KenM
Well-known member
Arrived Tuesday 11.40am, circa 900 miles (300 miles more than Shetland), in 2 hours and 10 min., flight courtesy of Ryanair via Stanstead at £125 return. A five day break to catch up with some sun, architectural splendour...and those ''flying'' things 
Having had an early start (5am) and finding temperatures in the low 30's it was very much a case of hunting the shade in the ''Varosliget'' which is Budapest's main park (once a Royal hunting forest drained in the 18th/19th century), lying adjacent to ''Hero's Square'' 3km. N.East of Deak ferenc ter (mainline metro station).
Apart from Hooded Crow, Wood and Feral Pigeons it was pretty much deserted, although the distant ''yaffle'' of a Green Woodpecker was perhaps a distant promise...of things to come. An early dinner and retirement was agreed, with a ''dawn'' start on the morrow.
Wednesday 27th July and (a not so early) 8am start at the ''Varosliget''...must have been the Bull's Blood from the night before! It was here that I had a ''very contentious'' sighting,
whilst sitting on a park bench talking to another British couple (worked in the same industry as moi, same generation, mildly interested in birds (just like me :-O), and both sharing the same namesake :eek!:
As we were exchanging chit chat, from behind his bench on the newly mown sward...a Dendrocopos flew up into a dense tree, circa perhaps 20m away, initially out of view because of the slight gradient, looked a bit odd!...bigger, and sporting a largish (non divided) white area to it's back! Several minutes later it flew out of ''said tree'' and disappeared into a cluster of trees ne'er to be seen again, (subsequent enquiries with a local birder suggested that White-backed Woodpecker would definitely not occur at site, mmm...no comment!
Later in the day 4.20pm barely 50m from ''the sighting'' I perchanced to encounter a group of Great Tits that had decided to ''cool off'' using a trio of ground level bird baths....I must say I was ''jaw-dropped'' at the experience. Seven species of birds seen to partake in the ''session'' albeit not all at once, and being continually disturbed by the human footfall on the path which ran adjacent, with me c10m away camera at the ready, I think for posture and lighting the Wood Warbler gets the gold, with the hat-trick of Flycatchers (2 species) getting the Silver. :eek!:
To be Continued.....
Having had an early start (5am) and finding temperatures in the low 30's it was very much a case of hunting the shade in the ''Varosliget'' which is Budapest's main park (once a Royal hunting forest drained in the 18th/19th century), lying adjacent to ''Hero's Square'' 3km. N.East of Deak ferenc ter (mainline metro station).
Apart from Hooded Crow, Wood and Feral Pigeons it was pretty much deserted, although the distant ''yaffle'' of a Green Woodpecker was perhaps a distant promise...of things to come. An early dinner and retirement was agreed, with a ''dawn'' start on the morrow.
Wednesday 27th July and (a not so early) 8am start at the ''Varosliget''...must have been the Bull's Blood from the night before! It was here that I had a ''very contentious'' sighting,
whilst sitting on a park bench talking to another British couple (worked in the same industry as moi, same generation, mildly interested in birds (just like me :-O), and both sharing the same namesake :eek!:
As we were exchanging chit chat, from behind his bench on the newly mown sward...a Dendrocopos flew up into a dense tree, circa perhaps 20m away, initially out of view because of the slight gradient, looked a bit odd!...bigger, and sporting a largish (non divided) white area to it's back! Several minutes later it flew out of ''said tree'' and disappeared into a cluster of trees ne'er to be seen again, (subsequent enquiries with a local birder suggested that White-backed Woodpecker would definitely not occur at site, mmm...no comment!
Later in the day 4.20pm barely 50m from ''the sighting'' I perchanced to encounter a group of Great Tits that had decided to ''cool off'' using a trio of ground level bird baths....I must say I was ''jaw-dropped'' at the experience. Seven species of birds seen to partake in the ''session'' albeit not all at once, and being continually disturbed by the human footfall on the path which ran adjacent, with me c10m away camera at the ready, I think for posture and lighting the Wood Warbler gets the gold, with the hat-trick of Flycatchers (2 species) getting the Silver. :eek!:
To be Continued.....
