Hungary in Summer Naturetrek Tour Report 9 – 16 August 2016 Keeled Skimmer by Clive Pickton Crested Lark by Gerard Gorman Geometrician by Paul Harmes White-tailed Skimmer by Clive Pickton Report by Gerard Gorman & Paul Harmes. Images by Gerard Gorman, Clive Pickton & Paul Harmes Mingledown Barn Wolf’s Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Hungary in Summer Tour Leaders: Paul Harmes (leader), Gerard Gorman(Local Guide & Tour manager & Driver: Norbert With eight Naturetrek clients Day 1 Tuesday 9th August Fly Heathrow to Budapest – Transfer to the Kiskunsag.Area Eight group members met with Paul at London’s Heathrow, Terminal 3 for the 8.50am British Airways flight BA866 to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International (formerly Ferihegy) Airport. On arrival we completed immigration formalities, collected our luggage and made our way to the arrivals hall where we were met by Gerard, our local guide, and Norbert, our driver for the week. Before very long, Norbert had loaded our luggage into the bus, and we were on our way south towards the Kiskunsag National Park. After about an hour we passed through the village of Bugyi, making a stop to see nesting White Stork. Moving on south, we recorded Red-backed Shrike, Common Kestrel and Western Marsh Harrier, before stopping at country store at Szittyourbo. Here we had a snack lunch and local coffee, and got our first look at this sandy habitat. Essex Skipper, Meadow Brown and Chestnut Heath butterflies were seen, as well as Straw Belle and Rose-banded Wave moths. Among the plants here were Salvia nemorosa (Woodland Sage), Consolida regalis (Forking Larkspur), Datura stramonium (Thorn-apple) and Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive). From here we moved on to an area of ancient relict sand dunes, near Kundeszer. Along the way we saw a number of European Rollers, Common Buzzard and a good number of European Bee-eaters. After a slight detour, we walked out onto one of the dunes to scan for wildlife. It was not long before we had some distant views of a group of 15 Great Bustards, Unfortunately, the heat haze was against us, but scoped views were had by all. Butterflies added here included Silver-studded Blue, Brown Argus, Meadow Brown and Sooty Copper. Common Buzzard and Common Kestrel were recorded, together with Corn Bunting. For the botanists there was Echium vulgare (Viper’s-bugloss), and Limonium gmelinii (a Sea-lavender), a relic of a former, ancient saline habitat. It was now time to make our way to our hotel. The Kunsagi Major is situated in the plains, some 10 minutes from Kunpuszta. We soon settled into our rooms and freshened up, before meeting for dinner. Around the hotel, Little Owl, Eurasian Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Barn Swallow and House Martins were seen. In addition, there was Buff Ermine, Red Underwing and Common White Plume moths. After our meal, Gerard outlined the next day and Paul set the moth trap. Day 2 Wednesday 10th August Upper Kiskunsagi National Park – Kunszentmiklos – Apaj canal & fishponds At 6.30am, a number of group members met with Paul, to check to moth trap and identify the catch. Buff-tip, Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Blood-vein, Barred Silver, Swallow Prominent, Marbled White-spot and Peacock moth were all recorded for the macros, and European Corn-borer, the Pyralid Oncocera semirubella and Garden Grass Veneer for the micros. After this the group met with Gerard, who led a bird walk around the grounds of the hotel. European Stonechat, Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, Black Redstart and European Bee-eater were all seen. © Naturetrek December 16 1 Hungary in Summer Tour Report Following breakfast, we joined the vehicle at 9am and left the hotel, heading in a south-westerly direction. Along the way European Roller, Red-backed Shrike, Yellow-legged Gull and Common Kestrel were all seen, as well as good stands of Asclepias syriaca, Robinia pseudacacia (False Acacia) and Ailanthus altissima (Tree-of-Heaven). Our first stop was north of the town of Szabadszallas, to watch a group of Red-footed Falcons, before we stopped to scan a vast field complex. Here, there was Northern Lapwing, Green Sandpiper and Ruff. Plants included Althaea officinalis (Marsh-mallow) and Bolboschoenus maritimus (Sea Clubrush), both growing some 500 miles from the nearest coast, as relics of a past, saline habitat, as well as Inula ensifolia and Medicago sativa subsp. sativa (Lucerne). Moving on, we headed towards the town of Apaj where we stopped for refreshments before continuing north to the Apaj canal and fishponds. Along the way we saw a number of Purple Herons. Leaving the vehicle, we took a walk along a track. On a large fishpond we recorded Ferruginous Duck, Gadwall and Red-crested Pochard and, as we went, we disturbed a Little Bittern. We also added White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-crowned Night Heron and Eurasian Hobby. Insects were active and we found Blue-tailed Damselfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter, Red-veined Darter and Scarlet Darter Dragonflies, as well as Red Admiral, Common Blue, Lesser Fiery Copper and the splendid Lesser Purple Emperor [forma clytie]. Retracing the path back to our vehicle, we now took our picnic by the canal. Whiskered Tern was added as well as Small Heath. Plants along the banks included Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive), Humulus lupulus (Hop) and Pastinaca sativa (Wild Parsnip). We now moved on, making a couple of more stops, before we indulged in ice creams in Kunszentmiklos before making two more stops along the way back to our base. Lesser Grey Shrike, more Red-footed Falcons, Common Kestrel and European Turtle Dove were added, as well as Tufted Marbled Skipper butterfly. Day 3 Thursday 11th August Transfer from the Kiskunsag National Park to the Hortobagy National Park. At 6.30, we met up to check the moth trap. It was a chilly night, so the numbers of species made this morning’s catch rather low. Nevertheless, they included Grass Eggar, Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Beautiful Hook-tip, Double-line and Silver-Y for the macros and Rush Veneer, the Crambid Catoptria pinella, Gold Triangle, and Box- tree Moth, in both its colour forms, for the micros. Eurasian Spoonbill, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Great Tit, Blue- headed Yellow Wagtail and Willow Warbler were all seen by the birders. By 9am the vehicle was packed with our luggage, and we said our farewells to the Kunsagi Major Hotel and set off for the town of Bugyi in light rain. To the south of the town we made two stops. The first yielded up 21 Great Bustards, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel and European Roller. We also found a rather cold Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow. In the second, we took a walk down a track. Here we had Marbled Clover, Blood- vein and Burnet Companion moths, and Common Blue and Painted Lady butterflies. We now made our way into the village of Bugyi for lunch, coffee and a comfort stop. Along the way, we saw Red-backed Shrike, White Stork and European Turtle Dove, as well as Brown Hare and European Roe Deer. After eating, we made our way towards the capital and, on the south-west outskirts of Budapest, we joined the M0, Budapest’s orbital motorway, and then, to the north of the city, we transferred to the M3 eastwards. After a little over an hour or so, we were approaching a service area when Gerard spotted an Eastern Imperial Eagle 2 © Naturetrek December 16 Hungary in Summer Tour Report taking off from a field. We stopped at the service area, and quickly started scanning for the bird. Before long, a probable second bird was seen on an electricity tower, and all group members had distant, scoped views of the bird. In the car park we also added Crested Lark. Re-joining the motorway, we continued eastwards. Just before Fuzesabony, we turned south-east towards Poroszlo, and crossed Lake Tisza. Here we recorded Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot and Pigmy Cormorant. A final stop before making our way through Egyek was to check more electricity towers, where Saker Falcon had been recorded in the past. We were not disappointed. A solitary bird was spotted in the distance, and we made our way along a track to try and gain better views. As we went we added Western Marsh Harrier, European Stonechat, Common Buzzard and Common Kestrel. After everyone had had good but distant views of the Saker Falcon, we made our way back to the bus, We now made our way into the Hortobagy National Park, continuing via Egyek, and it was not too long before we arrived at the Tiszacsege Hotel, on the bank of the River Tisza. After settling into our rooms and freshening up, we met up for dinner. Day 4 Friday 12th August Hortobagy National Park – Tiszadorogma – Kis Hortobagy – Lake Tisza The overnight moth trapping produced a couple of new species, given the change of habitat from the Kiskunsag. The catch included Flame Carpet, Four-spotted Footman, Common Carpet, Swallow Prominent, August Thorn and Portland Riband Wave for the macros. Meanwhile, the micros included the Crambid Crambus perlella, European Corn-borer and the Elachistid Ethmia quadrillella. After the initial checking, the group joined Gerard for an early morning walk along one of the river banks, which produced Black Redstart, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Wood Warbler, Willow Warbler and Kingfisher. After breakfast, we set off towards Egyek and the Tiszadorogma Ferry. Just short of the crossing, we stopped to explore a quiet wooded lane, an oxbow lake and canal banks.