Spring birdwatching in Hungary

(April-May)

The great advantage of our Spring tours (and what makes them so special) is that whilst we can still watch numerous bird species that are our winter visitors,we also have the opportunity to see the passage migrants and the first groups of our breeding birds.

The passage migrants include the common crane, osprey and with a little bit of luck, among the flock of white fronted geese, the lesser white-fronted and red-breasted goose can be spotted as well. On the flooded fields, among the flock of waders we can search for rare species.

The number of returning breeding birds are growing with the approach of the Summer, so we are most likely to see the black stork, great bustard, saker or the imperial eagle. Beside these, we should be able to observe the white-tailed eagle, red-footed falcon, collared pratincole or whiskered tern.

Day 1:

We will meet you at Budapest Airport and after two-hour transfer, we will arrive at your accommodation in Túrkeve. If time allows after your arrival, we will take a walk in Túrkeve and local area around the house. Birds in the garden of your accomodation often include golden oriole, red-backed shrike, hoopoe and hawfinch.

Day 2:

We will visit the surrounding fishponds. We will observe the birds of the area’s swamps, marshes, lakes and reedbeds. On the open water surfaces we are going to meet with ferruginous ducks, pintails and garganeys. Above us, we can spot flying flocks of mixed whiskered, black and white-winged black terns. Next to the reed beds we can often hear the voice of the bittern and if we get lucky we can also spot quite a few of this secretive bird. The purple, night, squacco herons and the pygmy cormorants can be also spotted in these areas. During our tours we are most likely to see the osprey and white-tailed eagles.

Day 3:

This is the day for forest birdwatching. During our tour we will visit the old oak copse, riverside woodlands and deciduous woodland plantations. The majority of our song birds have arrived by now and have either already bred or are getting ready for breeding. This is the best time for woodpecker-watching because we can spot the black, syrian, middle spotted and green woodpeckers and sometimes we can see the grey-headed woodpecker as well.

Day 4:

Today we will visit the world-famous Hungarian Puszta. During our trip we will visit different grasslands. The early morning start ensures that we will observe displaying great bustards. Weíare most likely to meet with sakers, imperial eagles and black storks. If we are lucky we will see the migrant flock of common crane or one of the returning stone curlews. The rollers, bee-eaters and red-footed falcons are returning in this time of the year as well.

Day 5:

We will be visiting the Great Bustard Reserve in Dévaványa. You will learn about the Hungarian Great Bustard Conservation Programme. We will also visit Folklore Museum located within the Reserve and the surrounding birdwatching places. In the morning we will observe the imperial eagle, saker falcon, short-eared owl and the great bustard on the Puszta and later that day we will search for rare migrants from the flocks of waders feeding on the nearby rice fields. We will hopefully see glossy ibis, collared pratincole and black-winged stilt.

Day 6:

We will explore the biggest reservoir and the nearby Puszta in our local area. There are thousands of ducks and many of white-fronted, bean and greylag geese on the reservoir at this time of the year. We will try to spot in the flocks, red-beasted and lesser white-fronted geese as well. Penduline and bearded tits can be spotted everywhere in the reed beds.

Day 7:

If the timeing of your return flight allows, we can visit the centre of the local Environmental Conservation Association and see bird-ringing as well.

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