We visit the fabulous steppes, lakes, and marshes of the Hortobágy and the Hungarian forests at the peak of the breeding season. Join us and ‘steppe’ into spring for some of Europe’s best birdwatching.
In May the Hortobagy wetlands are home to Eurasian spoonbill and eight species of breeding heron, as well as the songs of Savi’s and marsh warblers. The grassy plains nearby host breeding Montagu's harrier, European roller, stone curlew and great bustard. The forests of the Zemplen Hills harbour a superb range of central European forest specialities, including eastern imperial eagle, Ural owl, and nine species of woodpecker – and there’s a chance we might see them all on the same day on this birdwatching bonanza!
Typical Itinerary
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Day 1:
Fly to Budapest & transfer to the Zemplen Hills
Fly from London to Budapest and drive to the Zemplen Hills, close to the Slovakian border.
Accommodation: Solyomvar Panzio, 3-nights
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Days 2-3
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Explore Zemplen Hills & Tokaj
Today we drive up into the Zemplen Hills, which rise to almost 1,000 metres above sea level and are swathed in oak, hornbeam and beech woodland. Here smart male collared flycatchers sing from the trees, while the skies can hold soaring black stork and both eastern imperial and lesser spotted eagles, with even a chance of golden eagle. We visit a special area of the forest to seek out difficult woodpecker species, including the rare white-backed and spectacular black woodpeckers, with a chance of seeing the mighty Ural owl in its forest domain. In the late afternoon we walk along the River Bodrog to a damp meadow where corncrakes call, along with singing river and marsh warblers, and Syrian woodpecker.
In the more open country around the Tokaj vineyards, red-backed shrike and barred warbler breed, while wryneck and grey-headed woodpecker call from scattered oaks. Local quarries offer a vantage point for raptor-watching, with short-toed eagle, honey buzzard and goshawk among the possibilities. We also keep an eye out here for bee-eaters. In the evening we hope to visit a disused quarry to look for the orange eyes of eagle owl staring back at us.
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Days 4-7
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Drive to the Great Hungarian plains, Hortobágy
On our drive towards the Great Hungarian plains, we will visit Debrecen Woods, some of the oldest oak woodland in the area. Our hotel is well situated near a very productive lake, complete with little bitterns.
During our stay here, we will also visit Hortobagy fishponds, superbly rich breeding grounds for a variety of bird species. We then head south into the steppe country, an area of salty soil and short grass unique in Europe and full of life, before venturing further west to explore the steppe woodland.
We will also visit the steppe woodland of north Hortobagy which offers good nesting sites for raptors including hobby. The grassy steppe is home to the suslik (a ground squirrel), an important prey species for the saker falcon.
Accommodation: Kamilla Hotel, Hortobágy, 4-nights
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Day 8:
Drive back to Budapest & fly to the UK
