Ecotours Wildlife Holidays Birding in Spring in Hungary

HUNGARY

Spring in Hungary

ECOTOURSWILDLIFE.CO.UK ◂ INFO@ECOTOURSWILDLIFE.CO.UK ◂ +36 30 606 1651 ◂

Kiskunság, Hortobágy and Bükk National Parks, 8 days

O

ur spring Hungary tour visits the best places in the country, firstly the grasslands and salty lakes of Kiskunság then the world famous steppes of Hortobágy and finally the wooded Bükk Hills.

The scenic Kiskunság National Park hosts one of the biggest populations of Great Bustards in Europe, but has other highlights to offer as well. Alkaline lakes and seasonal flooded areas of grassland attract many ducks and waders.

Species include Ferruginous Duck, White-winged Tern, Kentish Plover and many migrating shorebirds. We may be able to see Stone Curlew, Collared Pratincole, Moustached Warbler, Red-throated Pipit and in May Lesser Grey Shrike, Roller, Golden Oriole and Bee Eater are common.

Hortobágy National Park still preserves part of the once conBÜKK HILLS tinuous Eurasian steppe. Marshes and fishponds are home to BUDAPEST ducks, herons and waders including Pygmy Cormorant, Ferruginous Duck, Garganey, Squacco KISKUNSÁG NP Heron, White-winged and Whiskered Tern. The colourful Redfooted Falcon has large colonies inside the park and it is easy to see them catching insect in small

HUNGARY

Spring in Hungary – HUNGARY

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groups. The steppe grasslands are favourite hunting grounds for raptors including Saker, Long-legged Buzzard and Montague’s Harrier. Aquatic Warbler has its only breeding colonies here in Hungary. Reedbeds host booming Bitterns, Bearded and Penduline Tits.

The Bükk Hills are characterized by nice beech and oak woods and open limestone meadows with different karst formations. It is a perfect area for birding, where raptors soar above the valleys and woodlands provide home for owls, warblers and woodpeckers including Ural Owl, Black, White-backed, Grey-headed and Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Collared and Redbreasted Flycatcher, River Warbler, Hawfinch and Rock Bunting.

BLACK WOODPECKER

FAC T S

▸▸ 8 days in Hungary visiting three national parks ▸▸ begin and end in Budapest ▸▸ staying in small hotels located close to the birding sites HIGHLIGHTS

▸▸ 2 days in the Kiskunság visiting flat steppes, alkaline SQUACCO HERON lakes, fishponds and the oxbow lakes of the River Tisza ▸▸ 2 days in the Hortobágy: fishponds and steppes ▸▸ 3 days in the Bükk Hills visiting attractive valleys and deciduous forests, limestone karst and quarries ▸▸ great diversity of birds and habitats ▸▸ numerous water birds, raptors, woodpeckers and other interesting species HOTELS 2 NIGHTS in

a small family run hotel, built in a style typical of the area, in the Kiskunság countryside

2 NIGHTS

in a small hotel on the edge of the Hortobágy national park

3 NIGHTS

in a delightful family run hotel at the edge of the Bükk Hills, renowned across the region for its fine cuisine EUROPEAN ROLLER

Spring in Hungary – HUNGARY

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D E P A R T U R E D AT E S

▸▸ May - June

RED-FOOTED FALCON

GOLDEN ORIOLE

GARGANEY

BIRDING HIGHLIGHTS

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Eastern Imperial Eagle Saker Falcon Great Bustard Red-footed Falcon Stone Curlew Pygmy Cormorant Glossy Ibis Ferruginous Duck White-tailed Eagle Short-toed Eagle Long-legged Buzzard Lesser Spotted Eagle Collared Pratincole Broad-billed Sandpiper Spotted Redshank Marsh Sandpiper White-winged Tern

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Scops Owl Eagle Owl Ural Owl Bee-eater Roller 9 woodpecker species Bluethroat Moustached Warbler River Warbler Barred Warbler Collared Flycatcher Hawfinch

OP TIONAL PROGR AMMES

▸▸ Wine tasting in an award winning wine cellar with traditional Hungarian dinner. ▸▸ Catching bats with mistnets to study them in the hand with a bat expert.

SAKER FALCON

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I T I N E R A RY 1-2

After you have been met at Budapest Airport by our English-speaking guide we head south towards the Kiskunság National Park. Great Bustard, Ferruginous Duck, Collared Pratincole, Stone Curlew and Moustached Warbler will be our main targets. Roller, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Golden Oriole, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike are fairly common in the park.

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We travel east to Hortobágy visiting a wonderful site en route, where the oxbow EASTERN IMPERIAL EAGLE lake has breeding Pygmy Cormorant, Spoonbill, Squacco, Night and Purple Heron and Ferruginous Duck. Black Stork and White-tailed Eagle nest in the nearby riverine forest. In the Hortobágy we explore Hortobágy Fishponds for more herons and ducks plus Bearded and Penduline Tit. We look for Saker, Long-legged Buzzard and Montague’s Harrier, while enjoying the sight of Hunting Red-footed Falcons. In the evening we visit the site of the elusive Aquatic Warbler.

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We drive north passing through the Little Hortobágy, a great place for raptors including Eastern Imperial Eagle, Short-toed Eagle and Saker.

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We spend 2 days in the Bükk Hills searching for woodpeckers, Lesser Spotted Eagle, River and Barred Warbler, Coollared and Red-breasted Flycatcher, Hawfinch and Rock Bunting. If we are lucky we may even find Ural Owl.

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Return to Budapest, birding en route.

WE SUPPORT BIRDLIFE HUNGARY ECOTOURSWILDLIFE.CO.UK ◂ INFO@ECOTOURSWILDLIFE.CO.UK ◂ WE USE SWAROVSKI OPTICS

Spring in Hungary – HUNGARY

+36 30 606 1651 ◂

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