Crane Photography Tour 2015
Although the Crane migration is one of the most prominent feature of the autumn Hortobágy, the photography season is very short. Our Crane photography Tour targeting the Cranes when they are drinking and bathing – this is a unique subject. Every year we run a single tour only in early September. The 2016 tour date is already online and you can book it here!
Another highlight in early September is the arrival of the mighty Dotterels. If the summer is dry – as usual – several trips arriving by late August. Some of them still in the remnants of the breeding plumage and also juvenile birds present. We allways devote some time to photograph these charismatic waders on this tour!
Other possibilities in the late summer period could include waterbirds like Little Crake and migrants from the various drinking hides.
The 2015 tour was yet again a good one with Cranes and Dotterels. Join us for 2016!
Drinking and bathing Crane is one of the main subject. Great to see these birds in action (Photo: János Oláh).
Drinking and bathing Crane is one of the main subject on this tour. Great to see these birds in action (Photo: János Oláh).
Cranes are very social birds and often trumpetting together (Photo: János Oláh).
Dotterels were photographed on the 2015 tour again (Photo: János Oláh).
Juvenile Dotterel (Photo: János Oláh)
Sakertour team
Still some available places for our 2015 Hungary Autumn tour!
The autumn migration is already in full swing with up to 20 000 Cranes now in the Hortobágy area. We expecting the Lesser White-fronted Goose arrival in any day now too – they had an excellent breeding in 2015 so we hoping to a record flock of over hundred birds!
We still have places left on the Hortobágy-Zemplén (Hungary) Autumn tour. If you feel like to join in for a short break in Eastern Europe do not hesitate to contact us!
Long-eared Owl (Photo: János Oláh)
Ural Owl is more tricky to see in the autumn but we usually able to find it (Photo: János Oláh).
Sakertour team
June trip to Transylvania and Danube Delta
We had a highly successful custom tour in early June and despite of the late date and sometimes warm weather we recorded almost 200 species.
We had a good overview of the region's habitats, as we visited the high Carpathians and the mature woodlands and flowering meadows (with many orchids) of Transylvania, fantastic alkaline ponds, the vast reedbeds of the Danube Delta and the always exciting Dobrudja region.
Among others we had great views of Three-toed Woodpecker, Ural Owl, Red-breasted Flycatcher in the woods and also Wallcreepers and Thrush Nightingale. We had a good ranage of raptors, among them Levant Saprrowhawks, many Lesser Spotted, Short-toed and Booted Eagles. We had great views of Pied Wheaters, Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Black-haeded Buntings and Pallas's Gulls in Dobrudja, just to name a few.
Landscape in the Southern Carpathians
Alpine Accentor is an inhabitant of high mountains
Brown Bear cubs in Transylvania
Thrush Nightingale is one of the specialities of the trip
Collared Pratincole was a commonly encountered species
Great White Pelican is a caractheristic species of the Delta
We had great views of singing Paddyfield Warblers (photos: Simay Gábor)
Sakertours team
Red-footed Falcon photogrpahy with a difference!
In 2015 July there will be possibility again to photograph these magnificent creatures in a full yellow (sunflower) background. This only happens in every 4-5 years so this is a special occasion.
We still have some limited places in this hide for the first two weeks of July. You can see images with yellow background from the previous occasin (July 2011) HERE.
Red-footed Falcon male (Photo:János Oláh)
Red-footed Falcon male with yellow background (Photo:Attila Szilágyi)
Sakertour team
The 2015 report of our highly successful Hungary, Slovakia & Transylvania GT is online!
The latest report of the very popular and highly successful Hungary, Slovakia & Transylvania tour is now online and you can see it HERE!
The leader in 2015 was Gábor Simay and it was again an amazing tour with a wide range of great birds:
'This year’s highlights were nine species of owls including Ural, Eagle, Scops and Tengmalm’s Owls, ten species of woodpeckers (all the European breeding species) including superb views of White-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers; nineteen species of raptors including Short-toed and Eastern Imperial, Lesser and Greater Spotted Eagles, Long-legged Buzzard, Red-footed Falcon and Saker; Great Bustard, Little Crake, Corncrake, Collared Pratincole, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Great Snipe, Wallcreeper, Thrush Nightingale, Moustached and River Warblers; and even some local rarities were found by the group, namely Pectoral Sandpiper and Slender-billed Gull.'
We still have available places for the 2016 tour! For more information of the tour and booking CLICK HERE!
Three-toed Woodpecker (Photo: Gábor Simay).
NEW species for the Hortobágy National Park!
Yesterday late evening an Isabelline Wheatear was found by János with our hide photography group. This is the first ever record of the species on the Hortobágy and only the second for Hungary! More images on our FaceBook page what you can see HERE.
Isabelline Wheatear (Photo: János Oláh)
Isabelline Wheatear (Photo: János Oláh)
Sakertour team
Still some available places for our 2015 Danube Delta Autumn tour!
We still have some places left for the 29 August to 5 September 2015 Danube Delta and Dobrudja tour! This is a fantastic tour to witness the autumn migration along the Black Sea coast with a whole range of exciting species! There will be plenty of raptors such as Booted Eagles, Lesser Spotted Eagles, Honey Buzzards, Levant Sparrowhawks as well as a wide range of waders which could include Borad-billed Sandpiper, Eurasian Dotterel and even Terek Sandpiper.
Surely some lingering breeders will be present like Pied Wheatear and Eurasian Rock Thrush.
You can check out the itinerary HERE.
If you interested to book this tour you can do it HERE!
Juvenile Honey Buzzard (Photo: János Oláh)
Pied Wheatear (Photo: János Oláh)
Juvenile Terek Sandpiper (Photo: János Oláh)
Sakertour team
The Great Bustard season has ended
The spring has arrived soon at the Hortobágy. The Great Bustard's lekking has begun sooner because of the unusual warm March. But the cool and windy first half of April has postponed it again so the best activity was at the end of April. Around our hide there were bustards regularly in late April. Here are some pictures by Ivo Paulik.
Sakertour Team
Birdwatching tours in April 2015
In April the birdwatching tours started! We have got very succesfull tours behind us! All tours in April managed to see excellent displaying Great Bustards, all nine species of woodpeckers possible in Hungary, Saker and Great Snipe on migration. It is not a particularly good owl year but Ural and Eagle Owls performed very well too.
The birdwatching tours which also cover the Carpathian mountains are just about to start in the coming days. Our annual scouting trips however were sucessfull so we are looking forward to a bird-filled May as well!
Great Snipe was seen on all tours in April (photo: János Oláh)
Moustached Warblers were also performing well (Photo: Gábor Simay)
Ural Owl (by tour leader David Tomlinson)
Three-toed Woodpecker in the Carpathians (Photo: Gábor Simay)
Sakertour team
One million visitor to the SAKERTOUR website!
The Sakertour website had reached one million visitor early this morning (4th April, 2015). This is certainly a milestone and hopefully with more and more new images we will be able to make it even more attractive for our visitors.
A great number of images were taken by our guests so we would like to say thank you for all our clients, visitors, supporters!
Sakertour team