The ongoing inclement weather in the U.K. has come a little hard after a winter in the Algarve so we have ventured into Eastern Europe, to Budapest and some very warm weather. Boarding our executive jet(2) at Leeds/Bradford, we were a surprisingly short time in the air before catching a first sight of the River Danube, as we made our landing just before sunset in Budapest. Visitors arrive in Budapest for a variety of reasons and, apart from some sightseeing to be done, it was the existence of at least nine species of European woodpeckers in the local area which has provided the incentive for this first visit. I hope the report will provide some information on getting around Budapest, where we found all modes of transport were punctual to the minute, spotlessly clean and with friendly staff. One of the most pleasing finds during my planning was that those of senior years, travel absolutely free on buses, trams, the metro and Hungarian rail (MAV). This was put to the test as we descended the escalator, waving a U.K. driving licence at the inspectors and we were on our way. 9th April - Margit Hid and Varosliget. (Margaret Island and City Park). The metro and tram ride took around fifteen minutes to Margit Hid, so-named after Princess Margit, daughter of King Bela in the 13th century. This public park is basically an island with the Danube flowing around both sides. With ample green spaces, it is the mature trees, mainly deciduous - oak, beech, plane of colossal height which provide food and home to a variety of woodland bird species. The Hooded Crow is common in all the parks and all the crow family, from the small Jackdaw to the Raven can be seen easily. Eurasian Magpie and Jay live among the crows also. I soon noticed how numerous Great Tits were and that remained so throughout the week. Other small birds included Blue Tit, Robin, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blackcaps and Nuthatches were also seen very often. In the first hour, I was hearing Nightingales and these birds cannot have been here for very long. I had used EBird in my planning and establishing likely 'hotspots' in and around Budapest. That had shown me in the previous week, winter birds like Fieldfare and Redwing, Waxwing too had been present. In a short time, there was no sign of those species and I was hearing Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and now seeing Nightingales. Continuing my tree watching, many of the trees were riddled with holes from previous nests and some were occupied by Tree Sparrows and even Jackdaws. So how was I doing with woodpeckers? Great-spotted Woodpeckers were the first to show. I had to be sure of their i.d. as the Syrian is very similar indeed. The black facial stripe (or lack of it ) is by far the best difference. Green Woodpeckers were being heard, in four different parts of the park. Interestingly, both Treecreeper and Short-toed Treecreeper live alongside each other and their respective calls can be heard. A walk along the waterside at Margaret Island produced very little on the river. A single Cormorant flew along and this male Goosander was a nice surprise, close in to the bank. After lunch, a visit to City Park (Varosliget) added only a Greenfinch to the morning's list. A large area of the park was cordoned off for some reason and part of the lake was also drained, which may have provided some duck species. The Museum of Agriculture is a fine building (with nesting Black Redstarts). 10th April - The Citadel. This was a direct walk from the apartment down to the Elizabeth Bridge and across to the Buda side of the Danube. EBird shows this area as Gellerthergy or Gellert Hill. Bishop Gellert was rolled down the hillside in a barrel for preaching Christianity in 1046, he died! Having walked the bridge, we have now climbed the first set of steps up what is a forested hillside, taking us to the Citadel fortress. From the statue above, the paths continue in zigzag fashion, climbing through woodland all the way. Unfortunately, the higher the climb, the more windy it became making birding very difficult in the swaying trees. The view from the Citadel was magnificent. Due to the brisk wind, we moved across the city to the Peoples' Park (Nepliget). We only made the one visit here but I was struck by some of the wild areas left in this park. Again, huge mature trees and ideal habitat for woodpecker species. I connected straightaway with Green Woodpeckers, two females were having a disagreement here. The next creature to catch my eye, I didn't expect - Red Squirrels. A little more ground covered and Nuthatches and Green Woodpeckers continued to show. 11th April - Merzse Swamp Nature Reserve. This outing is again derived from an EBird hotspot and known as Merzse Swamp! I found a way to reach this reserve was by taking a twenty minute ride on a suburban train to a small country station at Rakoskert. Time to get the driving licences out once more! So here we are on the platform and to my delight, I immediately heard the call of a Long-tailed Tit behind the opposite platform and hurriedly got my binoculars out. For a short time I saw the all white head of a 'Northern' race Long-tailed Tit (caudatus). No time for the camera and that was the theme with further sightings, strangely always single birds and moving quickly through bushes. A short walk to the level crossing put us straight on to the long lane going to the Reserve. The lane was in open country, the field to the right contained rapeseed and produced only a Common Pheasant. The wooded strip on the left had at least eight Nightingales singing, all very difficult to locate visually. Chaffinches, Greenfinches, House Sparrows and Short-toed Treecreeper were seen along this lane. After a good walk, we arrived at what was clearly the Reserve starting point, with a small picnic area and information boards. We rested here for a while, picking up only a Great-spotted Woodpecker and some noisy European Starlings. Eventually, among the singing Blackcaps, a Wood Warbler made itself known and I located it high up in a birch tree. The information boards indicate a 'hide' about a kilometre away and we set off in that direction. The hide reminded me of something more sinister from World War II and I hoped the ascent would be worth it! This part of the 'swamp' was a wet area in the middle of an otherwise dry field and a Lapwing appeared to be the only resident. A Cuckoo called frequently and was seen flying along a distant line of poplar trees. A Reed Bunting made its familiar call from the reeds behind the wet area. A noisy Raven alerted me to firstly a male Marsh Harrier, which brought a female out of the reed bed. We spent the whole day here, walking this reserve and added Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel to our list, which wasn't growing half as much as I had expected. During the time spent in the tower hide, I had photographed two very distant raptors, a medium sized one and a very large one. Even on the computer I am struggling to get an i.d. on the large one, the choices being - Golden Eagle, Eastern Imperial and White-tailed Sea Eagle all being found here. The tail shape on this last shot seems to indicate the Sea Eagle most likely, but please help if you can. We covered 7.5 miles around the Reserve and have to say, I was a little disappointed with the small number of birds seen on this occasion. 12th April - Margaret Island re-visited. This morning we took a walk along the Danube in the direction of Margaret Island. For the second time, I looked at this wide and quite fast-flowing river and struggled to see any waterbirds at all. I was really surprised given the enormity of the river and how far it travels. After a while, a single Cormorant flew past on its way down river. My first two gulls arrived some time later and fortunately one was exactly what I was looking for - an adult Caspian Gull. Together with the adult was a young individual. By the time we reached Margaret Island, no more gulls materialised, one Mallard chugged along and a male Goosander was still present. The afternoon was spent in the park, covering different walks to our previous ones. No new species were encountered and I settled for watching a Green Woodpecker frequently visiting its nest hole. 13th April - A Day in Vienna by Train. 14th April - Normafa Park. Today would be my last attempt at finding Hungarian woodpeckers and my chosen site was Normafa Park, set in ancient woodland on the Buda Hills overlooking Budapest. The park is part of a huge forest covering miles of hillside. There are marked trails and many unmarked ones too, leaving you free to walk among the massive beech and oak species among others. A chairlift indicated how the area is also used for skiing during the winter months. Incredibly, the first bird we encountered singing high in the trees, was a gorgeous male Collared Flycatcher. I had seen on EBird there had been one sighting in a different park this week, so this 'self found tick' gave me a great boost and I went on to locate a further three Collared Fly's during the time here. The high pitched whistling notes, unfamiliar to me, were a perfect giveaway as to their location. ........ some flight shot!! Continuing our meanders between the trees, Nuthatches called, as did Blackcap, Song Thrush, Robin, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Black Redstart and Short-toed Treecreeper. I was struggling for woodpeckers again and as I scanned the trees, nest holes appeared everywhere, ranging in sizes and age. I caught sight of one black and white woodpecker, working its way along a branch. With its head tilted towards me, it had an extensive red crown almost like a red saucer. The other noticeable feature as it pecked was the rather short bill. I was pleased to be identifying my first Middle-spotted Woodpecker, albeit for only ten or so seconds, before it dropped away in the foliage. My only shot of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker after confirming its identity! That wonderful encounter, late in the afternoon concluded my birding in Budapest. Our last morning before departure was spent in the city where we enjoyed a delightful lunch at a very well known and highly recommended restaurant - Hungarian Hell's Kitchen. Here, we were treated to some traditional cuisine by our host Erik and our experience made a fitting conclusion to our time in Budapest. Conclusion. I would highly recommend birding in and around Budapest. I have covered the use of public transport and this could be used to visit the wider area where, within one hour's travelling, birds such as Great Bustard, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Red-footed Falcon and Pygmy Cormorant can be found. I cannot fault the birding locations we visited and I put the reason for a rather short list of 42 species down to the following three reasons. 1. Clearly the object of the trip was 'woodland birds' and the list reflects that to a great extent. 2. I felt that the week selected fell awkwardly between the departure of many wintering birds and the arrival of summer visitors. 3. In my research, although I had a list of bird species found in Hungary, I had no information as to whether a particular species is 'scarce', 'rare' or 'common' for example. Looking into EBird for my week's visit, one Black Woodpecker was seen in one area of Budapest and one Syrian Woodpecker in one of the parks. Perhaps the Eastern European woodpeckers take more than a little finding and one week is not sufficient time. Budapest By Night.
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