Winter Counting of Waterfowl in the area of the Krka National Park in 2026

This year we also counted waterfowl in the Krka National Park area

It is part of the International Waterbird Census (IWC) project, the largest biodiversity monitoring program in the world, which has been conducted since 1967. Birds are an increasingly endangered group of animals, mostly due to destruction of their habitats and the increasing environmental changes caused by climate change.

This winter counting plays an important role because by monitoring the migrations of waterfowls to their wintering grounds, we gain important insights into the situation and changes in their populations during the winter season.

This year's waterbird census was carried out on the 18th and 19th of January. 25 species of waterbirds were recorded, with a total of 1,729 individuals. As in previous years, the most numerous wintering bird in the Park is the coot, followed by the crested duck, mallard, and common pochard, while the fifth most numerous wintering species is the great cormorant.

Of the eight areas in the Park where they were monitored, the most birds were counted in the area of the Čikola River mouth, while the greatest number of species were recorded in the Visovac Lake area.

We are particularly pleased to have recorded individuals of the smew during their wintering, a species that has only been recorded once in the Park area so far, during their migration in March 2003.