Which nature photographer doesn’t dream of being given carte blanche with the floating hut on bird-rich ponds in wild nature? In Slovenia you can have fun unabashedly in the water among bird species that are difficult to approach or photograph in other places. Connoisseurs will have no doubt: this is a top trip for those who are curious about floating shelters or for photographers who are already familiar with floating huts. Unique in Europe!

Strenghts of this tour:

• guidance by two professional photographers with excellent knowledge of floating hides
• sophisticated preparation so that we can guarantee the best photos
• an ‘all inclusive‘ with the exception of the flights
• small group so that you are personally guided
• floating hides included

© Dimitri Roelants

Special (bird) species

Slovenia during summer, is there a better place to photograph birds in Europe? All fledglings and juveniles are busy exploring the world. We concentrate on river wetlands, open water, swamps, reedbeds, flooded grasslands, meanders,… Prepare for the following photo subjects: great crested grebe, little grebe, black-necked grebe, red-necked grebe, ducks, terns, various herons, shorebirds,…

There is of course also a lot to experience from the water. The countless extensively managed meadows and wooded areas buzz with life: songbirds, various woodpecker species and small mammals are also on the agenda.

As expected in a country like Slovenia with unspoilt nature, there are also many surprises possible! Look forward to a few extra nice species such as the mighty osprey! You might come home with action shots indeed… Enough now with spoiling the surprise, until we’re there! You can rest assured: this photography tour to Slovenia is again a unique STARLING tour. A travel formula full of surprises, specially designed by our competent guides

Unique: the floating hide

To approach water birds undisturbed and to have an incredibly beautiful point of view, we use a hide that can float on water. We walk on the bottom of the pond with waterproof waders and from the hide, we approach birds that usually don’t care about that camouflaged bump on the water.

Have you already worked with the floating hides on one of our trips or workshops? Then you already know that this is one of the best ways to photograph birds. It also gives the greatest satisfaction because you can fully express your own creativity. You choose your own light, distance, background,… and you have your own hut. We enter various water features with our floating hut.

We naturally provide an extensive initiation session for newcomers. But rest assured: you will immediately love it and will undoubtedly never experience such a thrill behind your telephoto lens again!

During this photography tour we use, among other things, the inflatable floating hides from the producer Mr Jan Gear. Our tour guide Yves is an ambassador for Mr Jan Gear and helped design the successful floating hide himself. This trip is an ideal opportunity for a participant to try out the hut extensively!

© Yves Adams

Locations far away

For this photo tour, we explore the other side of Europe, where nature is much more unspoilt than ours. But it doesn’t stop there: we travel even further to wild areas with barely known sites to unpack our floating hides. Here, no one will disturb us and we have the birds all to ourselves.

We travel to pristine wetlands. The very dynamic habitat attracts special birds every year. Because we are very dependent on the water level, we have numerous plan B locations in case the water level is not perfect. These are spread throughout the area, ranging from abandoned fish breeding ponds, river meanders, swamps,…