July 22, 2020 – VIDEO: See The Wild Birds Of Krka National Park And A UNESCO World Heritage Site In Šibenik

Known for its series of cascading waterfalls, its picturesque pools and its acres of lush vegetation, Krka, just outside Šibenik, is one of Croatia's most-loved National Parks. But, scoring the skyline overhead and resting in its trees you can spot one of its other best attractions; the wild birds of Krka National Park.

The National Park has released a new video showcasing just some of the 229 species of birds that call Krka home. Now, you don't have to strain your eyes to see some of its wondrous winged inhabitants. Also visible in the film is the park's Visovac island and its postcard-pretty monastery.

The wild birds of Krka National Park

The short but stunning video catches kingfishers, ducks, buzzards, kestrels, cormorants, swallows and others, in flight or at play on the water's surface. But, should you choose to visit Krka National Park, there's the chance of seeing even rarer birds that sometimes live there, such as ospreys, eagles, falcon and griffon vulture.

Situated just a few kilometres from well-known seaside destination Šibenik, in summertime Krka becomes one of the most popularly visited National Parks in the country. Visitors who can't spend their entire vacation on the beach love to make the short journey inland for a day of stunning natural beauty, shaded on the pathways as they walk by trees like umbrellas.

The Fortress of St. Nicholas, just off Šibenik, the best-preserved Venetian defensive structure in Croatia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site © Sebastian Gößl

And, there's never been a better time to take in the park. Visitor numbers to the region are understandably down on 2019 and so Krka National Park this year offers a more peaceful and unhurried experience than in many previous seasons. If that wasn't incentive enough, tickets for the park in summer 2020 hold a 10% discount to entry of the Fortress of St. Nicholas in Šibenik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The best-preserved Venetian defensive structure in Croatia, the fortress has undergone considerable reconstruction work over recent years and only opened itself up to the public again in 2019.

NP Krka is another one of those ''must visit'' places when in Croatia, and yes, there are many such destinations to be found here. The whole ''must see'' thing has become a little saturated over recent years, especially with the rise of self-proclaimed travel bloggers and social media influencers, however, there is much more to this stunning national park than just the ability to take artistic Instagram pictures.

NP Krka is involving itself in the education of school children in the Dalmatian county in which the park is situated through a praiseworthy project aimed at increasing kids' overall awareness of both protected areas and nature and the environment.

As Morski writes on the 3rd of April, 2019, the highly visited NP Krka actually launched the project "Let's fill up the school libraries" (Popunimo školske knjižnice), for primary and secondary schools of the Šibenik-Knin County back in 2007.

The aim of the project is to make the books published within the framework of this educational scope available to school-age children and other young people, so that they can contribute to their own respective awareness of the country's numerous protected areas and the need to take care of their surroundings, including the importance of the proper preservation of the environment.

Since back in 2007, VHS tapes and later on, DVDs covering a wide array of topics related to NP Krka and its environment and native wildlife and birds have been shared around numerous local schools within the aforementioned county in Dalmatia. In February this year, a total of 49 books were distributed to thirty-six primary and thirteen high schools in the county.

NP Krka's administration and staff believe that this year's gift to local schools will be used by students and their mentors and teachers not only as an additional teaching aid for the classroom but that it will also encourage children to go out and get to know and further explore the rich natural beauty and the cultural heritage of the beautiful NP Krka.

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Ever been to NP Mljet? Lying not far from Croatia's southernmost city of Dubrovnik, Mljet national park, otherwise Croatia's most heavily forested island and unarguably among the most unusual, is a must visit place for those wanting a sense of peace. Photographers and nature lovers alike are also attracted in their droves to beautiful Mljet.

As Morski writes on the 11th of November, 2018, NP Mljet, the Republic of Croatia's and the Mediterranean's first properly protected marine area, is celebrating ts 58th birthday today! Established on this day back in 1960, NP Mljet has naturally become the target of numerous visitors from across the world who want to experience some of the Adriatic's pure and rich nature. This year also stands out as a record year for the number of visitors to NP Mljet.

In addition to a huge number of visitors, this year is also significant thanks to the arrival of the first of three electric catamarans for the transportation of visitors to NP Mljet's Great lake, and the signing of the Grant Agreement for a project for Mljet worth a massive 36,618,480,26 kuna. These resources will improve and enhance the popular national park's visitor infrastructure, and enrich the quality and quantity of touristic, educational and recreational content on the island.

The birthday celebrations of NP Mljet began back on October the 22nd with the opening of an exhibition of photographs in the Gallery of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. In addition to the exhibition, from October the 24th to the 31st, the Days of Open Doors and a special program for the visiting of NP Mljet for the passengers of the Krilo Star catamaran's final journey for 2018 were held. The celebrations will continue through November when an exhibition on the cultural heritage of NP Mljet opens far from Zagreb, on the island of Mljet itself, all on the occasion of the International Year of Cultural Heritage.

Happy birthday, Mljet National Park!

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Keeping on top of things and putting the environment first isn't always easy in the time in which we currently live, but a beach cleanup is a more than excellent way to start. In Croatia, such seabed and beach cleanup actions take place quite regularly up and down the coast, with the most emphasis being placed on the pre and post season.

During this somewhat turbulent time of year, it's typical for unstable weather conditions and strong winds and currents to wreak havoc to some degree or another, often bringing in unwanted rubbish from other parts of the coast, sometimes even dragging up piles of waste on currents from Albania to Dubrovnik.

Plastic pollution is an increasingly dangerous threat to the world's seas and oceans, and while various laws continue to be passed to either ban or at least limit the use of ''throw away'' plastic products, the issue remains a pressing one. A well organised beach cleanup is an excellent way to combat the problem.

As Morski writes on the 1st of November, 2018, beautiful Mljet has experienced a proverbial reincarnation this year, as 32 volunteers participated in a program to clean up as many as fifteen bays and coves on Mljet, which is otherwise one of the country's most breathtaking national parks, located not too far from Dubrovnik.

This year's volunteer program, developed by JUNP Mljet and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy through the EU Integration Project Natura 2000, was successfully completed, with 71 volunteers participating in all of the four volunteer programs.

For the first time, NP Mljet welcomed international volunteers from Lithuania, Australia, America, and neighbouring Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to help clean up the national park's many bays and coves. Over 400 plastic bags, sewage, glass and various other types of waste was successfully removed from Mljet's shoreline.

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