Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 9

Birding in Hungary IX

Tuesday 16 July 2024

Sarud

On Tuesday moring, my dad and I woke up at 6am to go birding around the town of Sarud. Just as we left the house we saw a female Black Redstart on the roof of a building adjacent to us. Before long, I started hearing the Turtle Dove again but it was quite a distance away. Quite soon, we started seeing many Red-Backed Shrikes (males, females and juveniles). After watching a few Marsh Harriers, my dad turned around and found what he though was another Marsh Harrier, but under closer inspection with our binoculars we realised it was an Imperial Eagle! A lifer! Once the eagle flew out of sight we continued getting more good views of Red-backed Shrike and a female Golden Oriole flew into a tree only a few metres away from us! The oriole soon flew away and we turned back seeing even more Red-backed Shrikes and a surprise in the form of a Hoopoe perched beatifully in a tree! Just before arriving back to our accommodation, we were lucky to see two Grey Partridges and got views of 2 Turtle Doves.

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Lake Tisza - Sarud

After realising that everone was still sleeping, we took the car for a quick drive down to the coast of lake tisza at the other side of Sarud. We parked the car hearing Golden Oriole just as I was getting my scope. Down at the lake we saw many boats in the harbour. I saw that one of the piers connected to an island in the middle so we decided to go there. We were rewarded by views of my lifer Wryneck feeding on the ground! After finding a family of Spotted flycatchers and seeing another Hoopoe, we went back to the harbour where we got really close views of a Night Heron out in the open. Before long we had to start heading home in time to join the others to visit the town of Poroszló about 10km north of Sarud.

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Lake Tisza - Poroszló

After visiting the Tisza-tavi Ökocentrum in Poroszló, we went for a delicious lunch at the "Kormorán" (which is the Hungarian name for the Cormorants). On the way we saw some Cormorants in some trees and a soaring White-tailed Ealge. I ordered a Hortobágyi húsos palacsinta, since it was said to be really good. After trying it I was not dissapointed. It was the best food I had ever had! After a wonderful lunch, my mum, my dad and myself walked to the Vízi Sétány to get a boat ride to the reedbed.

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Lake Tisza - Vízi Sétány

Just before getting the before getting on the boat we got a flyover from my lifer Whiskered Tern! On the boat towards the island, we also saw a few Black Terns flying over. Once we arrived on the island we were given an introduction by a staff member on site. We soon started hearing Bearded Reedlings on the way to the first hide and when we arrived we found a whole family flying in the reeds giving great views, unfourcenatly however, we did not have our camera so all the photos we could take were from our phones. At the hide we did see a few Common Terns and got some better views. Later we saw a few more Bearded Reedlings and many frogs. On the way back we also got views of Spotted flycatcher in a woodland area and saw a Grass snake in the water.

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My lifer Wryneck

A Sturgeon fish in the aquarium

My order: a Hortobagy style meat pancake

(Hortobágyi húsos palacsinta)

A delicious Hortobágyi húsos palacsinta

A view of the island from the Vízi Sétány

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 8

Birding in Hungary VIII

Monday 15 July 2024

On Monday, we were planning to go to visit Tisza-to, Hortobagy and the surrounding region. After a 2-hour drive we arrived in the village of Sarud, where we will be staying for the next two nights. We met up with our cousin and played ping-pong in the garden. Once everybody had went inside I went birding around the garden to see some birds for my Heves county list. I saw two Red-backed shrike, a female feeding a juvinile. Later I heard a Turtle dove singing but I could bot see it. In a nearby field I saw a couple of White Wagtails and a Hoopoe before going to join the barbeque.

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 7

Birding in Hungary VII

Sunday 14 July 2024

On Sunday, we went towards where we saw the Hobby a few days prior. On the way, we saw many Red-backed Shrikes and a pair of Golden Orioles. We also heard a Green woodpecker calling from a stand of trees. As we walked we heard a few Bee-eaters and saw a Buzzard on a telegraph pole. Once we had arrived we saw many Purple Herons and Great White Egret fly right over us! Before long a few Lapwings arrived along with 4 Black-winged Stilts. On the way back we saw a juvinle Cuckoo and a flock of Long-tailed tits with a few of the caudatus group with white heads. 

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A caudatus group Long-tailed tit

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 6

Birding in Hungary VI

Saturday 13 July 2024

On Saturday, we did not do so much birding apart from a quick session in the morning. We now also know that the Thush nightingale was just a Common Nightingale. We walked around finding a juvenile Cuckoo, which has been touring the lakes for the last week, and a family of Spotted Flycatchers. We got really close views of a flyover Marsh Harrier and got great photos of two Great spotted woodpeckers. Later we found a family of Great Crested Grebes with two chicks. We were almost back to the house when we checked some trees and we treated by views of Long-eared owls.

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A Long-eared Owl in a tree

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 5

Birding in Hungary V

Friday 12 July 2024

79A (Romania)

Although the title says Birding in Hungary this post will mostly be about going to Romainia to see some different species. I woke up at 4:30 am on Friday morning to go, with my grandpa, to Romainia to visit the Socodor Fishponds. By 5 o'clock we were on the road. We saw a few birds along the road such as a Jackdaw -which are less common here. Immediately once we crossed the border, I was trying to find birds to add to my Romainian list. I saw many common species in and around the towns of Varsand and Pilu, adding House Martin, Feral Pigeon and many White Storks. At a gas staition in Varsand we also found my lifer Little Owl perched on a fence post! Almost arriving in Socodor, I noticed a Kestrel in a tree and a Hoopoe flying past as well as a Pheasant on the road.

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Socodor Fishponds (Romania)

Just as we turned on to the road up to the fishponds I very quickly noticed my lifer Lesser Grey Shrike on the telegraph wire above our heads! And not only one, we saw six all perched up on the wires with a few Tree Sparrows! Further up the road, we had a Little Bittern fly right in front of the car and a Night Heron fly up from a pool. After an immpressive start, we drove along the south of the main lake, finding another Little Bittern and many Swallows. We parked the car beside a tree and I started scanning the flocks of ducks out on the lake. Unfortunately, they were only Mallards, but we did see a pair of Mute Swans and many Great Crested Grebes. After about 10 minuets, I found a white and orange heron flying over the reeds, at first I thought it was a Cattle Egret, but, when it turned around and landed beside the reeds I saw that is was infact a Squcco Heron; another lifer! It stood by the reeds of a while having its eye locked on a fish. I was checking the tops of trees and poles checking for Roller, a speciality species here. We didn't find any but went on the other side of the lake. While we were driving, my grandpa noticed a flock of egrets in a field. Sadly the car flushed a few herons, which were standing nearby. One of them, we noticed, was darker that the others; a Black Stork! Yet another lifer! I tried to take some dijiscoped photos but didn't magange to set it up in time. We heard a few Bearded Reedlings and had a Squacco Heron and a Little Bittern fly past us before we headed back to Hungary.

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Doboz (Hungary)

Stopping on the way at a site that was recommended by a friend, we went to Doboz to see some woodland and river species. Entering I started hearing the beatiful song of Golden Orioles and a high-piched squeak. I located the squeak to a family of Spotted flycatchers with 4 young. I heard a Syrian Woodpecker and then found a pair of Golden Orioles at the very top of a tree. In the distance I also heard a Nuthatch which was calling. We quickly had a look at the castle finding a couple Song thursh, too.

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The Romanian Flag

My lifer Squacco Heron

©Edgar Joly

My lifer Little Owl

©Edgar Joly

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 4

Birding in Hungary IV

Thrusday 11 July 2024

On Thursday, my parents and I went for a birding session in the morning since my mum had still not seen any Bee-eaters yet. We saw a different path on google maps to the west of the lakes that seemed like a good spot for some new birds, in particular, some waders. We walked towards the Fas-to seeing a pair of Red-backed Shrikes and watching a Purple Heron land right in front of us in a field! We kept walking, hearing but not seeing a Beared Reedling and a juvenile Night Heron. When we arrived at Fas-to we were already hearing many Bee-eaters but we couldn't find them. We did see a Common Sandpiper flying from a mud bank on the side of the lake.  Later, we had views of a flyover Sparrowhawk and a Great Reed Warbler.  We soon arrived at the new path we saw and found that there were huge numbers of Woodpigeons that got frightened by us walking by. We stopped for a few minutes under a tree for some shade, having a beautiful male Golden Oriole fly past us. We kept walking find another Red-backed Shrike and 3 Yellow Wagtails. We continued finding our first flyover Bee-eater followed by a few more in its wake. My mum then noticed a small bird in the bushes, we think it was a young Nightingale but we will have to check afterwards. As we continued we noticed many raptors soaring over us, with Marsh Harriers, a Buzzard, a Kestrel and my lifer, Hobby. Despite the heat we continued on, finding more birds than you could ever imagine! We saw Night Herons, Purple Herons, Grey Herons and Great White Egrets. Not forgetting all the Bee-eaters and Marsh Harriers. We even saw a Black-winged Stilt in a large flock of Lapwings and (at last!) my first Coot for the holiday. After getting in a bit of a mess with getting back to the main road we walked to the hide hearing Bearded tits again and getting a very quick glimpse of the Little Bittern we saw yesterday. The heat was getting quite bad by now with a humid 32 Celcius. We walked home quite quickly afterwards, at last seeing the Beared Reedlings from before.

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A distant photo of my lifer Hobby

A beatiful Bee-eater with food

on a wire

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 3

Birding in Hungary III

Wednesday 10 July 2024 

On Wednesday, my mum, my dad and I walked towards the hide at Csaba-to seeing many very showing Reed warblers and a group of Mallards. We had a few flyover Night Herons on the way as well and few Savi's Warblers. At the hide we saw a couple Great Reed Warblers and a Sedge Warbler. Just as my dad left the hide my lifer Little Bittern flew out of the reeds! A bit later we saw the pair of Red-Backed Shrikes and saw two Clouded Yellow Butterflies; my lifer! Afterwards, we had a Hoopoe fly past and a few Marsh Harriers as well. We saw a few Goldfinches on the way back and a Syrian Woopecker in a tree as well as many Caspain gulls. We stopped to look for the Thrush Nightingale, which we heard calling in the trees again. After trying to find it and only getting glimpese of a small bird fly from a bush we went home since it was also getting dark. 

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A Great Reed Warbler in a tree

Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 2

Birding in Hungary II

Tuesday 09 July 2024 

On Tuesday morning, my dad and I went for a morning of birding around the Csaba-to area. We tried to find the Thrush nightingale that we had found yesterday (we are now quite sure it is a Thrush Nightingale) and to get some pictures of it. We did not see it or hear it but we did hear a Common Nightingale which was calling. On the way to the hide we didn't see much birds apart from a heard-only Golden Oriole and a Common Sandpiper. Once at the hide we found a pair of Red-backed Shrikes flying around some of the trees and the fields. We also heard and later got views of a Great Reed Warbler, my lifer! Not too long after my dad saw a Hoopoe but I missed it. But only a few minutes later, I got my lifer Bee-eater! A few of them were flying overhead and calling, we didn't get great views but still a lifer! Just after stopping to look at a Sand martin, I saw a green/yellow bird fly into a tree. At first I thought it was a Green Woodpecker but after two more came in and started singing, I realised that they were infact Golden Orioles we tried to get views of this beautiful species but failed finding a juvenile Red-backed Shrike instead. We did not find many birds afterwards apart from a couple heard-only Bearded Reedlings.

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Birding in Hungary 2024 - Day 1

Birding in Hungary I

Monday 08 July 2024

Budapest City Park 

Before the train to Békéscsaba from Budapest, we went to the Városliget (Budapest City Park) for some birding. We heard a few Swifts before leaving our Aunt and Uncle's house. When we got to the park my sisters went to play with our cousin at the playground. I joined them for a bit until the urge to go birding was too big so my Dad and I went to explore the rest of the park. We were surprised when we saw a couple Fielfares feeding with the Blackbirds on the ground and even more when we found a female/immature Pied Flycatcher with a family of Great tits. We found a pair of Great spotted woodpeckers and got a very quick glimpse of a flying Green woodpecker. We then went back to the playground for a bit until I, alone this time, went around the park again. I saw and heard a nearby Nuthatch and saw the Great spotted woodpeckers again. I got better views of the Pied Flycatchers and saw the Green woodpecker feeding with a Woodpigeon on the grass. On the way back I saw a bird which looked like a Lesser whitethroat but the habitat was not right so I could not be sure. We then had to go to home to get our bags & lugages for the train, on the way home we found a few Black Redstarts as well.

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Csaba-tó

Once we had had dinner, my dad and I left for a quick walk around the csaba-tó marshes. We didn't find much birds until we found a pair of Great crested grebes on one of the lakes and heard a Savi's Warbler. Not too long after, we found a few Great white egrets and a single flyover Night heron. Eventualy we also got a few glimpes of a Syrian Woodpecker and some more Great crested grebes. We heard many Reed warblers singing from the reeds and saw some soaring Marsh harriers and a few Caspian gulls in the distance but it was getting quite dark and quite late, so we headed back. On the way back, we got very close views of a flyover Great white egret. Almost home now, we walked through the woods a bit until we heard something that  was out of the ordinary. We decided we should use the Merlin app to help us. Seeing a Thrush nightingale turn up in the list of birds we ingored it and took another, closer recording. Thrush nightingale again. We thought it was a bug with the app and just went home hearing two Night herons flying above and a distant Long-eared owl. When at home once more, we annalised the recordings realising that it could possibly be a Thrush Nightingale despite its rarity in Hungary. Not to forget, we also saw a few White Storks at their nest on one of the telegraph poles by the road.

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Birding @ Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport

Sunday 07 July 2024

During a short window between our connecting flights from Edinbrugh to Frankfurt and then to Budapest for our holiday in Hungary I needed a few species for my Germany list. So when we got off the plane, I was already trying to find birds for my list. We walked to the gate for getting on the plane but we were lucky to be a few minutes early meaning I had some time for birding. At first I was scanning the horizon and skyline for birds flying in the distance. I found 3 Starlings which flew past and behind a building and away. Still scanning, I saw a couple Swifts flying around, chatching insects. Checking the tall buildings I found a few Carrion Crows and a Woodpigeon. Just before we got on the plane, I also got quick views of a Feral pigeon. 

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The 5 German species on my eBird World Map

Fife 2024

Fife

Saturday 29 June 2024

St Andrews 

On Saturday morning, we drove down to St Andrews in Fife to explore the town an get a few more species for my Fife list (currently 4 species!). Just after leaving our house, we stopped at Girdleness to quickly meet up with Raymond. We saw a Kestrel and a Common Sandpiper before we left to Fife. Once we arrived we had a quick walk around the village seeing a few species such as Swift and Rook. After visiting a jewelry shop in town, we went to the St Andrews Museum to learn more about St Andrews. After finding out about the village's past, we found a pair of Bullfinches near the entrance of the museum as well as a singing Chiffchaff in the tall trees. Later, we walked along the beach enjoying the view and seeing many Oystercatchers as well as a couple of Fulmars. Once we had explore St Andrews, we drove to Fife Ness to find a few more species for my list.

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Fife Ness 

We arrived at Fife Ness at 2pm. We decided that my two sisters (who were sick) would stay with our mother while my father and I would go birding. We went on the Fife coastal trail passing the bird hide (which is for Fife bird club members only) and the lighthouse on the way. We did find a singing Yellowhammer and a couple Stonechats before having a quick chat with some local birders. We noted the many Gannets flying past and a pair of Whitethroats further down the trail. We found a distant pair of Curlew and another Yellowhammer. It was starting to get a bit late and apart from a few Linnet and two Cormorants we didn't see much birdlife. However when we got back to the car, we found a male Greenfinch singing from a wire as well as hearing a Redshank. We also caught a glimpse of a Pheasant and saw a Grey Heron fishing between the rocks.

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A view of the Isle of May from the ness.

Eden Estuary

On the way home, we stopped at the famous Eden Estuary. We got out of the car and found a "Volery" of Long-tailed tits. After a quick walk we got to the hide where there was a platform looking over the estuary. We found 2 Little Egrets a bird that has been expanding its range across the UK. We got a couple nice sightings in the form of a Common sandpiper and a few Lapwings. We got to scanning the large flocks of birds in the distance finding Shelducks, Bar-tailed Godwits, Black-headed gulls, Curlews and a Greenshank. We also heard a Song thrush on the way back to the car. This stop added a nice few species for my Fife list since we didn't find many waders at Fife Ness.

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