In certain dry years September can be a very productive time to photograph Cranes in the Hortobágy National Park. The numbers just starting to build up and only a few hundred Cranes present in the park yet but they regularly drink and bath around our hides in the warm weather. This weekend the temperature was around 30C still and although there is going to be a cold front next week it should not disturb the Cranes visiting the drinking and bathing places.

Come and photograph Cranes with us!

Adult and juvenile Crane drinking                                                                  Photo: János Oláh

During this one week long trip we recorded 175 bird species, among them 26 wader species. 

Weatherwise it was unusually warm, dry and sunny all week long.

We started our week in the Zemplén-hill which proved to be excellent for soaring birds. One day we saw more than 300 migrating White Stroks. Birds of pray were literally everywhere with several Eastern Imperial, Lesser Sptted, Short-toed and White-tailed Eagles and many Black Storks.

In the Hortobágy we concentrated on waterbirds for which the several drained fishponds and swallow ponds and marshes proved to be excellent. We recorded some scarcer migrants like Red-necked Phalarope and – in three occasions – Broad-billed Sandpipers. We had an excellent spot where we saw Little Crakes, Spotted Crakes and Water Rails together.

Beside these we saw Great Bustards, no less then 29 Dotterels (26 adult and three juveniles), Long-legged Buzzard and Saker Falcons. We visited a Red-footed Falcon roost site which was a memorable event with the nice summer sunset in the background.

Migrating White Storks

Lesser Spotted Eagle

Juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle

Femail Monatgue´s Harrier

Icterine Warbler

Lesser Gray Shrike

Adult Dotterel                                                                              All photos: Gábor Simay

Sakertour team

On the 22nd July the breeding of Cattle Egret on the Hortobágy has been proved when the national park ranger János Tar has found two freshly out of the nest young birds in the company of 4 adults. The breeding was suspected throughout late May and June as adult birds were regularly seen around the Hortobágy Fishponds. Now we can say all European egrets breeding in the Hortobágy area.

Cattle Egret with freshly fledged young in th Hortobágy                                                             Photo: János Tar

Sakertour team

There is a fantastic E-book by one of our guest on his website under ´Parc National d´HORTOBAGY´ gallery please take a look here! Patrick Gallet was one of the participant of the Terres Oublies 2011 May group and he enjoyed photographing in the Hortobágy National Park!

Bee-eater                                                                      Photo: Patrick Gallet

Sakertour team

Our photography season is slowly coming to an end now. We still have four hides in operation until 25th July:

Red-footed Falcon Hide – We have an incredible 4 pairs of Red-footed Falcons and a Roller breeding around the hide this year (plus two pairs of Kestrels finished succesfully). Still all the redfoot chicks in the boxes but only about 10 days left for them before fledging. The Roller still has very young chicks. This year special is to have an absolutely amazing yellow background on the western side in the form of a sunflower field!

Roller Hides – As well as having a late breeding individual on the falcon tower we still have a morning and an afternoon Roller hide. The afternoon hide is only have a few days to go as the chicks are big. The morning hide is still good until 25th July.

Pygmy Cormorant Hide – The lovely yelow-fringed waterlilly covering the entire bay where our hide is located. There is less Pygmy Cormorant activity now but grebes, ducks and egrets still around daily. The first Little Carke has just been photographed today there. Today also a Moustached Warbler was photographed!

Passerine Drinking Hide – Usually good activity in the hot summer days though a huge storm poured 80+mm rain on the surroundings on Monday so it will take 3-4 days untill all the puddles will go.

Great Reed Warbler                                                                                        Photo: János Oláh

Birdwatching is also getting more difficult for the breeding species though autumn migration is in full swing now! The Hortobágy area still has the long-staying Dalmatian Pelican, a Pallas´s Gull is being seen with irregularity. You can find info on rare birds on the RAREBIRDS.hu! You can also reed about the Daurian Redstart in Hungary (unknown origin) on the same page!

Sakertour team

Our friend Beat Rüegger who has been coming to Hungary and Transylvania for birdwatching for many many years is our partner for the photography-tours in Switzerland. He has led the first tour in 2011 in cooperation with Liberty Bird. You can see some of his images here.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker  Photo: Beat Rüegger

Sakertour team

We had a great team of photographers on our fixed date tours in late May and early June. The photography was excellent with some warm summer weather almost throughout both tours. Some of our clients made a blog entry about their trip and you can read it here:

Anthony McLean´s blog.  

Richard Smith´s blog.

Michael Southcott´s blog.

Golden Oriole from our Bee-eater hide                                  Photo: Anthony McLean

Roller in flight                                                                        Photo: Michael Southcott

Sakertour team

We spent eight days (six full and two half) with the Travelling Naturalists group in the Zemplén Hills and the Hortobágy during the last week of May. We recorded well over 170 species during this time, with all 9 species of woodpeckers, Ural and Eagle Owl, Eastern Imperial, Lesser Spotted, Golden, White-tailed and Short-toed Eagles amongst others.

Lesser Spotted Eagle                                            Photo: Simay Gábor

We managed a good list of different warbler species with close and prolonged views of River and Moustached warblers as well, while a confiding male Little Crake fed just a few meters away for several minutes.

Singing River Warbler                                             Photo: Simay Gábor

Male Little Crake                                                     Photo: Simay Gábor

Besides the breeding and more regular migrant species, this time we also recorded a mega raritiy – not just to Hungary, but to Europe as a whole – a beautiful  breeding-plumaged Sharp-tailed Sandpiper! Fantastic!

Sakertour team

Amazingly the northern Hortobágy site: Rókás is still producing more rarities. There has been a Pectoral Sandpiper as well as a Terek Sandpiper in addition to the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and the Buff-breasted Sandpipers.For more information please visit rarebirds.hu!

Pectoral Sandpiper                                                                                         Photo: János Oláh

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper                                                          Photo: János Oláh

The two rare waders in the same field of view!                                                  Photo: János Oláh

Sakertour team

In the last couple of days an amazing number of rare birds were found on the Hortobágy. The best one was a first for the Carpathian Basin (and Hungary) – a summer plumaged Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. It was found by our team member János Tar (aka ´Mannu´). Congratulations! This fantastic bird was seen by visiting birdwatching groups such as the Travelling Naturalist tour and by the Terres Oublies tour as well.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (bottom left)                                       Photo: János Oláh

The following day the sharpy was joined by Hungary´s first ever spring Buff-breasted Sandpiper, which is also only the 10th record of the species in the Carpathian Basin. This was found by Tamás Zalai another of our team members.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper                                                                                 Photo: János Oláh

In addition to these a Dalmatian Pelican, a subadult Pallas´s Gull (Great Black-headed Gull), Cattle Egret and Ruddy Shelduck were also seen at the remarkable wetland of Rókás in the Northern Hortobágy.

Sakertour team