200
these marks and with the kind help of Dr Goran Su{i}, we 
identified the bird, named Severin, that had been ringed as 
pullus on 15 May 2005 in the colony on Cres Island.  
Griffon Vultures bred in the Pannonian plain prior to 
the 19th century. They were observed four times in the area 
of Kopa~ki rit during the 19th century, for the last time on 
15 Mar 1890 �Mikuska, J., Mikuska, T. & Romuli}, M. 
(2002): Vodi~ kroz biolo{ku raznolikost Kopa~kog rita. 
Knjiga 1 – Ptice. – Matica Hrvatska, Osijek�. Since then, 
their population suffered a heavy decline due to overhunting, 
poisoning and collapse of traditional husbandry, and 
the birds retracted to the high mountains of the Balkan 
Peninsula. The only existing population in Croatia breeds 
in the Kvarner Archipelago, namely on the islands of Cres, 
Prvi}, Krk and occasionally Pag, with a total population of 
90 – 100 pairs (Radovi}, D., Kralj, J., Tuti{, V. & ]ikovi}, 
D. (2003): Crvena knjiga ugroženih vrsta ptica Hrvatske. – 
Ministarstvo za{tite okoli{a i prostornog ure|enja, Zagreb). 
Mario Romuli}, Orlov put 1, HR–31327 Bilje, Croatia, e–mail: 
info@romulic.com, web page: www.romulic.com
Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes
Kratkonogi skobec – 1 osebek opažen nad 
Dubrovnikom dne 29.10.2005
Levant Sparrowhawks leave their Balkan nesting areas 
between mid-August and early September [Reiser, O. & 
Führer, L. (1896): Materialien zu einer Ornis Balcanica, 
IV. Montenegro. – Carl Gerold’s Sohn, Vienna]. On 29 Oct 
2005, during a short rest at the parking place along the main 
E–80 road above the old town of Dubrovnik (UTM BN62), 
we saw a solitary Levant Sparrowhawk in juvenile plumage. 
Around 11.35 h CET, the hawk was actively migrating 
along the mountain ridge above the town in a south-east 
direction following the Adriatic coastline. According to 
B. [tumberger, the location of our observation was 20 
– 25 km north of Cavtat [[tumberger, B. (2005): Levant 
Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes. – Acrocephalus 26 (127): 
200], the only currently known nesting site in Croatia. 
Autumn migration of Levant Sparrowhawks across Israel 
is concentrated within a very short period between 14 and 
26 Sep [Leshem, Y. & Yom–Tov, Y. (1996): The magnitude 
and timing of migration by soaring raptors, pelicans and 
storks over Israel. – Ibis 138: 188–203]. Diurnal migration 
decreases towards mid-October, while numbers tracked at 
night by radar were highest during the last two weeks of 
the month [Stark, H. & Liechti, F. (1993): Do Levant 
Sparrowhawks Accipiter brevipes also migrate at night? – Ibis 
135: 233–236]. To our knowledge, our observation is an 
extremely late date within the species’ breeding range, while 
G. Kouzmanov & G. Stoyanov  mention a comparatively 
Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook
late end of autumn migration till mid-November in Bulgaria 
[Kouzmanov, G. & Stoyanov, G. (1998): Sobre la situación 
actual del Gavilán Griego Accipiter brevipes en Bulgaria, 
pp. 247–250 In: Chancellor, R. D., Meyburg, B.–U. & 
Ferrero, J. J. (eds.): Holarctic Birds of Prey. – WWGBP & 
ADENEX, Berlin and Mérida].
Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Forschungsstätte 
“Pater Blasius Hanf“ am Furtnerteich, Raubergasse 10, A–8010 Graz, Austria, 
e–mail: peter.sackl@stmk.gv.at
Tina Lon~ar, Gosposvetska 12, SI–2000 Maribor, Slovenia, e–mail: 
martina_loncar@yahoo.com
Levant Sparrrowhawk Accipiter brevipes
Kratkonogi skobec – samec teritorialno kroži dne 
9.5.2003 pri kraju Komaji (UTM BN71, Cavtat, 
Konavelsko polje) 
On 9 May 2003, I observed a male Levant Sparrowhawk 
at about 10.00 h along the Adriatic throughfare (E–80) 
near the village of Komaji (Cavtat), while marking its 
territory with the characteristic circling above a hardwood 
forest spreading along the edge of the rising floodplain of 
Konavelsko polje (UTM BN71). As there have been no 
data on this species from this area in the last twenty years 
[Radovi}, D., Kralj, J., Tuti{, V. & ]ikovi}, D. (2003): 
Red Data Book of Birds of Croatia. – Ministarstvo za{tite 
okoli{a i prostornog ure|enja, Zagreb], the observation of 
this individual indicates that breeding of this species in the 
only known breeding area in the territory of Croatia is still 
possible (OEAC code: breeding possible). 
Borut [tumberger, SI–2282 Cirkulane 41, Slovenia, e–mail: stumberger@siol.net 
Veliki {kurh Numenius arquata
Curlew – 1 individual seen in Supetarska draga on 
Rab Island between 1 and 2 Jun 2004 (UTM VK76, 
N Dalmatia)
V okviru terenskih vaj za ekosisteme na otoku Rabu smo 
obiskovali slani{~a. Tako smo se 1.6.2004 odpravili na 
slani{~e v Supetarski dragi. Tam smo med opravljanjem 
nam naložene vaje opazili ve~jega pobrežnika. Ni bilo težko 
prepoznati velikega {kurha. In na tem slani{~u se je zadrževal 
tudi dan kasneje. Letujo~i osebki so sicer znani s hrva{ke 
obale, vendar so redki [Rucner, D. (1998): Ptice hrvatske 
obale Jadrana. – Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej, Ministrstvo 
razvitka i obnove, Zagreb]. Zanimivej{i vrsti na tem slani{~u 
sta bili {e odrasel osebek rjave ~aplje Ardea purpurea in 
{krjan~ar Falco subbuteo.
Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI–2204 Miklavž, Slovenija, e–mail: 
dejanonih@email.si