Miklavž Pond

Not far from the bridge over the canal for the Zlatoličje power plant, there is a spring that flows as the Miklavž Stream through marshland and connects three ponds. The first is overgrown with reeds, the second also contains abundant vegetation, while the third and largest is rich in fish. The ponds are home to mallards, swans occasionally fly in, and a special attraction are the storks that nest on a pole in front of the church. This area, one of the richest ecosystems and most beautiful and vibrant habitats in Slovenia, is called the Drava floodplain. It stretches from the Drava terrace below the old village center of Miklavž to the bed of the Drava River. This floodplain area directly by the river is extremely valuable, as floodwaters can spread here without causing significant damage. When the waters recede, the biotopes, with their characteristic climatic, soil, water, and other abiotic factors, allow rare plant and animal species to survive. Part of this area along the Drava, with its vegetation and wildlife, belongs to the Drava Landscape Park.

This is truly a paradise for ornithologists. On World Birdwatching Day in 1995, as many as 38 bird species were recorded in the Miklavž area. A natural botanical monument is the sea buckthorn habitat, found in the Miklavž section of the Drava Landscape Park. Among the fields, one can still find hedgerows where hawthorn, elderberry, dogwood, hazel, and black locust grow, providing shelter for birds, insects, and other animals. In the forests of the municipality, black pine is predominant, but there is also a considerable amount of spruce, some oak, beech, hornbeam, and a few other tree species.