Here's a bird that doesn't seem to mind the 40 celsius (104 F) heat ... European Roller (Coracias garrulus). They are still actively hunting during the hottest part of the day. 🥵 #BirdingHungary #rollers
Another Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius). Slimmer with longer legs than the Common Ringed Plover. Plus the yellow eye ring, which the latter doesn't have. #BirdingHungary #plovers #shorebirds #waders #WaderWednesday
Record low water in the Danube River is creating big problems for humans, but the #birds are digging it! Like this Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) So many exposed sand and gravel banks .. they've never seen so much habitat! #BirdingHungary #plovers #shorebirds #WaderWednesday #waders
A young European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster). You can tell it's a young one because the colours look a bit washed-out. Hasn't quite developed the richness and vibrancy of the adults. #BirdingHungary #bee-eaters
Unlike in N. America, Ring-necked Pheasants aren't really countable in Hungary (despite appearing on E-bird checklists). Hunting clubs raise thousands in captivity & release them. If not for this replenishment, there would be no pheasants. The hunters would have shot them all. #BirdingHungary
One of three Black Woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius) I saw this morning. So hard to get a decent flight shot. They are either in the trees, or the sun is at a bad angle, or I'm not ready with the camera when they zip past an open space. #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers
The fastest thing on four legs in these parts.. the Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus). #WildHungary #hares #rabbits #BlisteringBunnies
Ya gotta admire ambition. 😄 This juvenile Eurasian Sparrowhawk was chasing this Black Woodpecker, a bird maybe 25% bigger and heavier. I think the woodpecker could have hammered its brains out. Don't think the hawk was serious about grabbing breakfast.. likely just a practice run. #BirdingHungary
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). They migrate quite early, but they don't go very far. I think most of the ones around here winter in the Mediterranean Basin. #BirdingHungary #waders #shorebirds #sandpipers
The commonest Tringa sandpiper around here right now. Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) #BirdingHungary #sandpipers #waders #shorebirds
Adult White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) searching for something to eat along the Danube River. The river is at a record low. Bad for the economy, tourism, farming, etc. but great for birds. The exposed sand banks are loaded with gulls, ducks, shorebirds. #BirdingHungary #eagles #BirdsOfPrey
A bit of a closer look at some of the Great Bustards from Sunday. 😀 #BirdingHungary #bustards #BigBirds
A tastefully tailored Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur). Unlike the Collared Doves which are around all year, these guys high-tail it to Africa for the winter. Smart birds! 😄 #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #doves #pigeons
Black-crowned Night Heron watching me from the top of a tree. Reasonably close, but it didn't fly. I love that. When your presence is not enough of a disturbance to flush the birds or make them alter their behaviour. Doesn't happen too often, but when it does it feels good. 😀👍 #BirdingHungary
A rather scruffy looking Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus). Maybe a hatch year bird not long out of the nest. #BirdingHungary #tits
Common Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris). Interesting genus. It includes the sagebrush of the American west and the herb tarragon. Other species provide flavoring for absinthe, and artemisin.. a malaria treatment. #WildHungary #mugwort #artemesia
The Roller nest box program has been a spectacular success over the past 20 years. This is almost a trash bird during the current post-breeding dispersal. In north Kiskunság, the only way you can miss one of these beauties is if you go birding with your eyes closed. 😀 #BirdingHungary #rollers
White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum) for #MacroMonday Dig those funky green shades. 😎👍 #WildHungary #dragonflies #bugs #insects
Watched an adult Imperial Eagle and a male Western Marsh Harrier mix it up right above my head. The harrier was determined to drive the eagle out of its territory but the eagle was having none of it. #BirdingHungary #eagles #harriers #raptors #BirdsOfPrey
It's a Cattle Egret confab. I think they were discussing which buffalo had the best flies. 😅 #BirdingHungary #egrets #herons #waders
As long as I'm doing the heron thing today, here's one more.. Great Egret (Ardea alba). They are back in their alternate plumage.. all yellow beak and all black legs, and you can see the bluish skin on the face is fading. #BirdingHungary #herons #egrets #waders
Purple Heron (Ardea pupurea) stepping out. The juveniles like this one look so cool. They are orangy all over. #BirdingHungary #herons #waders
Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) cleared to land. 😄 This is a different bird than the one I saw yesterday. Small heron, about the size of a Cattle Egret. An African species that extends its breeding range to southern Europe in summer. . #BirdingHungary #herons #waders
I was surprised to see this Short-tailed Weasel (aka Stoat aka Ermine aka Mustela erminea) hunting on the hot asphalt on a bright, sunny afternoon in 31 celsius (88 F) heat. With this kind of weather, it should be on vacation.. not working. 😂 #WildHungary #weasels #stoats #ermine
Last weekend, I didn't see a single Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata). But today.. BOOM! They were all over the place! Dozens of them! Fall migration is really heating up. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #flycatchers #FallMigration2026
Lucky to find this Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) in a roadside ditch just posing for me. Managed a few nice pics before a guy came down the road on a bicycle with a huge boom box on the front handlebars, blasting music. 😄 The bird flew away. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #herons #waders
