WORKSHOP ON WINTERING BIRDS HELD IN PRELOG

On Saturday, October 1, 2022, the fourth workshop dedicated to local flora and fauna was held in the Sports and Recreation Zone Prelog. The workshop was led by Luka Hercigonja, a nature photographer and member of the BIOM association, and twenty primary and secondary school children participated.

In the theoretical part of the workshop, students were shortly introduced to birds, to the lake as a habitat, they were presented with the ways in which birds can be studied (observation, winter counting, marking, photography, etc.) and through the video presentation they were shown the most common species of birds that spend the winter in the area or fly over it during migrations. The theoretical part ended with a quiz in which the students applied freshly learned knowledge and due to many humorous answers, the quiz turned out to be the most dynamic part of the workshop.

After lunch and a short rest, the practical part of the workshop followed, consisting of boat ride on the lake and between the banks and birdwatching with binoculars. The extremely high water level made it possible to navigate through more secluded backwaters that would otherwise be impassable. Under the guidance of Luka Hercigonja, the students observed 19 species of birds, 9 of which are wintering birds - mute swan (Cygnus olor), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Euroasian coot (Fulica atra), pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), gray heron (Ardea cinerea), great egret (Ardea alba) and kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).

Of the rest of the flora and fauna, the students noticed incredibly lush reeds and coastal vegetation, a beaver habitat, and also identified a wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata), an extremely aggressive and invasive species of climbing plant that slowly overgrows and smothers the rest of the flora - often entire trees - with its creeping which represents a significant threat to the native vegetation.

The event was organized by the Town of Prelog and Marina Prelog Ltd. There is one more workshop left and it will be dedicated to flora and fauna of the Drava banks and led by Mišo Rašan, an experienced biology and chemistry teacher from the High School Prelog.