Birdwatching in Montenegro, from Skadar's pelicans to the salt pans

Montenegro is a small country with a big country’s bird list. The national tourist board puts it at 352 species, 65% of all those recorded in Europe, and puts that down to geography. The country sits right on the Adriatic migration corridor, and every year millions of birds pass overhead on their way between northern Europe and Africa. If you travel with binoculars, it’s one of the most rewarding places in the Balkans.

Lake Skadar, the main event

Lake Skadar has been a national park since 1983, an Important Bird Area since 1989 and a Ramsar site since 1995, and the national tourist board credits it with 280 species. Among those it names are glossy ibis, squacco heron, purple heron, whiskered tern, ferruginous duck, black-crowned night heron and, most sought after of all, the Dalmatian pelican. You watch from traditional wooden boats or from the platforms at Stanaj, Žabljačke Livade, Plavnica and Raduš. If you’d rather get about under your own steam, the park has cycle routes from Virpazar and Rijeka Crnojevića, which I cover in cycling in Montenegro. The Bar tourist board adds that winter brings birds from western Siberia and Africa, and that nearby Omerova gorica has a heron colony nesting in laurel trees. You should tell the national park at least a day ahead, and entry costs €5 per adult per day.

Ulcinj, between salt and sand

At the southern tip, the Ulcinj salt pans hold 240 species according to the national tourist board, while Ulcinj’s own board records over 20,000 in winter, most of them waders. Pratincoles, terns, sandpipers and stilts work the pools, and the fields towards Velika plaža hold larks and bee-eaters.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Virpazar on Expedia and filter by area before price.

The Bay of Kotor and the rest of the coast

In Tivat, the Solila, old salt pans by the bay, hold about 114 species, and if you’re lucky you’ll see flamingos. At Buljarica beach, in Budva municipality, the national tourist board suggests looking out for Levant sparrowhawk and Eurasian reed warbler.

Inland and up in the mountains

On the way to Podgorica, the Nikšić plain with its Krupac, Slano and Vrtac reservoirs, the Zeta valley and Ćemovsko field are good for lowland species. Further north, the national parks of Durmitor, Biogradska Gora and Prokletije offer woodland and high-mountain birds. Prokletije is also where the Montenegrin stretch of the Peaks of the Balkans begins, so binoculars fit on a trek too. For more on the country’s birdlife, the national tourist board points to the Centre for the Protection and Research of Birds of Montenegro.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Virpazar and pick one that fits your day.

When to go

According to the national tourist board, birds are easiest to see on passage at the end of February, in April and from August to November, and most active during breeding, mainly March, June and July. On Skadar, autumn and winter are best, when big flocks cross the lake. To me it’s the perfect excuse to visit Montenegro outside summer, with quieter hotels and no queues, and at €5 a day for the national park ticket, a morning on the lake is good value.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Virpazar on Booking.com and filter by area before price.