Overview
Although Lake Balaton is a hugely popular summer resort for thousands of Hungarians and its shores are crammed with sunbathers, there are a few areas of great interest to birders.
One of these is Tihany, a small peninsula on the northern shore, that, despite being something of a resort itself, is also partly a nature reserve and has an interesting range of birds. The peninsula has small patches of woodland, vineyards and orchards as well as two small lakes and scrub-covered sandy areas that give an almost Mediterranean feel.
Birds
Notable Species
Belso-to, or the Inner Lake, is heavily used by anglers and is of little interest for birds but Kulso-to, the Outer Lake, is largely reed-covered and has breeding Little Bittern, Purple Heron and Marsh Harrier, Garganey and Ferruginous Duck as well as warblers.
Elsewhere on the peninsula the woodland and scrub have Tawny Owl and Eurasian Scops Owl, European Nightjar and Hoopoe, Nightingale and Crested Lark. In autumn and winter the lake itself may hold grebes and duck such as Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye and Smew.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Little Bittern, Purple Heron, Gadwall, Mallard, Garganey, Ferruginous Duck, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Smew, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Little Gull, Caspian Gull, Eurasian Scops Owl, Tawny Owl, European Nightjar, Eurasian Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Blue-headed Wagtail, Common Nightingale, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Common Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Penduline Tit, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike
Site Information
History and Use
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Areas of Interest
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Access and Facilities
Tihany is situated about 125km from Budapest on the M7 then along the northern shore of Balaton on Road 71.
The peninsula has a network of footpaths and tracks and most is of open access, although permission to enter the vineyards should be sought. A road along the western edge of the peninsula is closed to vehicles but can be walked.
The town of Balatonfured, close to the foot of the peninsula, has a railway station and can be reached by rail from Budapest and there are buses to Tihany.
Tihany has some rather expensive hotel accommodation or else there is a campsite. Cheaper hotels can be found in the villages to the west of the peninsula.
Contact Details
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External Links
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Content and images originally posted by Steve
