Serbia still has some amazing butterfly habitats! The country has not yet joined the European Union, and hence still has much traditional land use and less intensive agriculture than elsewhere in Europe. Moreover, the country has a very impressive list of butterflies, and this tour is a relaxing and enjoyable visit concentrating on the south-eastern corner of Serbia. Our primary target will be the False Comma, a distinctly rare butterfly in Europe. The Serbian parts of the Balkan Mountains represent the very best chance for anybody who wishes to connect with this beautiful species, and our exclusive tour is designed to give the best possible chance of finding this enigmatic butterfly.
After the breakup of Yugoslavia during the turbulent conflict of the early 1990s, Serbia eventually declared independence on the 5th of June 2006, marking the final dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and the re-emergence of Serbia as an independent state for the first time since 1918. The Balkans has a long and complex history, and no doubt we will learn more about this during our visit.
The last week of June is also a great time for many other butterflies besides False Comma, and we have a good chance to find Balkan Copper, Amanda’s and Turquoise Blues, Freyer's and Bog Fritillaries, Eastern Large and Russian Heath, Bulgarian and Almond-eyed Ringlets, Yellow-banded Skipper and if we are lucky, we could even come across Poplar Admiral, Violet Copper, Blue Argus or Spinose Skipper.
The biodiversity of this area of Serbia is amazing and, if the weather conditions are favourable, we could see up to 50-60 species on a single day.
As usual there will be plenty of further interesting wildlife all around us, with beautiful orchids and lilies amongst myriad other wildflowers, as well as birds like Short-toed Eagle, Corncrake, Syrian Woodpecker and lots of lovely Red-backed Shrikes!
