The chirping slopes of Karoliniškės

In the spring you will see birds coming to drink or bathe. This ritual is particularly common on hot summer days. It is frequented by Jays, True Thrushes, Robins, Chickadees, Leaf Warblers, Common Chaffinches, and other forest birds. If you choose a remote observation site, you will be able to see the rich diversity of birds.

 Log piles are stacked for a reason – they are home to a wide variety of wood-dwelling beetles and centipedes. Mushrooms, lichens, molluscs, crustaceans and spiders can also take up residence alongside insects. As the wood decays, some dwellers will leave and others will move in, so the hotel’s inhabitants will be changing constantly, just like in a real hotel. Some feed here, while others hide or hibernate, and others reproduce. Insects are one of the most abundant taxonomic groups on Earth, making up as much as 90% of the world’s animal species! Today, there are more than a million known (recorded) insect species. According to entomologists, there are probably over 8 million different species of insects on Earth.

Birds of prey have always been interesting and attractive, with their majestic stance, curved beaks, and sharp claws for catching prey. In this reserve, you can see both the Common Buzzard soaring through the sky and the Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk flying at tremendous speed among the branches. The prey of the Sparrowhawk and Northern Goshawk in the city consists mainly of birds – Pigeons, Jackdaws, Jays, Song Thrushes, Chaffinches, various Chickadee species – and small mammals. The Common Buzzard preys more on small mammals, such as types of voles, moles, and squirrels. It also hunts birds: Song Thrushes, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Jays, Chaffinches, and others. Amphibians and reptiles also make up a significant part of the prey.

This feeder is used by Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Greenfinches, Blue Tits, Marsh Tits, and Great Tits. Hawfinches, Nuthatches, and other birds fly in. You can bring bird feed for them in winter. Insectivorous birds such as those in the tit, nuthatch, and woodpecker families, and other birds will enjoy unsalted lard, nuts and apples, in addition to sunflowers. Wet food hardens quickly during frosts, so it is best to mix white bread crumbs with oil to keep them soft. Grain-pecking birds such as Greenfinches, Sparrows and Hawfinches can be offered panicum (panic grass) groats, maize grains, cereal waste, flax, hemp, and conifer seeds. For more information on feeding birds, please visit the ornithologists’ website: www.birdlife.lt

At the edge of the forest, near the apartment blocks, you’ll see a lot of starling nesting boxes. Starlings are happy to settle there. The bird is easily recognisable by its characteristic decoration and song. It is similar to the Blackbird and can be easily confused. The adult Starling is more or less lightly spotted (while the Blackbird is pure black) and has a metallic sheen to its plumage, as well as a shorter tail. The Starling walks and runs on the ground, is very agile, but never dances as the Blackbird does. The Starling feeds mainly on invertebrates, but also eats a lot of plant food: various fruits, berries and seeds. It migrates in large flocks.

The Swift catches up to 20,000 small insects a day. The Swift is often confused with the House Martin and the Barn Swallow. These Swallows have some white colour, while the Swift is solid dark. Unlike Swallows, the Swift does not perch on wires. This bird can fly for up to 10 months without touching ground. This is a record in the bird world! In the air, it eats, drinks, sleeps, preens, gathers material for its nest, and even mates. Its long wings and short legs make it difficult to get off the ground. Therefore, if you find a Swift, you should simply pick it up and hold it high in the palm of your hand. A healthy bird will fly away on its own. The Swift breeds in nesting boxes and in recesses in buildings: vents, cracks, and under window sills, or roof tiles. If you place a nesting box on a balcony railing, the Swift will happily take up residence there.

This is one of the best known, most commonly seen and most easily recognised birds with black on the top of its head and neck, greenish on the back and white on the cheeks. The underside of the body is yellow, and a black stripe runs across the abdomen. In males, the band is wider and the rump black. In females, the band is narrower and sometimes interrupted. The birdsong of the Great Tit can be heard as early in the year as January. The most common being the monotonous two-note descending call repeated several times, usually described as ‘tea-cher, tea-cher!’ (‘vyčiau, vyčiau, vyčiau’). The Great Tits breeds in nests and nesting boxes. In winter, the birds leave the forest to search for food in towns and feeders.

This bird is a similar size to the Sparrow. Although it is very common (the most abundant in Lithuania) and its song can be heard everywhere, it is not very well known to people. The adult male is easily recognisable during breeding by its distinctive bright plumage. The forehead is black, while the top of the head and the nape is a greyish-blue. The back is brownish, and the wings are blackish brown with two white stripes, which distinguish it from other birds in the park. The female is brownish grey in colour. You will often see the bird near or on the path looking for insects or seeds. The warble of the Chaffinch is loud and often repeated; sometimes there is a kind of roar – ‘rrid, rrid’. The nest is built on tree branches; the outside of the nest is covered with moss and lichen, providing camouflage and making it difficult to spot.

If you see a bird flying in a wavy pattern, you’ve probably caught sight of a woodpecker. This bird is excellent at climbing up vertical tree trunks. It moves along the ground in hopping strides. It breeds in tree trunks that it has hollowed out. Every year it makes a new place to roost, while other birds, such as Starlings, Chickadees, and Nuthatches amongst others, take up residence in the old one. The reserve is home to an impressive crow-sized woodpecker, the Black Woodpecker. The male and female are black. The male’s head is red all over, whereas only the occiput is red on the the female. These birds are quite wary, so if they see a human, they hide behind a trunk. They feed on bark and forest pests that live under bark and in dead wood; they also eat a lot of black and long-horn beetles. With its strong beak, it digs up stumps to look for ant; it particular likes their larvae and pupae. Woodpeckers can also dig deep burrows in anthills.

The bird is easy to remember and recognise, both in appearance and behaviour – it is a bold forest bird. To identify it, look for a black stripe running from the beak across the eye, and the top of the body is bluish-grey, while the wings and tail are a blackish brown. The underside of the body is whitish and the sides brownish. The Nuthatch is a very agile bird, climbing up tree trunks and branches, often with its head down. It breeds in tree hollows and nesting boxes. It reduces the size of large nesting holes, such as those suitable for starlings, by covering them with clay to the size it needs. After collecting sunflowers from feeders, the Nuthatch then hides them in tree bark and crevices, thus storing them for the winter.

Dead trees, branches, uprooted windswept trees, branches, trunks, and debris are an important part of the ecology of the reserve. Dead wood plays a special role for various forest organisms (plants, fungi, lichens, insects, and birds) as a source of food, habitat, or temporary shelter. Scientists claim that as many as one third of forest species are associated with dead wood. It supports the  productivity of the forest by enriching the soil with nutrients and helping it to retain moisture. This protects slopes and soil surfaces from water erosion, as well as mitigating the greenhouse effect by locking in carbon dioxide stored in the trunks for long periods.

These islands are home to the breeding grounds of the Little Ringed Plovers and the Common Sandpiper. In the early mornings, the Grey Heron flies in to fish, and in autumn and winter the Great Egret can be seen. The islands are home to different species of duck: the Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and Mallard. It is not recommended to walk on the islands in May and June: the speckled eggs of the Sandpipers are difficult to see among the pebbles, and careless walking can easily destroy them.

This mottled bird, whose feathers blend in with the tree trunk, can be spotted if you keep an eye out. The beak of the Treecreeper is long, thin, and curves downwards. Its birdsong is quiet and melodious. When you hear the chirp, look out – the Treecreeper is close by. In the crevices of the bark, it searches for insects, their eggs, and climbs up the trunk in a spiral pattern. This bird breeds under exposed bark or in crevices in trunks. You will see this bird in mature green areas.

Sitting on this bench, listen to the melodious songs of the Robin Redbreast and the Blackbird, and be able to watch the Jays. You will see an oak tree in front of you, and its robust and heavy branches provide shelter for the birds. Noisy Jays come to pick its fruit. It is a colourful bird of the forest, often ruffling its top feathers. Its white tail, white and black-blue wing patches catch the eye as it flies. The rest of the body is grey-brownish, and the back is greyer. In autumn, the Jay hides various tree seeds, especially acorns, under moss, leaves and in tree crevices, looking out for the presence of their relatives. If it knows other Jays are observing this process, the bird will cunningly imitate this action and only pretend to hide their stash. At the same time, the Jay can cram as many as nine acorns into its throat. During the autumn season, the jay hides about 10,000 seeds. It remembers many places well. It is not for nothing that the Jay is known as a gardener – trees grow from hidden seeds.

The tree root ‘ladder’ connects the Karoliniškių Viewpoint and a lonely bench on the hill. As you walk along this ‘ladder’, you will hear the birdsong of the Robin Redbreast, the Common Chaffinch, and the Blackbird

This observation deck offers a great panoramic view of the city and Vingis Park. The River Neris flows underfoot, attracting Mute Swans, and Goldeneye, Merganser, and Mallard ducks also swim here. Goldeneyes are much smaller than Mallard ducks. Goldeneyes are yellow-eyed ducks that dive and dig in the sand and gravel, picking up pebbles and catching insects, as well as their larvae and molluscs that nest there. The Goldeneye duck breeds in hollows, or in roosts carved by Black Woodpeckers, or in raised nesting boxes. The flapping of the wings of flying adults produces a specific whistling sound.

This extremely deep ravine – with its high and steep sandy slopes where fallen trees build nature’s bridges – has been undergoing intense erosive processes for millennia, eroding the bottom of the gorge and its slopes. These processes have always been taken place and continue to this day, as they will in the future; we are left to admire them. The fallen trees retain soil moisture and protect the slopes and soil surfaces from water erosion. It is a spectacular place.

The songs of these birds will accompany you throughout the forest. Thrushes are bigger than starlings. The male Black Thrush has a black, orange-yellow bill. The body of the female is the colour of coffee beans. The male and female Song Thrush are brownish above and whitish below, with a brownish chest and circular black-brown spots. The thrushes nest in trees. You will often see them running or dancing alongside or on a path, turning leaves. They eat earthworms, insect larvae, grasshoppers, and blueberries, currants, rowanberries or the berries of other plants. If you see baby thrushes that are not flying, do not rush to their rescue. Their parents will take care of them successfully on the ground until they learn to fly.

Although the bird is very small – as small as your thumb – and weighs only about 10 g, it is one of the loudest singing birds in Lithuania and Europe. You will often hear it when walking quietly by streams, springs, gullies, and creeks. It easily distinguishes itself from other birds by its appearance: a very short, brown tail, which is often held erect. The male builds several spherical nests and builds them under roots, in rotten trunks or inside branch stumps, or in dense shrubs or amongst bent fir tree branches. They feed on small insects, spiders, ticks, and centipedes, and it would not resist berries. The wren is so popular in Ireland that it has been named the national bird

These agile birds are smaller than the Sparrow or Chiffchaff. It is sometimes difficult to see them without binoculars as they like to sing in dense foliage and the tops of trees. The Woodwarbler is slightly larger than the Chiffchaff. It has a yellow and white underbelly and a yellowish-green top, and its legs are also yellowish. The upper half and underside of the body of the Chiffchaff is brownish grey, sometimes greenish. Legs black. The songs of these warblers are easy to remember. They build closed nests with a hole on the side on the ground or among plants, in piles of branches or in low-lying fir trees. They feed on small insects, caterpillars, spiders, and aphids

These birds are often seen in the city. The crow’s plumage is predominantly grey and black, while its tail and wings are glossy black. It is an inquisitive bird that tends to explore its surroundings. It tends to build single nests in isolated trees near apartment blocks. The Hooded Crow feeds on animal food, and less often, on plant food. It can also be seen near open containers and landfills. Crows are particularly protective of their young, which have prematurely fledged from the nest, as their maternal instinct is strong. The Jackdaw is noticeably smaller than the Hooded Crow, and is dark grey, with black wings and a dark tail. The occiput, nape and sides of the neck are light grey. The Jackdaw favours breeding in the wall niches of buildings, or ventilation openings, eaves, and nesting boxes; sometimes it clogs chimneys with nesting material. They are gregarious and like to breed in colonies. Urban nesting birds bring man-made products to the nest, such as building materials, paper, plastic wrapping, or cling film.

The biggest attraction of the park is the Plikakalnio outcrop. It is the second highest exposed rock formation in Lithuania (58 m) formed in the territory of Vilnius city, on the wooded right bank of the Neris River opposite Vingis Park. There is an observation deck at the top of the cliff. Here you can admire the magnificent panorama of the city from the outcrop. The outline of Vingis Park and the Botanical Garden of Vilnius University are clearly visible. On the left, you can see the two islands separating the river currents.

One of the most beautiful birds in Lithuania, the kingfisher used to nest and breed in the outcrop. Nowadays, these European Kingfishers prefer to breed in more remote areas but are still often seen fishing at the bottom of the exposed rock. The upper half of the kingfisher’s body is bright green-blue, while the underside is bright brown. It has a long bill and short tail. In terms of size, it is barely larger than the Sparrow and spends most of its time perched on branches, railings, or under bridges. When it sees its prey, it dives down suddenly and comes back a moment later with the fish. Sometimes it flies along the water in search of fish, and when it finds one, it hovers like a hummingbird in the air before diving into the water.

The Black-headed Gull and Common Tern can be seen catching fish below the outcrop. People confuse these white birds. The tern has a longer, more pointed bill, shorter legs, and it flies gracefully and has a tail that is often clipped. The gull is larger, bigger, slower, and feeds not only on fish but also on waste