Will it Be Drive-by Czech Birding?
And so the time came to pass that another non-birding vacation would begin. It had been nearly twenty years since I visited my wife’s home country, so I guess it was long overdue and what was required of me was to suck it up and not worry too much about Czech birding.
The plan was to spend Christmas in Czech Republic and New Year’s in Barcelona. Followed by a self-guided tour of Andalucia lasting a week or so.
We would be joined in Czech by daughters Patty and Angelique who are of Czech birth. We would be visiting lifelong friends (and ex-inlaws) of my wife, Mirka. In Czech, the itinerary was packed with commitments and obligations and none of it included Czech birding. This was going to be tricky.
Winter in the Czech Republic
Winter is not a preferred time for Czech birding for a number of obvious reasons. It can be cold as hell, windy and rainy/snowy all at the same time. Most birds are smart enough (through the miracle of evolution) to get the hell out of there during this time. On the other hand, for people who have the ability to layer-up, visiting Prague during the Christmas season can be magical.
Prague is a city that escaped the ravages of two world wars and is widely considered one of the most beautiful and well preserved cities in Europe. Its cobblestone streets are lined with 500 to 1000 year-old structures that are well maintained and fully utilized. In the many squares people gather as they did 500 years ago to discuss the happenings of the city and to gossip about their mutual aquaintances.
Christmas in Prague
During Christmas, the squares are packed with vendors selling traditional curios and foods, sweet and savory, and beverages, hot and cold.
Trdelnik: Something like an éclair that is made while you watch.
Traditional Czech Christmas Cookies: they come in many shapes and sizes.
Roasted Chestnuts: Tried them, not my thing.
Svarak: Imagine hot sangria wine, perfect on a cold night.
Beer: Did you know that Czech is the birthplace of modern beer!
Every square is decorated for the season, has a large Christmas tree and children’s activities. The look rivals any scene from a Christmas Hallmark movie. On one of our walks through the city we had the added ambiance of a hard snowfall, simply spectacular!
Birding in Prague
Vlatava River
The Vlatava River runs through the city of Prague and gave me my first chance to pay attention to what birds were foraging on the river. There are literally thousands of black-headed gulls working the river. Mixed in with them are a few of the larger Caspian Gulls (a lifer). Mallards are the predominant duck species but there are plenty of Tufted Ducks (a lifer) and Mute Swans as well. Great Cormorants are plentiful. That was it. I looked hard during the time I had to find either a Velvet Scoter or a Long-tailed Duck which had been recently reported on the river in the general area that I was looking. No luck.
Interestingly, a Long-tailed Duck showed up in a lake in Oklahoma City in the last couple of weeks and I think every serious birder in Oklahoma has been to see it, including me.
Petrin City Park
On our final morning in Prague, I awoke very early to do some Czech birding in a large city park, Petrin, near the Prague Castle. This park turned out to be a great birding spot. I arrived at the park about daybreak. There were very few people at this time and I was able to find a path, not intended for recreation, but for maintenance as indicated by the muddy condition and the heavy equipment being stored. The brush piles and pile of cut logs made for great habitat.
The place was very birdy. I was able to add two new life birds, Eurasian Siskin and Hawfinch. Almost as important, I was able to get photos of birds I never photographed before and improved on some photos.
I had a wonderful modeling session with a Eurasian Wren. He was quite a poser and not camera shy at all. While enjoying this session, two Eurasian Siskins (lifer) landed at a puddle of water near me and began to drink. I was preparing to capture them when they flushed. An instant later two large dogs went bounding by, not on a leash, followed by their owner. Ugh! Not happy! Why was he on this path? Why did he not have his dog on a leash in accordance with the rules? Water under the bridge.
There were also Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Jackdaw, Hawfinch, Common Chaffinch and Long-tailed Tit photos to add to or upgrade my photo gallery. Overall, a good morning of Czech birding.
All About Karlovy Vary
Why Did I Go to Karlovy Vary?
If you have never seen the movie, The Last Holiday, it is worth a look next Christmas. It is the story of a retail worker (Queen Latifa) who has been diagnosed with a fast-running cancer and is given only a few weeks to live. She decides to cash in her life savings and go to the Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, CZ to meet and learn from her favorite chef who works there. You see, she loves to cook gourmet meals. It’s her passion.
This movie inspired me to break-up our stay in Prague. I decided to rent a car and make the trip to Karlovy Vary and stay in the Hotel Grand Pupp, in a suite. The opulence was over the top. I have never stayed in such a luxurious hotel in my life. Was it worth it, absolutely. If our schedule had allowed us, I would have booked two nights.
Drinking the Kool-Aid
Karlovy Vary is another magical town right out of a fairy tale. Pictures do not properly express the feeling of this town. The town is famous for its mineral water springs of which there are 15 identified along the promenade. The water is noted for its healing powers and each spring has different properties. I tasted a couple and frankly it felt a bit like drinking hot sea water, so I quickly ended my tastings. Mirka, on the other hand, gave her kidneys a real work-out and sampled most of them.
This is History, not Politics
Karlovy Vary is a Russian vacation hot spot. While we did see some Russians there, I think because of the current situation (you know what I am talking about) there is less movement of Russians to countries that historically view them negatively. You see, in August 1968, the Russians rolled tanks into Prague to put an end to the Prague Spring uprising. The Prague Spring was a movement made possible by the election of a more liberal Communist leader, Alexander Dubcek, who supported granting additional freedoms to the media and people of Czechoslovakia. The Warsaw Pact, led by the Russians was not going to allow this. In came the tanks.
The support of Dubcek for what was known as normalization eventually led to the fall of Communism in 1989 and the split of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1992. This split is called the Velvet Divorce on account of how smooth it went.
As a Footnote, Czech Birding
While Karlovy Vary is known for a lot of things, birding is not one of them. We hiked a trail behind the hotel along a hillside called the Diana Overlook trail. Here I snapped my first Marsh Tit and Coal Tit photos and improved on my Great Tit photo. Lots of tits to be seen in Karlovy Vary, even in the winter.
Birding back to Prague
On our drive back from Karlovy Vary we made one very productive birding stop at a large lake outside of Kadan. It was on this lake that I found the last of the 6 life birds for the Czech Republic, Great Crested Grebe and Fieldfare. At this location I also photographed Common Merganser, and Eurasian Nuthatch for the first time and improved on Goldcrest and Short-toed Treecreeper.
In Conclusion
So ended our not so Czech birding vacation. A return to central Europe in the spring or fall would be in order. Mirka connected with friends from years gone by and we all had a great time, even if the birding was low on the priority list.
Had such a great time traveling around Czech and birding with you, dad! Love our family birding adventures, they’re always so special. ❤️
Your family really knows how to enjoy life. Do it while you can. I never expected so many species of birds in the middle of winter. They are the hardy ones that adapted rather than migrate. The European Goldfinch really caught my eye.
Phyllis and I arrived in late August 1990 from Odessa and rushed from our hotel on the river to an open air concert of medieval
music. Prague is one of my favorite cities and your description is nice. I bought a pretty piece of art of the bridge tower that hangs in my bedroom so I am reminded of Prague every day.
The Russians and their tanks were just exiting the corner of the country returning to Russia. You can imagine the feelings of the Czechs! Their president Havel Vaclav was a hero who poked fun of the Russians as they departed. The saying in the streets and newspapers was: It took the Russians only one day to invade with their tanks but it took them a year to get our the country–slowly. Mirka was probably there at that time.
Thanks for this great report.
What a fun read! I remember vividly going with you and Mirka nearly 20 years ago. Thanks for sharing and bringing back some great memories.
Thanks!
Sure a nice history lesson, along with your birding.
I loved being there with you, and glad you snuck in lots of birding there 🙂
Thanks Patty!