We had a classic Carpathian Basin transect tour between 27^th April and 6^th May 2009, during the 10 days of which we visited all of the important birding sites. In spite of the extreme drought in spring all specialist species were found on their habitats, in fantastic weather conditions, only one afternoon was rainy in the higher mountains of the Carpathians.

After one day of travelling we spent one whole day in the Hortobágy, where characteristic Hortobágy species, such as Red-footed Falcon, Stone-Curlew, Long-eared Owl, Moustached Warbler, Crane, Saker, Glossy Ibis, Ferruginous Duck, Pygmy Cormorant, White-tailed Eagle, Temminck´s Stint, Tawny Pipit, Hoopoe and several other species were “drawn out of a magician´s hat” one after another, and a total of 104 species were observed by the end of the second day.  

The next day we set off for Transylvania. There, having travelled through the wetland habitats as well as the Carpathian Foothills, we got into some higher lying regions, where patches of snow reminded us of the past winter and the change was welcome after the 30 °C hot weather of the previous days. We did not have to miss variety here, either: almost every moment brought some interesting species including specialities like Capercaillie, Red-necked Grebe, Goshawk, Lesser Spotted and Golden Eagle, Great Snipe (very rare in Transylvania), Little Owl, Scops Owl, Tawny Owl, Lesser Spotted, Syrian, Black and Three-toed Woodpecker, Nutcracker, Crested Tit, Red-throated Pipit, Rock Bunting, White-winged Tern, Little Gull, Wallcreeper, Dipper, Ortolan Bunting, Ring Ouzel, Alpine Swift, Thrush Nightingale, Great Grey Shrike and many more. And of course I must not forget to mention the seven Brown Bears we saw, which, just as in an action-packed theatre play, were walking up and down in front of the hide. Transylvania was simply amazing with its intact habitats and its traditional, landscape-friendly man-made environment.  It was a pleasant surprise for us that last year smaller roads were rebuilt, which also contributed to an even more convenient and enjoyable tour. 

Having arrived back into summer from spring, we spent the last days of the tour again in the Great Hungarian Plain, mainly in the Hortobágy, where we devoted our time to finding bird species missed earlier. Fortunately, species came on time, just as for a meeting: Great Bustard, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Imperial Eagle, Montague´s Harrier, Aquatic Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Lesser Grey Shrike, Roller, Bluethroat, Collared Flycatcher, Long-legged Buzzard, and Saker Falcon again. A memorable tour, not just because of the nearly two hundred species we saw but also thanks to the delicious meals like the breakfast in Torockó.  

Gábor Simay