Chilíbre Cave, Panama (Höhle von Chilíbre, Panama) (Chilíbre-barlang, Panama) 07.2017.

We visited a cave in Panama, near the town of Chilíbre and found a fascinating invertebrate and bat fauna. Location: Cueva de Chilíbre. Date: 21.07.2017.

Garajonay National Park, La Gomera (Nationalpark Garajonay, La Gomera) (Garajonay Nemzeti Park, La Gomera) 03.2013.

We took a short trip to La Gomera starting from Tenerife in March 2013. This small island is the greenest of the Canary Islands. Its lush laurisilva forest is called Garajonay, also a national park and part of the World Heritage. Location: Garajonay National Park. Date: 24-25.03.2013.

Sarandë District, Albania III. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien III.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia III.) 09.2012.

We spent our last days in Albania between the villages of Kulluricë and Kodër. The landscape dominated by only 100-300 m high mounds is spectacular (and there is a nice view on the hills of Corfu), the vegetation was diverse even in the autumn and we managed to find many reptiles and arthropods here.

Sarandë District, Albania II. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien II.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia II.) 09.2012.

We spent a day in the vicinity of Shalës in South-Albania, camping on the shore of a small river between 500-700 m high hills, covered with maquis shrublands. The area is used by goat herders, who roam around with the herd and their dogs on the steep hills - the landscape is just idyllic. Of course the local fauna offers some interesting discoveries as well.

High Tauern National Park, Austria (Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, Österreich) (Hohe Tauern Nemzeti Park, Ausztria) 06.2012.

The last place we visited in Austria was the High Tauern National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage site. The High Tauern is the highest mountain range in Austria, the country's highest peak, the Großglockner (3798 m) is located here. There is a famous mountain road, the Großglockner Hochalpinstraße, which is built to give the best panorama on the mountains of the Glockner-Group. The highest point of the road is at 2571 m, well over the tree line. Here, the mountains are composed mainly of crystallised rocks and schist, not of limestone, as in the Totes Gebirge. This allows the trees line to reach about 1800-2200 meters. The landscape is beautiful and the national park has a very interesting flora and fauna. First, I will show photos from the subalpine conifer forest areas we visited.

Loser Mountain, Austria (Loser Berg, Österreich) (Loser-hegy, Ausztria) 06.2012.

Our next destination in Austria was the Loser Mountain (1837 m), which lies at the southern endpoint of a part of the Totes Gebirge, meaning that it is a limestone mountain. There is a panorama road, the Loser-Panoramastraße that leads almost to the peak, to 1600 m. Here we searched through the tree-less landscape and enjoyed the beautiful panorama.

Tropical houses in Vienna, Austria (Tropenhäuser in Wien, Österreich) (Trópusi házak Bécsben, Ausztria) 03.2012.

In Vienna I visited the Palm House of Schönbrunn and the Haus des Meeres, where I searched for pests and other accidentally introduced animals - some of which have tropical origins. Location: Vienna. Date: 03.2012.

Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway (Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norwegen) (Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norvégia) 07.2011.

Ending the series of posts about Norway, this time I write about some areas around the city of Kirkenes. We visited several interesting habitats here: fjords, birch woods, lakes and barren hilltops.

Gardermoen, Norway (Gardermoen, Norwegen) (Gardermoen, Norvégia) 07.2011.

As we traveled to Finnmark via Oslo in July, 2011, I spent a day by the Airport of Oslo in Gardermoen. I went out to take some photos, as the weather was nice. But than a heavy shower came and I returned to the bread-and-breakfast hotel, so there are only a few photos to show. Regardless of the short time I spent there, I found the Southern-Norwegian boreal pine forest to be a really interesting habitat, that differed quite a lot from the forests of Finnmark. Location: Gardermoen. Date: 24.07.2011.

Čiovo Island, Croatia (Čiovo-Insel, Kroatien) (Čiovo-sziget, Horvátország) 05.2011.

At the end of May 2011 we visited the Balkan on a trip organised by the Spinnen-Forum (there is a common trip report here at the Forum). Our aim was to find as many spider species as possible and to get to know the mediterranean fauna. The base during the trip was the island Čiovo. This island is located between Trogir and Split in the region of Middle-Dalmatia, it has an area of 28.8 square kilometers, its highest point is 217 m. Some smaller settlements are located on the island and the town of Trogir (which is on the World Heritage list) expands partly onto it also. Its area is – luckily – still mostly covered by natural vegetation. There are plenty of natural or semi-natural dry, coastal pine forests intterrupted by olive groves. A beautiful rocky seashore is found on the southern part. Location: Čiovo Island. Date: 22-26.05.2011.

Košute, Dalmatia, Croatia (Košute, Dalmatien, Kroatien) (Košute, Dalmácia, Horvátország) 05.2011.

We visited a sandy, dry area in Middle Dalmatia, near Košute, where we found some interesting animals, mostly under rocks. Location: Košute, Trilj. Date: 24.05.2011.

Trogir, Dalmatia, Croatia (Trogir, Dalmatien, Kroatien) (Trogir, Dalmácia, Horvátország) 05.2011.

In Middle Dalmatia we found a fascinating flora and fauna, a part of which I’ll try to present in this post. We searched through the hills surrounding Trogir, here the landscape is mostly characterised by arid slopes with large rocks, mediterranean plant communities, and an insect fauna typical of arid areas. Location: Surroundings of Trogir. Date: 23.05.2011.

Sebesvíz II., Bükk Mountains, Hungary (Sebesvíz II., Bükk-Gebirge, Ungarn) (Sebesvíz II., Bükk-hegység, Magyarország) 04.2011.

At the end of April 2011 I cycled up from Miskolc to the Sebesvíz brook in the Bükk mountain and Bükk National Park. This is one of my favourite places for nature photography, and it is definetly one of the most interesting brooks in Hungary because it is the steepest, it has a unique fauna and it is well hidden in the forest from most tourists. I was there at the beginning of April also, see that post here. Location: Sebesvíz-brook. Date: 23.04.2011.