Day 3 - Subalpine & Mediterranean Karst
Today we will visit Podveležje region which is unique because the villagers insist on preserving the old way of life, and live at one with nature. Situated at 700 m. above sea level in central Herzegovina, the Podveležje Plateau rests in between the towering peaks of Velež Mountain and city of Mostar.
The plateau is vast (stretches over 20 kilometres north to south), isolated, wild and beautiful. For centuries it has been home to highland shepherds and a traditional way of life.
The landscape is harsh, arid and seemingly barren karst dotted with small forests of beech and oak trees.
Burnt-tip Orchid
Orchis ustulataWryneck
Jynx torquilla
Podveležje plateau - Tawny Pipit, Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear and Woodlark nest here.
Eastern Buton Blue ♀
Pseudophilotes vicrama
Tawny Pipit
Anthus campestris
Podveležje plateau - subalpine karst region.
Common Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
Podveležje plateau - subalpine karst region.
Sharp-snouted Rock Lizard
Dalmatolacerta oxycephala - endemic species
Mediterranean karst region.
Crested Lark
Galerida cristata
Podveležje plateau - Rock Partridge habitat.
Little Owl
Athene noctua
Blue Rock Thrush
Monticola solitarius
Mediterranean karst region - Western Rock Nuthatch and Blue Rock Thrush habitat.
Mediterranean karst region - Eastern Orphean Warbler habitat.
Western Rock Nuthatch
Sitta neumayer
Mediterranean karst region.
Pallid Swift
Apus pallidus
Mediterranean karst region - Crag Martin habitat.
Eurasian Crag Martin
Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Source of river Buna.
White-throated Dipper
Cinclus cinclus
Balkan Marbled White
Melanargia larissa
Wryneck
Jynx torquilla
River Buna.
Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striataOne of the largest Sand Martin colonies in Europe.
Sand Martin
Riparia riparia
European Bee-eater
Merops apiaster
River Neretva.
