Bird watching in Nature park Lonsjko Polje
Lonjsko Polje Nature Park is a magnificent area for the avid bird watcher, with 250 recorded bird species (134 of them nesting here) it is one of the most important areas for birds in Croatia -in 1989 it was designated as an IBA – Important Bird Area. In European and indeed in world terms, such a large concentration of birds on a relatively small area of 506 square kilometres gives a good picture how rich the avian fauna is. It is a wetland area with pastures, forests, ponds and rivers. Lonjsko Polje is an important site for the nesting, overwintering and habitation of numbers of bird species. There are a number of heron, egret, stork and cormorant species, but also bird of prey like eagles and kites.
When you want to go around an ornithological reserve or any other location for bird watching, you must report to the duty officer in the Info Centre of the Park – at Krapje or Čigoč – where you will get instructions about the way in which these sites can be visited.
The following observation sites in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park are great for bird watching
• the first European Stork Village, Čigoč
• the entrance into the retention at Kratečko and Mužilovčica
• the Tišina-Mužilovčica backwater
• Osekovsko polje
• Repušničko polje
• Poganovo polje
• Sloboština Fishpond
• the Krapje Đol and Rakita Ornithological Reserves
• the course of the Sava River
NP Kopacki Rit is a great marshland and water-rich area and is excellent for watching water birds and birds of prey with 293 described bird species. The National park has a large information centre and the area has walking and cycling trails.