Helsinki Birder
Stealth Birder
Owen and Conor Foley, Robert Vaughan.
Arrived late in the evening to Budapest airport on Sunday 12th, flying with Aer Lingus. Hired a car (a Ford Fusion) from Fox Auto Rental at a cost of 285 Euro for the week. Species seen are logged on the days they were encountered.
Left the airport environs at 9 p.m and drove straight to Josvafo, in Aggtelek hills. Tawny owl was encountered en route. This took the guts of 3 and a half ours, with stops for food etc, and meant an over night in the car as it was too late to get a hotel. This was not exactly comfortable, but we rose with the sun and found interesting birds straight away, including numerous Hawfinch feeding on the common wild cherry trees, Syrian woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Willow and Marsh tit, Nuthatch, Wood Warbler and Little Owl.
We then moved to the crossroads recommended by Gosney, finding River Warbler, Red Backed Shrike, Grey headed Woodpecker, Wryneck and Great Spotted Woodpeckers here.
We then moved on to the White Backed Woodpecker sites also listed by Gosney, and these woods were particularly productive, with numerous Syrians, Great Spotted and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. The track at the top of the hill was jam packed with Barred Warblers.
Species encountered day one listed below. In some cases subsequent sites and sightings are listed also.
Mallard several in flight as we drove, common in all wetland areas
Quail surprisingly scarce, several heard
Corncrake none heard, a bird dangling from a passing sparrowhawks talons looked like one!
Pheasant very common
Great crested grebe common at all wetland areas
Grey Heron as above
White Stork ridiculously common – Many villages had multiple families
Eastern Imperial Eagle 1 sub ad from the town of Kumjati(Aggtelek area) on the 13th, 1 In Bukk Hills on 15th
Lesser spotted eagle one ad seen very well over a ploughed field near Kumjati, caught a rat on 13th and 14th and flew west
Booted eagle one seen distantly circling from Kumjati on the 13th
Buzzard Very common
Honey Buzzard Common and seen in small numbers daily in the mountains
Sparrowhawk seen throughout
Grey Headed Woodpecker Surprisingly difficult to connect with, many heard, 2 seen in flight between woodland patches
Kestrel seen throughout
Hobby scarce, but seen almost daily
Coot common in larger wetland areas
Black headed gull as above
Whiskered tern common and widespread in the wetland areas. 1 seen Aggtelek area
Common tern present in small numbers at most larger water bodies
Stock dove a few seen in the hills
Rock dove common
Wood pigeon common
Collared dove common
Turtle dove common
Cuckoo common
Tawny Owl Heard around our hotel at Josvafo and one flew across in front of our car near the airport
Little owl Heard at Josvafo, seen well at the Hortobagy, late one evening
Hoopoe Heard at a few sites, finally seen at the Hortobagy
Great Spotted woodpecker common
Syrian woodpecker common
Middle spotted woodpecker small numbers and family parties in the hills at Josvafo and Bukk
Wryneck common in woodlands and open country with trees
Skylark Common in steppe and farmland
Sand martin Common
House martin Common
Barn swallow Common
Swift Common
Tawny pipit a few in surprisingly varied habitats, particularly Hortobagy and Kiskunsag
Song thrush Common
Grey Wagtail Common along rivers/streams
White wagtail common
Robin common
Nightingale common
Wren common
Black redstart common
Stonechat common
Blackbird common
Mistle thrush a few in the hills
Barred warbler a good few singing above Aggtelek WBW site, one showed well in the Hortobagy
Blackcap common
Garden warbler scarce, heard more than seen
Whitethroat scarce but widespread
Lesser whitethroat a few seen in scrubby areas around Svilsvasvarad
River warbler a few seen well in the hills at Aggtelek
Reed warbler common in all reed areas
Marsh warbler only a few seen, but 1 showed very well
Great reed warbler common
Wood warbler common but spread out
Chiffchaff common
Collared Flycatcher common in the Bukk hills, surprisingly scarce in the Josvafo area
Great tit common
Blue tit common
Willow tit common
Marsh tit common
Long-tailed tit Common
Nuthatch common
Lesser Grey shrike pairs in most areas
Red backed shrike common
Magpie common
Jay common in the wooded areas
Hooded crow common
Raven common
Starling common
Golden oriole common
House sparrow common
Tree sparrow common
Chaffinch common
Linnet common
Goldfinch common
Greenfinch common
Serin small numbers around most towns
Hawfinch amazingly common in the hills, early mornings produced great views
Yellowhammer common
Corn Bunting Common in farmland
Black woodpecker a pair behind the hotel at Josvafo, common in the Bukk hills
Tuesday 14th June Josvafo to the Bukk hills
After some more woodpecker hunting and raptor watching in the Aggtelek area, we made for Bukk hills, in the hope of seeing White Backed Woodpecker. We took a somewhat roundabout route, choosing the Village of Svilsvasvarad as a base. From here you could drive right into a particularly productive area of the national park, and all species of Woodpecker were observed in this area, sadly though, only one of our group (Conor) saw the White Backed Woodpecker, though we all heard them drumming. I would highly recommend Svilsvasvarad for the visiting birder. Cheap and available accommodation, good restaurants and good birding.
Spotted flycatcher surprisingly scarce in Aggtelek, Common in Bukk
Yellow wagtail common in Farmland
Black stork a few seen, 1 seen well at Kumjati, others encountered near Bukk and in Hortobagy
Crested lark scarce but in most areas
Bee-eater wide-spread, common in some areas
Lesser-spotted woodpecker small numbers in the Bukk hills
Marsh harrier common everywhere but the hills
Osprey One seen at large gravel pit pools en route to Bukk, South of Miskolc
Wednesday 15th June Bukk hills
Stayed over for more woodpecker hunting. Saw lots of various species, but sadly White Backed eluded 2 of the group. Incredible numbers of Collared Flycatcher seen providing regular flashes of black and white delight.
Goldcrest only one seen
White backed woodpeckerr one female seen by Conor, heard drumming in the Bukk hills also
Thursday 16th June Bukk hills to Hortobagy
Stayed over yet again for one last crack at White Backed, but alas we could not relocate the birds we had heard. We then drove on to Hortobagy after breakfast. Hortobagy was simply an astounding place. Gosney says that the Halasto Fish Ponds are incredible and that you have not done Europe until you have done these. He is right. It has to be seen to be believed. The sheer wealth of birdlife is breathtaking.
Coal tit a few family parties in the Bukk hills
Kingfisher only 1 seen at a random lake in the Bukk hills
Night heron very common in the Hortobagy
Cormorant common
Pygmy cormorant common
Great white egret common
little egret scarcer than great, small numbers
Squacco heron Common
Purple heron Common
Glossy ibis small numbers seen in flight only
Red footed falcon common in a few areas, colonies are a must visit!
White winged tern common
Black tern only a few seen with white wings
Savi's warbler several heard and a few seen at the hortobagy
Bearded tit a few seen flying over the reed beds, wind probably didn't help, a few recently fledged chicks also seen at reed bases
Penduline tit commonly heard a few seen well
Northern wheatear Small numbers in Hortobagy area
Sedge warbler common
Long eared owl one in a nest box at the Hortobagy fish ponds
Moustached warbler one seen at the entrance to the fish ponds
Gadwall small numbers on the fish ponds
Little grebe as above
Bittern several heard along the road in the Hotobagy, 2 seen in flight
Little ringed plover 1st seen displaying over a tesco car park, seen commonly in more typical habitat after
Curlew small numbers in open steppe areas
Yellow legged gulls a few sizable flocks, nothing scarcer or strange could be picked out
Common sandpiper heard a few times at the fish ponds,
Water rail heard only
Moorhen common
Mute swan a few seen
Friday 17 June 2011 Hortobagy
Reed bunting several males
Green woodpecker adult and juv at a nearby campsite
Wood sandpiper several seen in a few wetland spots, seen also at the Kiskunsag
Ruff common
Teal small numbers
Garganey small numbers
Shoveller small numbers
Snipe a few displaying birds
Black tailed godwit small numbers
Redshank small numbers
Black necked grebe a couple of pairs in a wide channel along the road
Red necked grebe a couple in the same channel as above, and more, including juveniles at another nearby wetland
White tailed eagle a 1st year and a sub adult flew over us while watching the above grebes, monstrous!
Saturday 18 June 2011 Hortobagy to Kiskunsag
After a couple of days enjoying Hortobagy, we made for the northern end of the Kiskunsag area, close to budapest, for our last stint of birding. An early morning with a guide produced great birds such as Great Bustard, Saker, Long legged Buzzard and Montagu's harrier. A fortunate choice of motel for the night, revealed a great section of heathland behind the building, which produced numerous Nightjars showing well and Woodlark the following morning.
Little Bittern amazingly only 2 seen, female flew over the road while waiting a guide, and a male at the fishponds
Great Bustard 2 imm males seen with the help of a guide, great views. More seen at Kiskunsag
Saker A pair in the Hortobagy and another in the Kiskunsag
Long-legged buzzard a pair in the Hortobagy and the Kiskunsag
Montagus Harrier only one male in the Hortobagy, an ad male and an imm male around the Kiskunsag
Spotted redshank a few summer adults seen
Black winged stilt small numbers, including 2 recently fledged at the Kiskunsag
Whinchat small numbers scattered around the Kiskunsag
Nightjar one of the trip highlights, one male seen brilliantly, churring behind our hotel on the final night, 3 heard, 5-6 seen in flight
Sunday 18th June 2011 Kiskunsag to Budapest airport
Our last morning was nice and relaxed, just loafing around the steppe watching Monty's, Bustards, Sakers, Long legged Buzzards, Hobbys, Rollers, Bee-eaters and Tawny pipits.
Woodlark 2 seen and heard in the same area as the previous night's nightjars
Goshawk a sub adult female flew over us near the Kiskunsag, another as we were packing up our things outside burger king in Budapest!
Green Sandpiper 1 flushed from a scrape in the Kiskunsag
Red crested pochard a female with chicks in the ponds at the Kiskunsag
An amazing country for birding with some beautiful landscapes to boot. Highly recommended.
Owen
Arrived late in the evening to Budapest airport on Sunday 12th, flying with Aer Lingus. Hired a car (a Ford Fusion) from Fox Auto Rental at a cost of 285 Euro for the week. Species seen are logged on the days they were encountered.
Left the airport environs at 9 p.m and drove straight to Josvafo, in Aggtelek hills. Tawny owl was encountered en route. This took the guts of 3 and a half ours, with stops for food etc, and meant an over night in the car as it was too late to get a hotel. This was not exactly comfortable, but we rose with the sun and found interesting birds straight away, including numerous Hawfinch feeding on the common wild cherry trees, Syrian woodpecker, Golden Oriole, Willow and Marsh tit, Nuthatch, Wood Warbler and Little Owl.
We then moved to the crossroads recommended by Gosney, finding River Warbler, Red Backed Shrike, Grey headed Woodpecker, Wryneck and Great Spotted Woodpeckers here.
We then moved on to the White Backed Woodpecker sites also listed by Gosney, and these woods were particularly productive, with numerous Syrians, Great Spotted and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. The track at the top of the hill was jam packed with Barred Warblers.
Species encountered day one listed below. In some cases subsequent sites and sightings are listed also.
Mallard several in flight as we drove, common in all wetland areas
Quail surprisingly scarce, several heard
Corncrake none heard, a bird dangling from a passing sparrowhawks talons looked like one!
Pheasant very common
Great crested grebe common at all wetland areas
Grey Heron as above
White Stork ridiculously common – Many villages had multiple families
Eastern Imperial Eagle 1 sub ad from the town of Kumjati(Aggtelek area) on the 13th, 1 In Bukk Hills on 15th
Lesser spotted eagle one ad seen very well over a ploughed field near Kumjati, caught a rat on 13th and 14th and flew west
Booted eagle one seen distantly circling from Kumjati on the 13th
Buzzard Very common
Honey Buzzard Common and seen in small numbers daily in the mountains
Sparrowhawk seen throughout
Grey Headed Woodpecker Surprisingly difficult to connect with, many heard, 2 seen in flight between woodland patches
Kestrel seen throughout
Hobby scarce, but seen almost daily
Coot common in larger wetland areas
Black headed gull as above
Whiskered tern common and widespread in the wetland areas. 1 seen Aggtelek area
Common tern present in small numbers at most larger water bodies
Stock dove a few seen in the hills
Rock dove common
Wood pigeon common
Collared dove common
Turtle dove common
Cuckoo common
Tawny Owl Heard around our hotel at Josvafo and one flew across in front of our car near the airport
Little owl Heard at Josvafo, seen well at the Hortobagy, late one evening
Hoopoe Heard at a few sites, finally seen at the Hortobagy
Great Spotted woodpecker common
Syrian woodpecker common
Middle spotted woodpecker small numbers and family parties in the hills at Josvafo and Bukk
Wryneck common in woodlands and open country with trees
Skylark Common in steppe and farmland
Sand martin Common
House martin Common
Barn swallow Common
Swift Common
Tawny pipit a few in surprisingly varied habitats, particularly Hortobagy and Kiskunsag
Song thrush Common
Grey Wagtail Common along rivers/streams
White wagtail common
Robin common
Nightingale common
Wren common
Black redstart common
Stonechat common
Blackbird common
Mistle thrush a few in the hills
Barred warbler a good few singing above Aggtelek WBW site, one showed well in the Hortobagy
Blackcap common
Garden warbler scarce, heard more than seen
Whitethroat scarce but widespread
Lesser whitethroat a few seen in scrubby areas around Svilsvasvarad
River warbler a few seen well in the hills at Aggtelek
Reed warbler common in all reed areas
Marsh warbler only a few seen, but 1 showed very well
Great reed warbler common
Wood warbler common but spread out
Chiffchaff common
Collared Flycatcher common in the Bukk hills, surprisingly scarce in the Josvafo area
Great tit common
Blue tit common
Willow tit common
Marsh tit common
Long-tailed tit Common
Nuthatch common
Lesser Grey shrike pairs in most areas
Red backed shrike common
Magpie common
Jay common in the wooded areas
Hooded crow common
Raven common
Starling common
Golden oriole common
House sparrow common
Tree sparrow common
Chaffinch common
Linnet common
Goldfinch common
Greenfinch common
Serin small numbers around most towns
Hawfinch amazingly common in the hills, early mornings produced great views
Yellowhammer common
Corn Bunting Common in farmland
Black woodpecker a pair behind the hotel at Josvafo, common in the Bukk hills
Tuesday 14th June Josvafo to the Bukk hills
After some more woodpecker hunting and raptor watching in the Aggtelek area, we made for Bukk hills, in the hope of seeing White Backed Woodpecker. We took a somewhat roundabout route, choosing the Village of Svilsvasvarad as a base. From here you could drive right into a particularly productive area of the national park, and all species of Woodpecker were observed in this area, sadly though, only one of our group (Conor) saw the White Backed Woodpecker, though we all heard them drumming. I would highly recommend Svilsvasvarad for the visiting birder. Cheap and available accommodation, good restaurants and good birding.
Spotted flycatcher surprisingly scarce in Aggtelek, Common in Bukk
Yellow wagtail common in Farmland
Black stork a few seen, 1 seen well at Kumjati, others encountered near Bukk and in Hortobagy
Crested lark scarce but in most areas
Bee-eater wide-spread, common in some areas
Lesser-spotted woodpecker small numbers in the Bukk hills
Marsh harrier common everywhere but the hills
Osprey One seen at large gravel pit pools en route to Bukk, South of Miskolc
Wednesday 15th June Bukk hills
Stayed over for more woodpecker hunting. Saw lots of various species, but sadly White Backed eluded 2 of the group. Incredible numbers of Collared Flycatcher seen providing regular flashes of black and white delight.
Goldcrest only one seen
White backed woodpeckerr one female seen by Conor, heard drumming in the Bukk hills also
Thursday 16th June Bukk hills to Hortobagy
Stayed over yet again for one last crack at White Backed, but alas we could not relocate the birds we had heard. We then drove on to Hortobagy after breakfast. Hortobagy was simply an astounding place. Gosney says that the Halasto Fish Ponds are incredible and that you have not done Europe until you have done these. He is right. It has to be seen to be believed. The sheer wealth of birdlife is breathtaking.
Coal tit a few family parties in the Bukk hills
Kingfisher only 1 seen at a random lake in the Bukk hills
Night heron very common in the Hortobagy
Cormorant common
Pygmy cormorant common
Great white egret common
little egret scarcer than great, small numbers
Squacco heron Common
Purple heron Common
Glossy ibis small numbers seen in flight only
Red footed falcon common in a few areas, colonies are a must visit!
White winged tern common
Black tern only a few seen with white wings
Savi's warbler several heard and a few seen at the hortobagy
Bearded tit a few seen flying over the reed beds, wind probably didn't help, a few recently fledged chicks also seen at reed bases
Penduline tit commonly heard a few seen well
Northern wheatear Small numbers in Hortobagy area
Sedge warbler common
Long eared owl one in a nest box at the Hortobagy fish ponds
Moustached warbler one seen at the entrance to the fish ponds
Gadwall small numbers on the fish ponds
Little grebe as above
Bittern several heard along the road in the Hotobagy, 2 seen in flight
Little ringed plover 1st seen displaying over a tesco car park, seen commonly in more typical habitat after
Curlew small numbers in open steppe areas
Yellow legged gulls a few sizable flocks, nothing scarcer or strange could be picked out
Common sandpiper heard a few times at the fish ponds,
Water rail heard only
Moorhen common
Mute swan a few seen
Friday 17 June 2011 Hortobagy
Reed bunting several males
Green woodpecker adult and juv at a nearby campsite
Wood sandpiper several seen in a few wetland spots, seen also at the Kiskunsag
Ruff common
Teal small numbers
Garganey small numbers
Shoveller small numbers
Snipe a few displaying birds
Black tailed godwit small numbers
Redshank small numbers
Black necked grebe a couple of pairs in a wide channel along the road
Red necked grebe a couple in the same channel as above, and more, including juveniles at another nearby wetland
White tailed eagle a 1st year and a sub adult flew over us while watching the above grebes, monstrous!
Saturday 18 June 2011 Hortobagy to Kiskunsag
After a couple of days enjoying Hortobagy, we made for the northern end of the Kiskunsag area, close to budapest, for our last stint of birding. An early morning with a guide produced great birds such as Great Bustard, Saker, Long legged Buzzard and Montagu's harrier. A fortunate choice of motel for the night, revealed a great section of heathland behind the building, which produced numerous Nightjars showing well and Woodlark the following morning.
Little Bittern amazingly only 2 seen, female flew over the road while waiting a guide, and a male at the fishponds
Great Bustard 2 imm males seen with the help of a guide, great views. More seen at Kiskunsag
Saker A pair in the Hortobagy and another in the Kiskunsag
Long-legged buzzard a pair in the Hortobagy and the Kiskunsag
Montagus Harrier only one male in the Hortobagy, an ad male and an imm male around the Kiskunsag
Spotted redshank a few summer adults seen
Black winged stilt small numbers, including 2 recently fledged at the Kiskunsag
Whinchat small numbers scattered around the Kiskunsag
Nightjar one of the trip highlights, one male seen brilliantly, churring behind our hotel on the final night, 3 heard, 5-6 seen in flight
Sunday 18th June 2011 Kiskunsag to Budapest airport
Our last morning was nice and relaxed, just loafing around the steppe watching Monty's, Bustards, Sakers, Long legged Buzzards, Hobbys, Rollers, Bee-eaters and Tawny pipits.
Woodlark 2 seen and heard in the same area as the previous night's nightjars
Goshawk a sub adult female flew over us near the Kiskunsag, another as we were packing up our things outside burger king in Budapest!
Green Sandpiper 1 flushed from a scrape in the Kiskunsag
Red crested pochard a female with chicks in the ponds at the Kiskunsag
An amazing country for birding with some beautiful landscapes to boot. Highly recommended.
Owen