📖 Birding Hungary 🇭🇺 (Day 2) Spring 2022

☀️20C Saturday 30th April 2022 ~ We last visited the Hortobagy Halasto Fishponds in September 2019. We were due to come to Hungary in the spring of that year but had to delay until the autumn as we were in the process of buying our new house in Scotland. For details of our Autumn visit and details of the site please see my posts for those visits available HERE.

Our first stop was at the National Park HQ in Hortobagy village to buy a weekly permit but since our last visit the centre is now closed and you have to cross the road and purchase this from the Information Centre. A weekly permit is £10 per person. This actually only allows access to a number of sites and unfortunately doesn't include the steppe areas so if you want to perhaps guarantee species such as Saker Falcon, Long-legged Buzzard and Great Bustard your better off hiring a guide from Saker Tours. We never hire guides and prefer to find our own birds and in fact had Great Bustard on our autumn visit using Dave Gosney's excellent guides. 

Squacco Heron ~ Our first photographic opportunity of the day.

Our walk today was about 10 kilometres but if you're knackered by the time you've done the first five there is a narrow-gauge train which runs through the reserve at weekends which you can catch on the return. 

One of many Bearded Reedling ~ This one is a female.

The reedbeds were alive with reeling Savi's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, pinging Bearded Reedling, the fine whistle of Penduline Tits and Bluethroats. Cuckoos seemed to be a constant companion and we also managed a singing Wood Warbler in one of the occasional small copses.

Penduline Tit feeding on cottonwood.

Night Heron takes flight. 

There are a number of observation towers that overlook the ponds and at one we inadvertently flushed a Night Heron ( photo above) as we approached. The towers offer good views of both the reedbeds below and across the ponds where Spoonbills were constantly back and forth with nesting material. Marsh Harriers are in great numbers here and are constantly hunting over the reeds. At one point a White-tailed Eagle sailed at height overhead. A little later this one or another could be seen perched in some low trees through the heat haze. 

Wood Sandpipers are in good numbers.

Waders included large numbers of Wood Sandpipers, at one point (22) flew overhead, along with Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper.

Purple Heron Fly-by!

Caspian Gull

Apart from large numbers of Black-headed Gulls, the only others today were nesting Caspian Gulls. One, in particular, was a brute of a bird and unlike the ones I've seen in the UK this one was in full summer plumage.

Berger's Clouded Yellow

There were a small number of butterflies on the wing in the warm sunshine and these included Scarce Swallowtail, Southern Festoon, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Berger's Clouded Yellow and a new moth species for me Purple-barred Yellow, which unfortunately was very worn.  

More Images of a Spectacular Day...

Savi's Warbler

Purple-barred Yellow

Southern Festoon

Bluethroat

Yellow Wagtail

Spoonbill

📖 Birding Hungary 🇭🇺 (Day 1) Spring 2022

☀️21C Friday 29th April 2022 ~ Despite the bank holiday weekend and huge queues at Birmingham Airport, we managed to get away practically on time at 8am for our Jet2 flight to Budapest. A pretty comfortable flight and we actually landed a whole 15 minutes ahead of schedule. 

After picking up our hire car for the week and taking on provisions from a Tesco store, we arrived at our accommodation in Nagymajor around 4pm. The accommodation (Nagymajor Birding Lodge) lies just a few miles from the Hortobágy National Park. Details HERE 

Nightingale in full song.

Having also filled up on fuel too (unleaded) we were amazed that the equivalent price in sterling was just £1.06! Plenty to see on the drive east with at least six Marsh Harriers along the roadside, a single Ring-tailed Harrier and lots of nesting White Storks on the telegraph poles.

Sand Lizard

After settling in we had an enjoyable walk around the large grounds of the accommodation in the late afternoon taking in the sights and sounds. Nightingales singing, along with Golden Orioles and Bee-eaters calling, plus a Black Redstart, which seems to prefer perching on the chimney of the adjacent house. It didn't take Dazza long to find her first reptile of the holiday, a Sand Lizard possibly Lacerta agilis Argus basking in the sunshine. She also came across a huge and frightening looking Black Blister Beetle, so-called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin, hope I can sleep tonight! Coffee on the terrace after dark produced calling Quail and of course, more singing Nightingales.

📖 Warwickshire Revisited (Part 2) 28/04/2022

Wednesday 27th I made visits to a few other old birding haunts Draycote Water and Napton Reservoir. Draycote was bitterly cold in the brisk northerly breeze but a long staying Great Northern Diver was noted along with at least (5) Common Terns, Common Sandpiper, (2) Dunlin, (2) Yellow Wagtails, (2) Curlew and a Yellow-legged Gull. Despite the cold, there were also good numbers of mixed Hirundines over the water.

Yellow Wagtail ~ Napton Reservoir 

After Draycote I ventured over to Napton Reservoir to look at the habitat devastation. Having lived just across from the Reservoir at Wigram's Turn Marina for 16 years, this was once a great place to find Bearded Tit, Whinchat, Redstart and Tree Pipits in spring and occasional rarities such as Grey Phalarope and Spotted Crake the deterioration of the site has been catastrophic. The Canal Trust and Leamington Angling Club who took the fishing rights on in 2016 have conspired to destroy the place by removing all vegetation to build a ridiculous Otter fence (never saw an Otter in 16yrs of birding here) and have removed every Willow and Hawthorn along the banks and even a few Wild Plum & Apple Tree which thrived here, to what end I've no idea but it seems all for the sake of coarse fishing. We are left with a windswept fishing pond!!

Yellow Wagtail at Napton Reservoir

Anyway enough said, the large reedbed has thankfully remained intact and here Reed Warbler & Sedge Warbler were heard. Two Yellow Wagtails were also noted along the bank, plus a couple of Lesser Whitethroats along the canal treeline.

Whimbrel on Willow Island Brandon Marsh

A final visit to Brandon Marsh today didn't produce any further additions to my Tuesday list, with the exception of a Whimbrel, which dropped onto East Marsh Pool for the briefest of stays. An enjoyable few days meeting up with many of my birding buddies and even a few birding surprises!!

A Few More Images Of The Visits...

Brandon Marsh ~ An excellent place to see Water Rails

One of four Muntjac Deer along Wigeon Bank Brandon Marsh

Lesser Whitethroat

📖 Warwickshire Revisited (Part 1) 26/04/2022

So phase one of our five-week trip began with the 7 1/2 hour drive down to Warwickshire on Monday, which was to be fair pretty painless.

Garden Warbler ~ My 1st year tick of the day.

Tuesday 26th was spent at my old stomping ground Brandon Marsh where I met up with a few of the conservation team for a walk around the reserve and a good catch up. I have to say that the place is looking in good shape with plenty of habitat improvements since I left a couple of years ago. My first tick of the day was a singing Garden Warbler and by the time I reached the Wright Hide I was already up to 10 year ticks, with most of the Warblers yet to appear back home they all seem to have arrived at Brandon. Even a Canada Goose, was a welcome tick!

Cetti's Warbler ~ A species which well established here is yet to colonise as far north as Aberdeenshire

I'd also forgotten how good the place is for certain species such as Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers the latter of which I was easily into double-figures by the end of the day. 

Sedge Warbler

The pools held nesting Oystercatcher, Redshank, Snipe, and at least four Little-ringed Plover and the reedbeds were alive with singing Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler (another Aberdeenshire rarity) and reeling Grasshopper Warbler. A Cuckoo was also constantly on the go appearing occasionally at the top of one of the few remaining high dead trees on Newlands reedbed! A Kingfisher was also a welcome sight darting back and forth across the main pool. 

The woodland areas have always been a delight at Brandon and an enjoyable walk produced Treecreeper, Green Woodpecker, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler but unfortunately and indeed unusually not the hoped-for Nuthatch, another Aberdeenshire scarcity.

Green Hairstreak on the 'Tip' area

A memorable day and other highlights included a Muntjac Deer, Weasel and with the afternoon warmth came Orange-Tip butterflies and a single Green Hairstreak. 

Hobby over Brandon Marsh 

The best was left until last when just prior to leaving in mid-afternoon a report of 2 Hobby over the reserve enticed a few of us back from the cafe for a look. After what seemed an age we finally made contact, my first in a couple of years and despite the height of the bird and bright sunlight I actually managed a half-decent photo!

📖 Migration Update ~ April 23/2022

Happy St. Georges Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ~ Trying to complete our bathroom refurbishment before heading down to England on Monday has meant that all my birding this past week has been early morning and afternoon local walks. The weather over the period has been glorious if not a little chilly out of the sun with the persistent northeasterly breeze. 

A few more Blackcaps now beginning to arrive.

To be honest not much has changed in terms of spring arrivals already mentioned in my previous posts with the exception of hearing my first Cuckoo of the year calling through the mist from the nearby Fetternear Wood on the 21st. There are a few more Blackcaps around too with both males and females noted. 

Peregrine over Dalmadilly.

Highlights over the past few days have included a pair of Peregrine Falcon displaying over Dalmadilly Ponds, a few close encounters with the local Roe Deer and a Greenland White-Fronted Goose first recorded on the 17th back on Dalmadilly Ponds yesterday afternoon. One noticeable trend locally is that Swallows are currently more prominent than Sand Martins with only a half dozen of the latter recorded this spring over my local ponds. Looking at the birdtrack report rate for weeks 14/15 this year & last it appears that Sand Martins are about a week later and being seen in slightly fewer numbers this year.

With the good weather comes the butterflies and various numbers of Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Small White all noted over the past week.

Roe Deer at Dalmadilly

So for the next five weeks, it's birding all the way, well nearly, with of course time out for sightseeing with the good lady Dazza with trips to England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hungary 🇭🇺  and Spain 🇪🇸  all on the agenda.

NEW Scottish Life-List Since Relocating Permanently to Aberdeenshire in October 2020

📖 Migration Update ~ April 17/2022 ⛅ 9C ~ Wind ↑S @ 8mph

Lovely to hear the Willow Warblers are back!

After a fairly slow start migration is finally gathering pace up here in Aberdeenshire. Today's early morning walk around my local Dalmadilly Ponds produced double-figure Willow Warblers with singing birds it seemed around every corner. Just three Chiffchaff singing now of course well established and a distant drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker was nice to hear. Although I've now recorded House Martin, Swallow and Sand Martin here this year hirundines still remain at a premium, with just a single Swallow noted during today's visit.

Lesser Redpoll at Dalmadilly this morning.

A couple of Blackcaps are also new in, two males but not actually singing. At least five Lesser Redpolls were displaying, a good sign with the species having nested here last year. 

Common Sandpiper along the River don

Below the ponds down on the River Don, the first Common Sandpipers have arrived but the surprise of the day occurred as I was about to leave when a Greenland White-Fronted Goose dropped in accompanied by a single Greylag. I'm thinking this particular bird needs to get a move on back to its breeding grounds.

The surprise of the day when this rather late Greenland White-Fronted Goose dropped in!

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📖 Mid-Monthly Update ~ April 14/2022

A rare sun halo over the village on April 1st ~ No, it's not an April Fool!

As March moved into April there was no let-up in the cold northerly breeze with temperatures struggling to get into double figures on most days. The early part of the month produced a few inches of snow, followed by ice warnings and freezing rain. This obviously scuppered any chance of early migrants getting through. The only bonus was the clocks springing forward an hour and I'm not sure whether my back going into spasm and laying me up for four days was a good thing or bad considering the conditions!

Snow on April 4th ~ My birthday

That said a few days of southerly winds in the early part of this week have certainly made the difference with my walk around Dalmadilly Ponds yesterday (13th) producing my first Swallows of the year, three Sand Martin and a year first House Martin. However, there's still no sign of any Warbler movement and I still await my first Blackcap of 2022. During the month thus far I'm also delighted to have come across my first Aberdeenshire ringtail Hen Harrier but due to the delicate nature of these birds, I will withhold the exact location.

Lekking Black Grouse at Glen Muick

With my back now sufficiently repaired I made an early morning visit to Glen Muick on Monday 11th. A highland glen on the Balmoral Estate with varied habitats: agricultural land, conifer and birch woods, moorland, river, loch and surrounded by high hills. It's a great place to see Black Grouse and with plenty of stopping points offering some great viewpoints, it's comfort birding. 

Not the best conditions for photography on the day but managed a shot of a drumming (or winnowing) Snipe showing the outer tail feathers which produce the sound.

Red Grouse is not as abundant as black at Glen Muick

As with last year's visit, although the weather wasn't as good this time around, It was another excellent one with plenty of Black Grouse activity, Red Grouse, drumming Snipe, displaying Curlew, displaying Meadow Pipits and my first singing Tree Pipit of the year. I'm always surprised to see so many Common Gulls in the Cairngorms which is actually a regular breeder here and of course not to mention the noisy Oystercatchers! No sign of much raptor activity this visit, likely due to the low cloud and stiff breeze but I did manage a large distant skein of Pink-footed Geese (circa 300) heading north.

1st Wheatear of the year near the visitor centre at Loch Muick

From the parking area at the visitor centre, I enjoyed a stroll down to Loch Muick but didn't venture as far as Glas-Allt-Shiel, a lodge built in 1868 by Queen Victoria along the far shore of the loch. My stroll produced more of the same species as above with many Red Deer and also included my first Wheatear of the year.

One of three Ruff at Strathbeg.

On a breezy Tuesday, April 12th a visit to RSPB Loch of Strathbeg produced a few highlights which included three Ruff, three Marsh Harrier (summer visitors to Aberdeenshire) and an Osprey, all year firsts.

A forlorn-looking Puffin at Buller's of Buchan

A stop off on route home at Buller of Buchan in search of early Puffins was successful with a half dozen birds seen in total.

Firecrest at Newtonhill

I wasn't able to get across to Newtonhill yesterday for a reported Firecrest so was delighted when the bird came up again on Birdguides this morning. Elusive little chap but not difficult to find in the end by his constant singing. I spent a good 45 minutes on my own with the bird and managed a half dozen or so images before I headed off.

Wheatear on Girdleness golf course.

My final stop was a stroll around Girdleness and here the highlights were a pair of Wheatear on the golf course. Finally, spring migration had begun!

More images of the past two weeks...

Eurasian Hare ~ Not as common as you make think around these parts.

Firecrest Newtonhill

Firecrest Newtonhill

Puffins below Buller of Buchan.

Stonechat ~ A regular encounter around Aberdeenshire.

One of many Red Deer seen at Glen Muick.

Six Crossbill at the Glen Muick Nature Centre.

NEW Scottish Life-List Since Relocating Permanently to Aberdeenshire in October 2020