Roy Frost and I visited Hungary and Slovakia for a week at the invitation of my Sakertour friends, Zoltán Ecsedi and János Oláh. The timing was a little late, mid-April – end May being the optimum, because they were occupied with guiding bird tours till then, but was very successful. We saw all of our main target species well, most notably Pygmy, Ural and Eagle Owls, Imperial and White-tailed Eagles, Saker, Red-footed Falcon, Wallcreeper, with bonuses of Steppe Eagle, Little Crake, Corncrake, Red-necked Phalarope, Ortolan Bunting and Lady’s Slipper Orchids. Great Bustard was the only significant dip (due to high vegetation and limited time). We could have seen Three-toed Woodpecker had we wanted, White-backed a few weeks earlier, and breeding White-winged Black-Tern and Tengmalm’s Owl in “normal” years – this being a particularly bad one for them.
We flew with BA, booked a few days beforehand through www.lastminute.com, for the good price of £138 and booked a car through www.holidayautos.com, group A for £214. The car-hire was sub-let to National; we were given a group B Skoda Fabia which was ideal, and paid an extra $3 a day for second driver and $15 for permit to enter Slovakia and Romania. We were also asked to pay a $100 insurance excess because of a dent caused by a low-flying Pheasant, which would be refunded back home by Holiday Autos, although at the time of writing this seems to have been waived.
We spent the first 3 days in the Hortobagy NP, guided by Zoli, staying cheaply at a pleasant guesthouse in Balmazujvaros, and eating well in local restaurants. Then János took over and we drove to Slovakia for the owls and Wallcreeper, assisted one day by Bohumil Murin, an excellent guide/ teacher/ surveyor of Ruzomberok. We returned to Hungary to the Zemplen Hills and Debrecen Great Forest, staying in Janos’s house in Debrecen. We had hoped to visit a village in Romania where large numbers of Rose-coloured Starlings were reported to be nesting but when its location was eventually discovered, it was too far to do on a day trip on bad roads. However, fired by the thoughts of seeing Romania we decided to cross the border (which took about 30 mins each way) to look for Ortolan Bunting, a rare bird in Hungary, and duly saw it at János’s site by a large reservoir. On the last day we explored Kiskunsag NP, an hour south of Budapest, by ourselves and failed to find Great Bustard, Kentish Plover and Collared Pratincole which occur there.
This is certainly some of the best birding in Europe but a good guide is essential if you want to see all the specialities. János and Zoli (of Sakertour, saker@matavnet.hu, ground agents for Birdquest and Sunbird), to whom we are most grateful, are brilliant and speak excellent English. It may also be possible to add on a couple of days in Romania where Brown Bears can be observed from hides in daylight, but the additional cost will be high because of Romanian demands. An October tour is also worthwhile, to see Lesser White-fronted and Red-breasted Geese, many 1000s of Cranes, White-tailed Eagles, etc.
Jon Hornbuckle 35 Grove Road, Sheffield S7 2GY, tel 0114 2363481, jonhornbu@aol.com.
|
Little Grebe |
Tachybaptus ruficollis |
|
|
Red-necked Grebe |
Podiceps grisegena |
1 Hortobagy NP |
|
Great Crested Grebe |
Podiceps cristatus |
|
|
Eared Grebe |
Podiceps nigricollis |
Several Hortobagy NP |
|
Great Cormorant |
Phalacrocorax carbo |
|
|
Pygmy Cormorant |
Phalacrocorax pygmaeus |
Locally common Hortobagy NP |
|
Grey Heron |
Ardea cinerea |
|
|
Purple Heron |
Ardea purpurea |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Great Egret |
Ardea alba |
Common Hortobagy NP |
|
Little Egret |
Egretta garzetta |
Relatively uncommon |
|
Squacco Heron |
Ardeola ralloides |
Several Hortobagy NP |
|
Black-crowned Night-Heron |
Nycticorax nycticorax |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Little Bittern |
Ixobrychus minutus |
Several incl. 5 or 6 at 1 site in Hortobagy NP |
|
Great Bittern |
Botaurus stellaris |
1 in Hortobagy NP |
|
Black Stork |
Ciconia nigra |
a few sightings |
|
White Stork |
Ciconia ciconia |
Common throughout with many nesting on telegraph posts in villages |
|
Eurasian Spoonbill |
Platalea leucorodia |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Mute Swan |
Cygnus olor |
6-8 Hortobagy NP and Kiskunsag NP; this is the genuine article |
|
Greylag Goose |
Anser anser |
Common in Hortobagy NP |
|
Gadwall |
Anas strepera |
|
|
Teal |
Anas crecca |
|
|
Mallard |
Anas platyrhynchos |
|
|
Garganey |
Anas querquedula |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Northern Shoveler |
Anas clypeata |
|
|
Common Pochard |
Aythya ferina |
|
|
Ferruginous Pochard |
Aythya nyroca |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Tufted Duck |
Aythya fuligula |
|
|
European Honey-buzzard |
Pernis apivorus |
1 Zemplen Hills |
|
White-tailed Eagle |
Haliaeetus albicilla |
4 Hortobagy NP |
|
Short-toed Eagle |
Circaetus gallicus |
1 over the big res.r in Romania |
|
Western Marsh-Harrier |
Circus aeruginosus |
Very common Hortobagy NP |
|
Montagu's Harrier |
Circus pygargus |
A few Hortobagy NP |
|
Eurasian Sparrowhawk |
Accipiter nisus |
Only 2 |
|
Northern Goshawk |
Accipiter gentilis |
1 Hortobagy NP and in Slovakia |
|
Eurasian Buzzard |
Buteo buteo |
Common throughout |
|
Long-legged Buzzard |
Buteo rufinus |
A few Hortobagy NP |
|
Lesser Spotted Eagle |
Aquila pomarina |
1 near the Slovakian border |
|
Steppe Eagle |
Aquila nipalensis |
1 Hortobagy NP, a scarce visitor |
|
Imperial Eagle |
Aquila heliaca |
1 imm. near the border and close views of an adult hunting Susliks in Slovakia |
|
Eurasian Kestrel |
Falco tinnunculus |
|
|
Red-footed Falcon |
Falco vespertinus |
Common Hortobagy NP but no large colonies |
|
Eurasian Hobby |
Falco subbuteo |
3 sightings |
|
Saker Falcon |
Falco cherrug |
A pair near a nest with young and 1 single Hortobagy NP |
|
Grey Partridge |
Perdix perdix |
|
|
Common Quail |
Coturnix coturnix |
Heard occasionally throughout |
|
Ring-necked Pheasant |
Phasianus colchicus |
|
|
Common Crane |
Grus grus |
Several Hortobagy NP |
|
Water Rail |
Rallus aquaticus |
Heard |
|
Corn Crake |
Crex crex |
1 heard then flushed in Zemplen Hills |
|
Little Crake |
Porzana parva |
1 at Hortobagy fish ponds |
|
Common Moorhen |
Gallinula chloropus |
|
|
Eurasian Coot |
Fulica atra |
|
|
Black-winged Stilt |
Himantopus himantopus |
Several Hortobagy NP and |
|
Pied Avocet |
Recurvirostra avosetta |
Several nesting Hortobagy NP |
|
Eurasian Thick-knee |
Burhinus oedicnemus |
Only 2 Hortobagy NP |
|
Northern Lapwing |
Vanellus vanellus |
|
|
Common Ringed Plover |
Charadrius hiaticula |
Only 2 singles |
|
Little Ringed Plover |
Charadrius dubius |
Several |
|
Common Snipe |
Gallinago gallinago |
Only 2 singles |
|
Black-tailed Godwit |
Limosa limosa |
Locally common |
|
Eurasian Curlew |
Numenius arquata |
A few |
|
Spotted Redshank |
Tringa erythropus |
1 in summer plumage Hortobagy NP |
|
Common Redshank |
Tringa totanus |
Common |
|
Common Greenshank |
Tringa nebularia |
A few |
|
Green Sandpiper |
Tringa ochropus |
Only 2 or 3 |
|
Wood Sandpiper |
Tringa glareola |
A few |
|
Common Sandpiper |
Actitis hypoleucos |
Only 2 singles |
|
Little Stint |
Calidris minuta |
8 noted |
|
Curlew Sandpiper |
Calidris ferruginea |
5 in summer plumage |
|
Ruff |
Philomachus pugnax |
A few |
|
Red-necked Phalarope |
Phalaropus lobatus |
1 female Hortobagy NP |
|
Mew Gull |
Larus canus |
Only 1 noted |
|
Yellow-legged Gull |
Larus cachinnans |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Black-headed Gull |
Larus ridibundus |
Common throughout |
|
Mediterranean Gull |
Larus melanocephalus |
2 or 3 at fishponds S of Debrecen |
|
Little Gull |
Larus minutus |
Fairly common Hortobagy NP |
|
Caspian Tern |
Sterna caspia |
2 at Hortobagy fish ponds |
|
Common Tern |
Sterna hirundo |
Several |
|
Whiskered Tern |
Chlidonias hybridus |
Common Hortobagy NP |
|
Black Tern |
Chlidonias niger |
A few flocks of up to 20 birds |
|
Rock Dove |
Columba livia |
|
|
Stock Pigeon |
Columba oenas |
A few |
|
Common Wood-Pigeon |
Columba palumbus |
Common |
|
Eurasian Turtle-Dove |
Streptopelia turtur |
Common |
|
Eurasian Collared-Dove |
Streptopelia decaocto |
|
|
Common Cuckoo |
Cuculus canorus |
|
|
Eurasian Eagle-Owl |
Bubo bubo |
2 fledglings in an old quarry Zemplen Hills |
|
Ural Owl |
Strix uralensis |
1 adult and 2 fledglings near Rejdova |
|
Eurasian Pygmy-Owl |
Glaucidium passerinum |
1 female near a nest hole above Ruzomberok |
|
Little Owl |
Athene noctua |
Only 2 singles |
|
Northern Long-eared Owl |
Asio otus |
3 singles and a nest with 2 or 3 juvs Hortobagy |
|
Common Swift |
Apus apus |
|
|
Common Kingfisher |
Alcedo atthis |
|
|
European Bee-eater |
Merops apiaster |
A few colonies and singles |
|
European Roller |
Coracias garrulus |
A pair Hortobagy NP and 1 S of Budapest |
|
Eurasian Hoopoe |
Upupa epops |
Only 2 Hortobagy NP |
|
Eurasian Wryneck |
Jynx torquilla |
1 Zemplen Hills |
|
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker |
Dendrocopos minor |
1 by restaurant at Tokaj |
|
Middle Spotted Woodpecker |
Dendrocopos medius |
2 sightings |
|
Great Spotted Woodpecker |
Dendrocopos major |
Fairly common |
|
Syrian Woodpecker |
Dendrocopos syriacus |
An adult feeding a juv at Balmazujvaros |
|
Black Woodpecker |
Dryocopus martius |
Heard twice |
|
Green Woodpecker |
Picus viridis |
A few heard |
|
Crested Lark |
Galerida cristata |
Common |
|
Sky Lark |
Alauda arvensis |
Very common |
|
Bank Swallow |
Riparia riparia |
Only a few |
|
Barn Swallow |
Hirundo rustica |
|
|
House Martin |
Delichon urbica |
|
|
White Wagtail |
Motacilla alba |
|
|
Yellow Wagtail |
Motacilla flava |
|
|
Grey Wagtail |
Motacilla cinerea |
Only a few |
|
Tawny Pipit |
Anthus campestris |
Several |
|
Tree Pipit |
Anthus trivialis |
|
|
Goldcrest |
Regulus regulus |
|
|
White-throated Dipper |
Cinclus cinclus |
Only 1, in Slovakia |
|
Winter Wren |
Troglodytes troglodytes |
|
|
Dunnock |
Prunella modularis |
|
|
Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush |
Monticola saxatilis |
I Zemplen Hills |
|
Eurasian Blackbird |
Turdus merula |
|
|
Fieldfare |
Turdus pilaris |
Fairly common outside Hortobagy NP |
|
Song Thrush |
Turdus philomelos |
|
|
Mistle Thrush |
Turdus viscivorus |
|
|
Grasshopper Warbler |
Locustella naevia |
1 seen and heard near Ruzomberok |
|
Eurasian River Warbler |
Locustella fluviatilis |
I in Slovakia near the border |
|
Savi's Warbler |
Locustella luscinioides |
Several Hortobagy NP |
|
Aquatic Warbler |
Acrocephalus paludicola |
3 at 1 site Hortobagy NP |
|
Sedge Warbler |
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus |
|
|
Eurasian Reed-Warbler |
Acrocephalus scirpaceus |
|
|
Marsh Warbler |
Acrocephalus palustris |
Fairly common |
|
Great Reed-Warbler |
Acrocephalus arundinaceus |
Very common |
|
Icterine Warbler |
Hippolais icterina |
Only 1 |
|
Willow Warbler |
Phylloscopus trochilus |
Surprisingly few |
|
Common Chiffchaff |
Phylloscopus collybita |
Only a few |
|
Wood Warbler |
Phylloscopus sibilatrix |
A few, mainly in Slovakia |
|
Blackcap |
Sylvia atricapilla |
|
|
Garden Warbler |
Sylvia borin |
|
|
Greater Whitethroat |
Sylvia communis |
|
|
Lesser Whitethroat |
Sylvia curruca |
|
|
Barred Warbler |
Sylvia nisoria |
A few Hortobagy NP and Zemplen Hills |
|
Spotted Flycatcher |
Muscicapa striata |
Only a few |
|
Collared Flycatcher |
Ficedula albicollis |
2 males bathing in a puddle Debrecen Gt Forest |
|
Red-breasted Flycatcher |
Ficedula parva |
Heard in the Pygmy Owl wood |
|
European Robin |
Erithacus rubecula |
|
|
Common Nightingale |
Luscinia megarhynchos |
Very common |
|
Bluethroat |
Luscinia svecica |
Several heard and a few seen |
|
Black Redstart |
Phoenicurus ochruros |
Very common |
|
Common Redstart |
Phoenicurus phoenicurus |
Very few |
|
Whinchat |
Saxicola rubetra |
Only 2 |
|
Common Stonechat |
Saxicola torquata |
Common |
|
Northern Wheatear |
Oenanthe oenanthe |
A few |
|
Bearded Reedling |
Panurus biarmicus |
Fairly common |
|
Long-tailed Tit |
Aegithalos caudatus |
Only a few |
|
Willow Tit |
Poecile montanus |
A few |
|
Coal Tit |
Periparus ater |
|
|
Crested Tit |
Lophophanes cristatus |
A few in Slovakia |
|
Great Tit |
Parus major |
|
|
Blue Tit |
Cyanistes caeruleus |
|
|
Eurasian Nuthatch |
Sitta europaea |
|
|
Wallcreeper |
Tichodroma muraria |
A pair feeding at a nest above Ruzomberok |
|
Eurasian Treecreeper |
Certhia familiaris |
A few in the Slovakian hills |
|
Short-toed Treecreeper |
Certhia brachydactyla |
A few in Debrecen Gt Forest |
|
Eurasian Penduline-Tit |
Remiz pendulinus |
Commonly heard but not easy to see |
|
Eurasian Golden Oriole |
Oriolus oriolus |
Fairly common |
|
Red-backed Shrike |
Lanius collurio |
Common |
|
Lesser Grey Shrike |
Lanius minor |
Fairly common |
|
Eurasian Jay |
Garrulus glandarius |
Fairly common |
|
Black-billed Magpie |
Pica pica |
|
|
Eurasian Jackdaw |
Corvus monedula |
|
|
Rook |
Corvus frugilegus |
|
|
Carrion Crow |
Corvus corone |
|
|
Common Raven |
Corvus corax |
Several in Slovakia |
|
European Starling |
Sturnus vulgaris |
|
|
House Sparrow |
Passer domesticus |
|
|
Eurasian Tree Sparrow |
Passer montanus |
|
|
Chaffinch |
Fringilla coelebs |
|
|
Red Crossbill |
Loxia curvirostra |
A few heard in Slovakia |
|
European Greenfinch |
Carduelis chloris |
|
|
European Goldfinch |
Carduelis carduelis |
|
|
Eurasian Linnet |
Carduelis cannabina |
Only a few |
|
European Serin |
Serinus serinus |
Several |
|
Eurasian Bullfinch |
Pyrrhula pyrrhula |
A few |
|
Hawfinch |
Coccothraustes coccothraustes |
Several in Debrecen GF, incl. bathing in puddles |
|
Yellowhammer |
Emberiza citrinella |
|
|
Ortolan Bunting |
Emberiza hortulana |
3 or 4 singing at the res.r in Romania |
|
Reed Bunting |
Emberiza schoeniclus |
|
|
Corn Bunting |
Emberiza calandra |
Very common. |