Saker Falcons are back at our hides
It seems that photographing Saker Falcon from our Buzzard Hide is reliable when the weather is getting a bit more cold and harsh. The pair showing itself in the first half of December disappeared when warmer winds and the sunny weather melted the snow and the daily temperature increased far above – in winter terms – 0° Celsius. In the past days the temperature dropped with early mornings sometimes under -5 °C together with chilli wind resulting an unpleasant weather – the Falcon pair is back in front of our hide. Surprisingly another individual turned up in front of our White-tailed Eagle Hide No.2. Besides the Sakers, Common Buzzards and White-tailed Eagles, fortunately, are visiting continously our hides.
Male Saker Falcon from our Buzzard Hide by Attila Szilágyi
Common Buzzard by Attila Szilágyi
Saker Falcon pair by Attila Szilágyi
Sakertour Team
NEW photography tour: Special Broiwn Bear Photography Tour
In late May and early June we will run one single Special Brown Bear Photography Tour every year when we have the best circumsatnces for special images. We will try to capture bears in backlit conditions, with flowers, mother and cub actions as well as bears in landscape. This is a special tour dedicated to take unusual bear images! If you inetersted in such images, this is your tour to join! Check out the dates for 2020!
Steaming Carpathian Brown Bear in Transylvania (Photo: János Oláh)
Sakertour Team
Revised Danube Delta Spring Tour now includes Semicollared Flycatcher
We have just revised our Danube Delta – Dobrudja Spring Tour and now incorporated yet another special bird into the itinerary. Semicollared Flycatchers were only found breeding a few years ago in Romania but now they are reliably and regularly seen. Our new tour offers the chance to see this bird as well as the usual specialties like Broad-billed Sandpiper, Pallas's Gull, Levant Sparrowhawk, Paddyfield Warbler, Rose-coloured Starling etc. Come and join us in 2020!
Semicollared Flycatcher male in Romania (János Oláh)
Sakertour team
National and International Eagle Count 2019
The Hungarian Ornithological Society (MME) made the 16th Hungarian Eagle count in mid January. This time it was also the 2nd Pannonian Eagle Census which was coordinated by MME but included six countries and 20 different participating organizations. During this event over 488 observers counted wintering eagles all over Hungary, Austria, Cezch Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia. The most common eagle was White-tailed Eagle with 992-1060 individuals and about 725-748 was counted in Hungary alone. The Hortobágy region had 75 White-tailed Eagles of which around 30 were counted at the feeding stations operated by Sakertours. However the Hortobágy area always have more eagles in February and just one single feeding station held 46 White-tailed Eagles yesterday (8th February).
This eagle count resulted in 509-538 Eastern Imperial Egales of which 397-411 was observed in Hungary. Also a few Golden and Greater Spotted Eagles were observed and an additional 11 000 individual raptors of 13 other species was counted.
Although these numbers may seem high, eagles are still fairly rare. Even on the most densly populated areas only an average of 4,5 White-tailed Eagles and 2,5 Imperial Eagles were recorded in every 100 km2 stated the summary of the survey.
Sakertour team
White-tailed Eagles in the Hortobágy area which has the most concentrated number of White-tailed Eagle sin the Pannonian region. Images by Márk Kovács.