Protected as the special nature reserve Labudovo okno, this section of the Danube is unique in the whole of Serbia upon its wide shallows, before the river narrows downstream from the village of Ram.
Getting there: Some nine kilometres northeast from Dubovac (and about 1 km before the bridge over the DTD canal), a sandy track veers right and winds through a forested steppe for about 2 km until it reaches the bank of the Danube. Stick to the existing dirt tracks and do not damage the sensitive vegetation by creating new sets of tracks!
In that area, floodwaters from the rising Iron Gates Dam have submerged the Karas River mouth creating a spacious shallow lagoon. The opposite bank lies about 3 km away, clearly marked with the mediaeveal Ram fortress. Spotting scope is recommended.
Birds to look for here are Greylag Goose, Smew and Goosander, Common Goldeneye, Pygmy Cormorant, Squacco and Purple Herons, Montagu’s Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, White-tailed and Booted Eagles, Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit, Green and Wood Sandpipers, Whimbrel and Eurasian Curlew, Mew and Caspian Gulls, three marsh terns, Caspian Tern, European Bee-eater, Red-backed Shrike, Sand Martin, Collared Flycatcher, etc.
When to go: wintering and migration seasons, also breeding (avoid windy days – the birds will be looking for cover).
eBird list of the recorded species: http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L2846269
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