"But chief the Skylark warbles high / Its trembling, thrilling ecstasy / And lessening from the dazzled sight / Melts into air and liquid light." If you've ever seen a Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) in full song, you know this description from Thomas Gray is perfect! 😀👍 #BirdingHungary #larks
♂️ Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus). This time of year they are looking sharp in their fresh dating drip. 🎩 😄 #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenin2026 #buntings #BuntingHunting
Another raptor over my head.. this time in the setting sun. Juvenile Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). Note the light brown body, dark tail and flight feathers and the pale window on the inner primaries. #BirdingHungary #eagles #BirdsOfPrey #raptors
♂️ Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) in the morning sun. Mostly a summer bird but with milder winters, always a few around all year. Always juvenile / female type in winter. Don't recall ever seeing an adult male in winter. #BirdingHungary #raptors #BirdsOfPrey #BirdsSeenIn2026
#Geese are a good alarm system and I believe it. Graylags (Anser anser) drive me crazy. They are loud and when you are nearby they just NEVER shut up, alerting every bird within a km of your presence. These birds were calm only because they didn't see me hiding in the reeds 😀 #BirdingHungary
Another creature we saw at Feneketlen-tó.. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). #BirdingHungary #moorhens
Short video of one of the Little Grebes at Feneketlen-tó. Now it's there and now.. bloop.. it's gone. 😄 I don't know how it can see anything in that murky water. Not even sure if there are any fish in that lake. #BirdingHungary #grebes #waterfowl
There's a tiny lake in Budapest's 11th District called Feneketlen-tó (Bottomless Lake). Surrounded by cityscapes and heavy traffic, but it still has a pair of Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis). 😀 #BirdingHungary #grebes #waterfowl
A nice male Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) showing off his mustache. 😀 #BirdingHungary #reedlings
I noticed that the Black Woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius) are already much less vocal than they were in late February. Transitioning from establishing territories to actually building that nest hole and raising a family. 😀👍 #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers #WoodpeckerWednesday
Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius) for #WoodpeckerWednesday 😀 #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers
My first White Stork of the spring on Sunday. #BirdingHungary #storks #waders
One more raptor for your Monday ... a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo). #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #raptors #hawks #BirdsOfPrey #buzzards
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). The head & chest was still dark brown, unlike the pale tawny colour of a full adult. But then the tail was white, with a few black edges on the retrices. So I called this bird a sub-adult rather than a juvenile. #BirdingHungary #eagles #BirdsOfPrey
Many Black-headed Gulls are now in breeding plumage. For a few weeks at the height of the breeding season, their beak and legs, which are normally deep red, turn almost black. #BirdingHungary #gulls #SeeGulls #BirdsSeenIn2026
Compared to coastal locations, Hungary is not big on "peeps". But when it comes to #sandpipers in the Tringa genus, we got em in spades. Like this Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus). #BirdingHungary #shorebirds #waders
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) taxiing for take-off. Finally showing off some of that brilliant colour, although to me it looks more deep orange than red. But Common Orangeshank just sounds too weird. 🤪 #BirdingHungary #waders #shorebirds #sandpipers #redshanks
So many of these right now in the flooded farm fields.. Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). Too bad this one was wading up to its belly. Hiding those spectacular gams 🦵 😄 #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #shorebirds #waders #sandpipers
I ever noticed that this ♂️ Mallard has a chunk missing from the end of its beak until I downloaded the photo. Ducks' beaks are pretty sturdy structures so it must have been painful when it happened, although the bird seemed to be doing fine now. #BirdingHungary #waterfowl #ducks #mallards
Small flock of Common Cranes (Grus grus) passing by this morning. #BirdingHungary #cranes #SpringMigration2026 #bigbirds
One of the tiniest birds out on the wide open plains... European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) This is a male. They are just arriving now to establish their breeding territories. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #flycatchers
♂️ Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) in fresh breeding plumage. #BirdingHungary #buntings #BuntingHunting
Speaking of ubiquitous, Great Tits (Parus major) are absolutely everywhere right now. The big boys of the tit world. More noticeable at this time of year because they are all singing. 😀 #BirdingHungary #tits #GreatTits
Uniquitous in Hungary wherever there are a few trees.... Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) The specific epithet is a bit of a misnomer as it found right across Eurasia as far as Kamchatka, Japan , Korea and Taiwan. #BirdingHungary #nuthatches #BirdsSeenIn2026
Singing Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia).. unfortunately heavily backlit. Singing rock n'roll 😄🎸 #BirdingHungary #buntings #BuntingHunting
One more image of the amourous Eurasian Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium passerinum) #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #raptors
🎶 Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.. Slide show of the copulation sequence of the Eurasian Pygmy Owl couple. Got everything but the cigarette afterwards. 😂 I even made sure to get some violins in there. 😀 #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #raptors #BirdsSeenIn2026
When this female Eurasian Pygmy Owl flattens her body and raises her tail, it's a signal to the nearby male that she is ready to mate. #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #TeenyTinyRaptors
