Lesser Purple Emperor

June is an excellent time for butterflies in C & E Europe. I have just finished two tours, one in Croatia and one in Hungary, which focused on these popular insects. Here is a Lesser Purple Emperor, one of many we saw in the Bukk and Aggtelek Hills in NE Hungary recently. It was easy to photograph as it perched on someone's hat at eye level.

Yellow-bellied Toad

You know, Probirder does not only do birds ! Here is a Yellow-bellied Toad from Croatia.

Croatia - great tour !

Another tour under the Probirder belt ! Croatia in June is great for birds, butterflies, reptiles... you name it. Here is a Black-headed Bunting from near the Plitvice Lakes NP that I snapped a few days ago. 

Great Bustard in the Kiskunsag

Here is a nice shot of a Great Bustard in flight from one of our recent Hungary tours. Taken by Rolland Kern in the Kiskunsag region.

Austro-Hungarian Tour

So that is another tour successfully completed! This time we were in Austria, the Alps and Seewinkel region, and Hungary, the Hansag. We recorded 150 species despite some poor, rainy, weather. Highlights included a mix of some great upland and lowland birds, like White-backed and Syrian Woodpeckers, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Alpine Chough, Ring Ouzel, Firecrest, Water Pipit, White-tailed, Imperial and Golden Eagles, Montagu's Harrier, Great Bustard and many waders and wildfowl.