horizon can be seen at the slopes parallel to the Stari Vinogradi ('Old Vineyards') street. From there, the wast greeny hillside towards the Kumodraž suburbs can be observed, with numerous Сорока звичайна, Грак, Ворона сіра and occasional Яструб малий or Боривітер звичайний. Small herds of goats and sheep are still grazing these greeny slopes, protecting the meadows from overgrowing with scrubs.
This location is also great for planespotting. Standing on the earlier mentioned viewpoint at the very entrance and the top of the hill, you can see most of the city, including a silhouette of the Nikola Tesla airport. Every plane landing or taking off from the east side of the airport will be very low in the sky, where you can get a great look at it because of the open terrain and panorama view.
In conclusion, take some time to visit this birding place before the constant urbanization conquers it fully. You will certainly not regret it.
Details
Access
Take an E-75 highway from Belgrade city center towards Niš, then take the 'Lasta' exit and follow the directions to the 'P' mark on the map in the Stari Vinogradi street. Alternatively, head towards the Kumodraž suburbs and park on the second 'P' mark at the south part of the map. Bus lines 20, 308 and 38 lead to Veliki Mokri Lug, and bus lanes 33, 25P, 39, lead to Kumodraž. Bus lane 312 cirlces Veliki Mokri Lug. Bus stops 'Stari Vinogradi' and 'Buljubašine vode' are located near the entrance to the fields from the side of Veliki Mokri Lug.
Terrain and Habitat
Forest , Scattered trees and bushes , Grassland , Plateau , City/village , Agriculture , Reedbeds , PondConditions
Flat , Hilly , Open landscapeCircular trail
YesIs a telescope useful?
Can be usefulGood birding season
All year roundBest time to visit
Winter , Spring migration , Autumn migrationRoute
Paved road , Unpaved road , Narrow trailDifficulty walking trail
Average walkAccessible by
Foot , BicycleBirdwatching hide / platform
NoExtra info
Conditions can be pretty muddy after the rain, thus prepare the boots if you plan to leave the paved roads.
If you plan on venturing deeper looking for birds, you should be wary about dogs. Even though they likely have an owner and rarely show up, they can group up and potentialy become aggresive and start barking. Means of defense (like pepper spray) are recommended.
The terrain is very uneven and sometimes hard to traverse and there are many grass roots(surprisingly tough) that can get your leg stuck, so you should be careful.
Always wear pants or trousers that cover your legs completely if you want to venture in deeper grass looking for birds, there are a lot of thorns and seeds that can cut you or get stuck on you.
Links
- 'Njive i Živice između Velikog Mokrog Luga i Kumodraža' eBird hotspot
- 'Naselje Stepa Stepanović' eBird hotspot
- 'Naselje Kumodraž' eBird hotspot
- 'Naselje Veliki Mokri Lug' eBird hotspot