Wednesday 27 January 2010

Zakopane, Poland (September 2008)

Zakopane is in the South of Poland in the Tatra National Park (Tatrzański Park Narodowy) not far from Krakow.

A poster in the read "W górach jest wszystko co kocham" - In the mountains is everything I love. How true this is.


Zakopane - Side Street



Along Pod Reglami


Dolina Strążyska

There are a number of waymarked walks through the Tatra mountains at Zakopane. These are graded according to their difficulty from Red (Easy) to Black (Hard). One such walk takes you through Dolina Strążyska. At the start of the trail a Nuthatch was seen.



The river through Dolina Strążyska



Giewont (1,894m)




Limestone outcrops

Local farmers make cheese from sheep's milk (Oscypek) which is smoked inside small wooden huts.

Oscypek huts.


Waterfall at the end of Dolina Strążyska

Kasprowy Wierch (1,987 metres)

A rather more challenging hike takes you from Kuźnice to the top of Kasprowy Wierch the summit of which lies on the border of Poland and Slovakia. Having taken the minibus from the centre of Zakopane to Kuźnice, the walk starts out on a fairly gentle climb along a tarmac path beside the river.


In the river there were Grey Wagtails and Dippers. In the woods we saw Jays and Crested Tits. Ravens were seen and heard overhead.

The early stages of the walk up Kasprowy Wierch


The limestone cliffs bordering the valley


A good viewpoint looking down over the forest to Zakopane below.


The easy way up from Kuźnice!


The signs provide a fair indication of the distance to go.


Fly Agaric mushroom in the woods.

Less than half way up and we entered the mist. This was very disappointing as I was hoping to get a good view from the top. The higher we climbed the colder it got. We reached a level were all the vegetation was covered in frost.


Dwarf pine covered in frost

As we got further I noticed that the frost was thawing and gradually we could make out the sun starting to break through the mist. All of a sudden we were through the top of the mist and greeted with views far better than we could have expected.


The Tatra mountains peeking through the mist




The top of Giewont (1,894m)

The final 150 metres of climb was very pleasant. The summit provided not only a welcome rest but excellent views.



The summit - 1,987 metres

The most striking thing at this point was that the mist was only over the Polish side, the Slovakian mountains were completely clear. The ridge which runs along the border at about 1,850 metres was holding back the mist.




Poland to the right in the mist - Slovakia on the left clear

Into Slovakia (only just!)


Looking down the valley in Slovakia

After our brief Sojourn into Slovakia we headed to the summit restaurant (to cater for the cable car visitors) for a beer - Żywiec is our favourite.


After a refreshing break it was time to head back down. This of course meant heading back into the mist.




Heading down into the mist


Small pond on the way down

Finally a selection of black & white images








See http://www.discoverzakopane.com/tatramap.html for a map of the trails.

Thursday 7 January 2010

Kuala Lumpur - August 2009

During a business trip to Malaysia in August 2009 I managed a few opportunities to see the local wildlife. Common Mynas were seen everywhere, in the city and along the roadsides. White-Breasted Kingfishers were fairly common along the ditches at the side of the road in the countryside SW of Kuala Lumpur, which is where the factory was located. Barn Swallows and other hirundines and swifts were regularly seen. Around the factory House Sparrows were nesting.

The countryside around the factory was primarily palm oil plantations.







Monkeys were occasionally seen along the road to the factory. At lunch one day by the river at Banting a large (1.5metre) Monitor Lizard (Malayan Water Monitor Lizard - Varanus salvator) was seen swimming from the other side of the river (40 metres) to the bank just below the restaurant veranda. Mudskippers were also on the bank here.


Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve



The reserve is situated at the foot of the KL Tower and is an oasis of ancient forest within the heart of Kuala Lumpur. See http://www.malaysiavacationguide.com/bukitnanas.html.













The skyscrapers of KL are never far away!



The KL Tower looming through the canopy.



Lizard






Monkeys in the trees


Squirrel(?)


Unripe bananas


Oriental Magpie Robin - Murai Kampung - Copsychus saularis







Batu Caves
Batu Caves in the North of KL are a sacred Hindu site.



The many steps leading up to the caves








Macaque Monkeys take food from the tourists!









Some of the flora on the cliffs at the mouth of the caves











KLCC Park




Petronas Towers
Situated beneath the twin towers of the Petronas building this is very much a recreational park rather than a wildlife area, however some interesting wildlife was seen.



Common Myna - Tiong Gembala Kerbau - Acridotheres tristis

House Crow - Gagak Rumah - Corvus splendens
The only animal in the park was seen running across the grass and darting into some bushes.

Common Tree Shrew - Tupaia glis
These colourful pigeons are presumably a male (with orange breast) and a female. They were busy feeding on berries.







Pink-necked Green Pigeon - Punai Siam - Treron vernans


A short walk beyond the southern end of park along Jalan Kia Peng I was most surprised to a Kingfisher.





White-throated Kingfisher - Pekaka Dada Putih - Halcyon smyrnensis


Banana Tree






Monitor Lizard - near the National Mosque

Bird identifications with help from http://www.birdinginmalaysia.com/.