In cooperation with Nature park Učka association BIOM is holding ornitological camp Učka near Rovozna pond 12th year in a row! Camp is open for cca 50 days for all interested in spending time in nature, learning not just about birds and their habitats but the whole flora and fauna. Join us, volunteer and get skills in handling birds!
Camp is open for volunteers and visitors from 24th August to 5th October 2017.
We kindly ask you to apply for participating in camp!
Only condition for involment in camp is to respect others and the rules in relation to participants and wild animals. Best recommendation is that part of volunteers that keeps coming every year bringing new people with them. If this is your first experience with ringing birds and/or Učka ringing camp read the report from 2017.
Basic information about the life conditions on the camp:
- Sleeping in tents
There are always a few available tents at the camp location, provided by Association BIOM. We advise those planning a longer visit to bring their own tents.
- Cooking on camp fire / gas cooker
Every couple of days we visit a nearby town to buy groceries (we ask participants to contribute to the budget with around 5.5 EUR / 5 GBP per day). Help with cooking, as well as collecting and chopping wood is more than welcome!
- Drinking water available on location
Our water supply is stored in a 1500 L tank and should be used rationally. There are no showers, but it is possible to occasionally use a public one, located on a beach of the nearby town.
- Toilet in nature
The toilet consists of a shovel, forest and an improvised chair made from hornbeam wood.
- Electricity from solar panels
Only for charging small electrical equipment (e.g. cell phones and cameras).
* Due to technical issues electricity from solar panels is currently unavailable. Charging electrical equipment is possible in nearby town or in a car but it is recommended to bring spare batteries.
- Weak phone/internet signal
Cell signal is present but mostly weak. Occasionally it disappears completely and in that case finding it requires a short walk uphill.
- Routine daily schedule
We open the mist nets before dawn each day, and check for birds every 45 min afterwards. The midday break starts at 11 a.m. and during this time the nets are closed. The break finishes at 4 p.m. and the mist nets are then open until sunset.
How to reach the camp?
- Coming by public transport
We can pick you up by car from Sveta Jelena, Brseč ili Mošćenička Draga during our midday break (11:30-15:30). There are frequent busses from Pula and Rijeka which can take you to one of the listed places. It’s important for us to know exact time and place of your arrival in order to plan our day. If you arrive before or after the midday break you might have to wait, sometimes for quite a while, until we are done with ringing.
- Coming by private car
There is a road from both Mošćenička Draga and Brseč leading to Sveta Jelena. Once you’re in Sveta Jelena you need to make a turn near restaurant Slamnjaki, to follow cycling route no. 8 (in Croatian: biciklistička staza br. 8) marked by guideposts. Once you’re on the cycling route 8, your first turn is right, then left and on the third crossroad you continue straight (cycling route 8 continues right on the third crossroad, and that’s when you shouldn’t follow it anymore). Camp is nicely visible from the road and will appear on your right.
- Routes
For application and participation contact camp coordinators:
Iva Šoštarić, iva.sostaric@biom.hr, 099/406 5401
Biljana Ječmenica, biljana.jecmenica@biom.hr, 095/888 8771
Additional information and advices from our long time volunteer.
See you on Učka!
