Autumn in Hungary

Hungary’s varied landscapes, abundant wildlife, rich folklore and excellent wines combine to create   the perfect destination at any time of year. For the birdwatcher, however, one season stands out above the rest — the autumn. Each October over 100,000 Common Cranes gather on the steppes of the Hortobágy on their way south to their   wintering grounds in North Africa. There are few experiences in the natural world to   rival the sight and sound of an evening crane roost and this exciting tour will position you directly under their flight path! Add to this a supporting cast of wildfowl, raptors, waders — including Dotterel —  and the mighty Great Bustard, and you have all the ingredients for a spectacular week of Magyar birdwatching.

We will spend our first two nights of the holiday in the Kiskunság National Park, just an hour’s drive from Budapest, Hungary’s vibrant capital. This tranquil lowland region of steppe, sandy dunes and farmland is one of the country’s strongholds for the Great Bustard. These stately birds live alongside Saker Falcon and Eastern Imperial Eagle, plus a variety of passage and wintering species including Rough-legged Buzzard, White-fronted Goose and Great Grey Shrike. We next move to the Hortobágy National Park for a 3-night stay. In October the puszta (a dry semi-natural grassland broken only by acacia copses, farmsteads and reed-fringed fish-ponds), attracts a wonderful variety of birds. This is a flat land of distant horizons, dotted with isolated sweep wells and grazed upon by flocks of scruffy sheep. Eastern Imperial  and White-tailed Eagles, Long-legged Buzzard, Merlin, and both Hen and Marsh Harriers hunt over the plains flushing parties of Red-throated Pipits, Corn Buntings and Crested Larks as they go. Here we have a second opportunity to look for Great Bustards, whilst the huge system of fish-ponds that dot the national park attracts Spoonbill, Bittern, Great Egret and Pygmy Cormorant. This is an excellent month for waders too, as the drained ponds expose carpets of invertebrate-rich mud for Golden and Grey Plovers, Little Stint, Ruff, Spotted Redshank and Green, Wood and Curlew Sandpipers. Large numbers of ducks — particularly Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler and Ferruginous Ducks — are also attracted to the fish-ponds, and thousands of grey geese (mostly White-fronted and Bean Geese accompanied by the occasional group of Lesser White-fronts) use the ponds as roosts. Both Penduline and Bearded Tits are resident and common around the edges of the endless reedbeds, whilst an autumn speciality of the Hortobágy is the collection of confiding Dotterel flocks which remain here until the first frosts of winter.

Over the last decade, the number of Common Cranes passing through the Hortobágy, on their way from breeding grounds further north to their winter   quarters in Africa, has steadily increased.  Well over 100,000 now regularly spend the autumn in eastern Hungary, and on successive evenings we will be in place just before dusk to experience flight after flight of Cranes, whistling and trumpeting as they pass low overhead from their daytime feeding areas to secure wetland roosts. This is one of Europe’s most spectacular ornithological sights and sounds, and will no doubt be the highlight of the week for many.

For the final part of our holiday we will transfer to the broad-leaved woodlands of the Bükk Hills in the north of the country, close to the Slovakian border. The Bükk National Park protects one of Hungary’s most scenic regions and its rolling landscape of forested hills, vineyards and quaint villages offers a dramatic contrast to the flat lands of the Hortobágy and the great Hungarian Steppe. Our hotel is situated in a small and traditional wine producing village with birds such as Serin, Black Redstart and Hawfinch typically amongst the garden birds. We will also head a little further afield, however, and explore the surrounding forests in search of Black, Middle Spotted, Grey-headed, Syrian and the localised White-backed Woodpecker, plus Hawfinch, Goshawk, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Short-toed Treecreeper. 

For those wishing to extend their stay we would recommend a couple of nights in Budapest, Hungary’s beautiful and vibrant capital. Here you may choose to spend some time exploring the historic Castle District or perhaps end your holiday with an evening cruise down the Danube — a fitting finale to an autumn in Hungary!