Birding in Hungary 2026 - Day 16

Birding in Hungary XVI

1 August 2026

Kékestető

Today, we decided to meet my second-cousins all the way up near Budapest, in the town of Hatvan (litteraly "sixty"). Since it was more than a 3-hour drive, only my mum, my grandpa, and I went.

When we arrived at their place, we made plans to head up to the top of the Kékes mountain, the highest in Hungary, though it would just barely get the title of a munro. When we arrived, we parked near the top, so it wasn't very much of a hike to reach the summit. We took a selfie in front of the cairn, and got tickets to enjoy the view from the TV tower, which was about 44m above the actual peak.

Monument marking the highest point in Hungary

Looking North from the TV Tower

After that, we went to have a picnic. While I was having my sandwich, I was happy to hear a couple Coal Tits, which are quite a rare bird in Hungary, only being found up in the highest mountains. I also soon heard a Middle Spotted Woodpecker, though only got very breif glimpses as it flew across the clearing we were in.

We then went for a quick walk around the nearby forest, though we didn't see much other than a Short-toed Treecreeper, and a Goldcrest, both restricted to upland areas in Hungary.