Lake Palško

Lake Palško is the largest of all the lakes in the Pivka region. It forms north of Palče, in a karst depression one and a half kilometers long and half a kilometer wide, with a level, alluvial bottom. The duration of Lake Palško varies from year to year. As with all intermittent lakes, its existence depends on the amount and timing of rainfall; typically, the lake holds water for about three months. At the bottom of the dry Lake Palšče are meadows and willow thickets. The thickets serve as an important nesting site for several bird species, particularly the common sandpiper, the brown shrike, and the great bunting. The density of their nests at Lake Palš is among the highest in Slovenia. Approximately half of all nesting bird species in the Pivka region are listed on Slovenia’s Red List of Threatened Species. Among them is the harrier, which is protected worldwide due to the continuous decline of wet meadow habitats. The exceptional biodiversity of the Pivka Lakes is also evidenced by the fact that more than half of all butterfly species observed in Slovenia live here. As many as 70 species have been recorded on the grassy shores of Lake Palško, and a total of 88 species of diurnal butterflies across all the lakes. When the ground dries out in the spring, colorful carpets of flowers bloom around the lakes.