Snowy Owl in Hungary
It came as a great Valentine's Day suprise when the Birdline reported a Snowy Owl in western Hungary. The bird was found by Baráth Tamás in the village of Bóly as it was perched on a house. Later more birders has arrived to confirm the observation (the founder was not a birder – great thanks for him to report it to local birders) and then the news was broadcasted.
The bird flew off west from the original place and has been relocated by arriving birders on a different house on the edge of town. It was perched at this location until 17:20 when it was last seen to fly out of the settlement.
A handful of birders managed to arrive in time to see this much sough-after rarity. The last officially accepted record dates back to 1891. There were a few undocumented observations in the 20th century but lately none of these were accepted by the Hungarian Rarity Commitee. In the Carpathian Basin there are also several observations from Slovakia but none of those were documented either.
So all in all this is the first fully documented observation of the species in Hungary and the Carpathian Basin for 124 years.
No doubt it was a very special treat and a great luck to see this magnificent bird in Hungary.
Snowy Owl at Bóly, Hungary 14th of February 2015 (Photo:János Oláh).
Snowy Owl at Bóly, Hungary 14th of February 2015 (Photo:János Oláh).
Snowy Owl at Bóly, Hungary 14th of February 2015 (Photo:János Oláh).
János Oláh