1965–2025
If you ever visited the society’s office in Ljubljana, you most likely didn’t meet Primož. When he wasn’t out in the field, he was in his office—the most hidden of them all, one you’d hardly ever stumble into by accident. The shelves in his office held a few binders, but mostly professional literature, including books that we all knew could only be found there. Of course, “Bibby”—Bird Census Techniques—was there, and bookmarks were mostly placed in titles like Habitat Suitability and Distribution Models or Exploratory Multivariate Analysis by Example Using R. These titles alone show that Primož was a great expert; he knew a lot about topics the rest of us barely understood.
Primož was a member of DOPPS for 36 years, and for the last 20 years, he was also our employee and a colleague. He was an experienced field ornithologist, an exceptional researcher, the leader and creator of the Farmland Bird Monitoring Scheme in Slovenia, editor of the scientific journal Acrocephalus, head of the Conservation and Research department, a member of international bird monitoring bodies, scientific director, and above all, a dedicated conservationist. He wrote and led major conservation projects. His passion was data analysis and ecological modeling, where his exceptional intellect allowed him to master complex mathematical approaches to building and interpreting models. He often mentored and co-mentored fellow researchers and students on their master’s theses. These collaborations produced original scientific papers co-authored by him—30 in total—the latest of which was published this year in the prestigious English SCI journal Bird Study. A few years ago, he founded and led a research group within the society, which brought him great joy—he was well aware of the importance of research for successful conservation.
Besides birds, Primož had a deep love for people. We all knew him for his kindness and generosity. He was calm and never raised his voice. His character, knowledge, and wisdom commanded respect. Because of this, he was a role model to many, especially younger colleagues. Though a bit shy, he had a wonderful and always harmless sense of humor that could have landed him in an episode of Monty Python. On top of everything, he was very humble and would often come to the office wearing his legendary All Stars sneakers. Primož was simply down-to-earth and spontaneous.
There are many small things he did that brightened our days, and we will miss him dearly. It often happened that he would hear a familiar voice outside his office, at which point he would slightly open the door, stick his head out, and greet you warmly.
Though Primož is no longer with us, his work and his name will forever remain inscribed in the freedom of birds and in our hearts.
Glory to him.