Sousliks or Susliks (Citellus citellus) are ground squirrels. They used to be common on Hungary's dry, short-grazed grasslands and steppes (puszta). Nowadays they are absent from many places where they used to be easy to find. Anyway, today I took my 3 photographer guests back to Budapest and made a stop at a site I know where Sousliks are easy to watch and
often easy to take photos of. It worked out very well... all got great shots of a fantastic little rodent...

Another very windy day... hard work. Very strange for July.. nevertheless we carried on and my faithful owls did not let me down... a family of Little Owls living in hay-bales and a Long-eared Owl brooding chicks just 100 yards away. Not to mention the good old Red-footed Falcons... males, females, juvs, chicks. Also Spoonbills, Purple Herons and a male Great Bustard. Most provided good photographic subjects for my 3 guests. We even fitted in a few old breeds of domestic stock: Racka sheep and Mangalica pigs! Despite the wind we also saw a new butterfly for our trip: Bath White. But as I said... hard work... though it beats coal-mining :-)

Yesterday was not easy. It was windy, blowing a gale most of the day. But we were heading by road from Aggtelek through the Uppony and Bukk hills to the Hortobagy for most of the day, so we were spared the worst. In lulls in the windy overcast weather we saw, amongst others, Scarce Swallowtails, Knapweed and Silver-washed Fritillaries, Large and Green-veined Whites, Short-tailed Blues, Duke of Burgundy, a Peacock butterfly, and lots of Large Skippers... on the bird front a stop at Lake Tizsa turned up Little Bittern, Whiskered Terns, Purple, Grey, Night and Squacco Herons, and a Penduline Tit at the nest. Suppose not all that bad for a stormy day...

Aggtelek - Birds and Butterflies

We are in the Aggtelek Nat Park in NE Hungary... an overcast day but still a rich rage of birds and butterflies, though being July (summer) the butterflies are easier. Wryneck calling outside our hotel before breakfast, White Storks feeding in fields and various songbirds feeding young. On the butterfly front: Scarce Swallowtails, a Common Swallowtail, lots of Bath Whites, Eastern Wood and Marbled Whites, a Sloe Hairsteak, lots of Large Coppers, White Admiral, 2nd generation Maps, Spotted, Heath and Twin-spot Fritillaries and a range of Blues and Skippers... many caught on camera!

More butterflies and birds from the Bukk

Another day looking for butterflies and birds in the Bukk Hills, Hungary... a hot day, but a successful day. Lots of fritillaries and we are still looking at our photos and working them out! Also gliders, admirals and skippers. Birds included a superb male Rock Bunting, Hawfinches drinking at puddles, a Bee-eater colony, Short-toed Eagle, and 2 Honey Buzzards... July is not the easiest birding month in Hungary, indeed in Europe, but there are still plenty of goodies about to supplement the many butterflies. Tomorrow, on to Aggtelek...

Common Glider and other butterflies

I am in the Bukk Hills. I took 3 nice chaps from the UK around today, mainly looking for butterflies. We had good views of several Common Gliders, also Heath and Sliver-washed Fritillaries, White Admirals, Comma, Peacock, Bath White and lots of Nine-spot Moths. On the bird front there was Red-breasted and Collared Flycatchers, Hawfinch... as well as some noisy Marsh Frogs...

The dormouse again

Was back at Balaton at the weekend. My youngest lad messing with fire again AND a new "hobby"... chopping up logs for the fire with an almighty axe! Anyway, the Edible Dormouse was calling again at dusk and for a while after. During the day a superb male Balkan Wall Lizard (Podarcis taurica) was hanging around the veranda and I managed to catch him. He was very aggressive and feisty, though harmless, so I soon let him go. Birds in the garden included Black Redstarts, a Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatchers, a singing Serin and several (a family) Golden Orioles zooming around.