Owls and birds of prey tour - The summary

In the middle of December we had a tour for the birdphotography. The weather wasn't favorable to use our eagle hide, because our hide located at the fishponds. We can take photos there only, if the pond is frozen, so we can feed the birds on the ice. Still we had a very nice time and a successful tour with eagles, harriers, buzzards and of course owls.

In the tour our guests could test our new passerine bathing hide, where everybody was amased from the lots of birds near at hand.

Photos by Krisztina Szatmari, Zoltán Pabar, Sándor Tóth

Christmas's first day

Since it's not me who is responsible for decorating our Christmas tree, so I can go birdwatching on the 24th of December.On that day I visited our greatest plan in the Nagykunság: It's called Kecskeri-puszta.
The weather was really beautiful and the most important thing was that the strong wind had stopped by then.

Today my birdwatching-programme started on the puszta, because I searched for some buntings and winter finches.I was so lucky as I found two Lapland buntings.

There were more interesting species as well, such as 1 White-tailed eagle, 2 Long-legged buzzards, 8 Twites.

Long-eared Owls in Túrkeve

Last weekend we checked the roosting places of our Long-eared Owls. Thise birds roost every year here, in the middle of the town. Last year we observed over 200 birds, but now just 117 birds were in thise places.

Photo by Sándor Tóth

A nice day at country Békés

Today Zoltán and Me had a good plan- We went birdwatching to Kórézug. This area is the part of the Nagy-Sárrét. Zoltán told me: -This puszta was a typical overgrazed habitat about ten years ago. But this puszta's face was changed. Weeds and reeds grow everywhere, where sheeps and the famous Hungarian Grey Cattle lived years ago. Kórézug's best species today: a Merlin, a Great Grey Shrike and 2 Rhough-legged Buzzards.
We stopped in Ecsegfalva as well and one minute later I noticed two Common Redpolls and seven Crossbills. Later we drove to Rehely, where the Centre of the Great Bustard reservation is. When we arrived to Réhely Zoltán found a White-tailed Eagle, and we observed about 50 Great Bustards as well.

This photo about the Hungarian Grey Cattle was taken by Zoltán in Réhely.

Busy days on the birdtable

In the garden of the Hungarobirds accommodation we have a few birdtables and a birdbath. This year has not many cold days yet, but we feed the birds because we would like them to be fit by that time the "real" winter comes. On the tables we observed: Blue and Great tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Robins, Blackbirds, Fieldfares, Goldcrest, Howfinches, Chaf, Green, and Goldfinches, Siskins, Tree Sparrows, Collared Doves and Sparrowhawk.

Snow Bunting on the frosty Puszta

Last evening I talked with my fiancee about the Show Buntings. This birds are only winter visitors in Hungary and you are lucky if you can see a few per year. Today I went to chack the geese on the biggest reservoir of this area. This huge lake is a meeting point for thousands of geese and ducks. The great flocks of geese mainly consist of Greylag, Bean and White-fronted geese, but among the flocks of ducks and geese we can usually find rare birds such as: Lesser white-fronted and Red-breasted geese. Today the weather wasn't favorable to goose-watching, but good to walk on the Puszta where the songbirds looked for some food: Reed Buntings, Gold Finches. Later I saw a quite white bird: it was a Snow Bunting.

Lesser Mole Rat in Mezőtúr

It is a real sensation! The Lesser Mole Rat has four places, where the small populations live yet. In this summer, the staff of the Nimfea Nature Conservation Association found a Mole Rat in Mezőtúr, which place has not date about this species in the last 50 years. The animals was survived this years in the hobby gardens. The specialists looked for other Mole Rats in this area, and they think, here live about 6-8 other one.

Photo by http://www.nimfea.hu/