We had a fantastic 8 days tour with a very keen party of Lancashire birders in the Hortobágy and Zemplén from 16th to 23rd May, 2009. We were birding from dawn to dusk most days and recorded 183 species. Our final list although had not included Dunnock and Grey Wagtail but it was ´still´ impressive :).

Best 10 birds:

Dalmatian Pelican

Baillon´s Crake

Black-winged Pratincole

Terek Sandpiper

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Great Snipe

Ural Owl

Great Bustard

Aquatic Warbler

Moustached Warbler

Our tour started in the Zemplén Hills where we soon secured the most sought-after birds like White-backed Woodpecker and Ural Owl.

Ural Owl Photo: János Oláh

We also manged to see all the possible woodpeckers and had superb views of White-tailed Eagle, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagles too. From the passerines the Collared Flycatcher, River Warbler and Barred Warbler were the most appreciated.

Collared Flycatcher Photo: János Oláh

One morning after a superb encounter with Eurasian Eagle Owl we even had time to look for the rare Zephyre Blue (Plebejus sephirus) butterfly.

Zephyre Blue Photo: Zoltán Petrovics

After an action-packed two days we were birding in the Hortobágy National Park. Our first afternoon in the Bihar Plains gave us unforgettable memories with Great Snipe and Baillon´s Crake within 5 minutes! The latter is a rare breeding bird in Hungary and it was a new bird even for one of our senior guide Gábor Simay!

Baillon´s Crake Photo: Róbert Ványi

The next few days we managed to gather a few other rarities in addition to the fantastic resident birds like the Aquatic Warbler below!

Aquatic Warbler Photo: János Oláh

I must say this was a tour when everything was going well and I am sure there are not many tours in Europe where you can get shorebirds like Black-winged Pratincole, Great Snipe, Broad-billed Sandpiper and Terek Sandpiper just as a supporting cast.

Terek Sandpiper Photo: Tim Davie

This customized tour will surely be long remembered for the participants and also show you that the Sakertour team will get you the best possible birds available on your visit!

Sakertour team