This year’s holiday was really migration special as we saw 19 species of raptors. There were many memorable moments and sights during the tour and we saw many good birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other wildlife.

Our latest 2-week-long Cuban birding holiday was a great success again. We found most of the Cuban and many Caribbean endemics, took nice photographs of most including the smallest bird in the World, the Bee Hummingbird, the unique Cuban Trogon, Cuban Parrot, Giant Kinbird, the ever attractive Cuban Tody and even the most elusive Gundlach’s Hawk.

We visited the hilly region of Soroa and La Güira, then birded the famous Zapata Peninsula. We continued our tour with exploring La Belén area and finally enjoyed 3 days at the best birding cayes of Cuba and finished our tour with the incredible Havana.

There were many endemics and other great birds to look for during this tour, but we did not miss the opportunity to enjoy sunshine, music, old timers and mojitos!

Cuban Tody

Cuban Trogon

Great Lizard-Cuckoo

Cuban Parrot

Just a few nice photos from our latest Costa Rican birding holiday taken by the tour leader Gabor Orban.  Enjoy!

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan

Boat-billed Heron

Green Honeycreeper

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Our holiday The land of Dracula and the Danube Delta was a great success.

The tour visited the Southern Carpathians where the group saw 11 Brown Bears on one evening from a hide and another bear along the road. Other highlights included Wallcreeper, 8 woodpecker species including Three-toed Woodpecker and Shore Lark.

The Black Sea Coast produced Booted Eagle, Stone Curlew, Black-winged Pratincole, Short-toed and Calandra Lark, Isabelline and Pied Wheatear among others.

The two days spent on a floating hotel in the Danube Delta was easy birding at its best with hundreds of Pygmy Cormorants, White and Dalmatian Pelicans, Glossy Ibis. The group enjoyed the song of Thrush Nightingales and a Bluethroat was also a welcome addition to the list.

Our June holiday to Bulgaria was a great success producing 22 species of raptors and many other exciting birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies.

Durankulak and Shabla Lakes were again very productive with many breeding specialities including singing Paddyfiled Warbler, Red-footed Falcon, Roller and Lesser Grey Shrike. Pied Wheatears were singing on the cliffs around Cape Kaliakra while we watched Harbour Porpoises in the sea. Thousands of Rose-coloured Starlings flew in for night roost and two majestic Eagle Owls patrolled the gorge late afternoon.

The lakes around Burgas harboured nice flocks of both White and Dalmatian Pelicans and waders were still on passage including Marsh Sandpiper. A Golden Jackal walking into a roosting pelican flock was a pleasant surprise at Atanasovsko Lake.

The Sakar Hills produced Imperial Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Masked Shrike, Olive-tree Warbler and Ortolan Bunting among others.

The Eastern Rhodope Mountains were among the highlights with fantastic scenery and great birds including 6 Black Vultures,  4 specimens of Eleonora’s Falcon, a perched male Levant Sparrowhawk, Chukar, Eastern Orphean and Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler.

The group also enjoyed beautiful butterflies includding Eastern Festoon, Grecian and Balkan Copper, as well as Spur-thighed Tortoise and Large Whip Snake. 

Our birding holiday The Dalmatian Coast and Plitvice was organised a bit earlier this year with a somewhat altered itinerary. The tour started in Split and after a short sightseeing in the lovely town of Trogir we drove along the coast where the rocky meadows were full of flowers.

We reached our first hotel located close to Plitvice National Park late afternoon. We spent 2 days in and around Plitvice. The park with its waterfalls and cascades was enchanting as always. We had excellent birding in the region with Nutcraker, Common Crossbill, many Wrynecks, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Treecreeper, Hoopoe, Wood Warbler and Hawfinch.

Then we crossed the Velebit Mountains and arrived to the Adriatic Coast. Paklenica National Park was rewarding as ever. Fantastic scenery and an exciting Mediterranean flora and fauna.

Migration was in full swing and it was interesting to see migrating Honey Buzzards, Short-toed and Booted Eagles, Bee-eaters flying above the craggy peaks. Spotted Flycatchers and Whinchats were everywhere and Nightingales were singing their hearts out. We had good views of the target species as well including Western Rock Nuthatch, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear, Eastern Orphean, Sardinian and Subalpine Warblers, Sombre Tit and the shy Rock Partridge.

We visited Lake Vrana for a fine selection of waterbirds including a flock of Glossy Ibis, all three marsh terns, Pygmy Cormorant and Little Bittern, as well as Red-footed Falcon, Montague’s Harrier, Woodchat Shrike and Spanish Sparrow. We spent some time in scenic Krka National Park where we enjoyed the song of Great Reed Warblers in the late afternoon sun.

One of the highlights of the tour was the visit to Pag Island. Around the saltpans, lakes and meadows of the island we saw a pair of the rare Great Spotted Cuckoo, a flock of Squacco Herons, White-winged Black Terns, a flock of 8 migrating Short-toed Larks, a nice array of waders including Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint. To much of our surprise we also discovered two mega rarities on the island, a Rufous-tailed Bush-Robin and a male Citrine Wagtail.

We also saw two specimens of Damatian Ringlet, a butterfly on the western edge of its distribution.

Croatia was once again a fabulous destination with fantastic scenery, nice birds, butterflies and flowers.

Our birding tour to Bulgaria was once again very succesful with 184 species of birds seen at the end of April.

Migration was well underway along the Black Sea Coast with Steppe Buzzards and the first Honey Buzzards passing through. White Storks, White Pelicans and Glossy Ibises were also migrating.

Durankulak and Shabla Lakes in the North and the lakes close to Burgas were all very productive with Ruddy Shelduck, Dalmatian Pelican, Little Crake, Marsh Sandpiper, Gull-billed and White-winged Tern. Stone Curlew, Calandra and Short-toed Lark, Tawny Pipit, Pied and Isabelline Wheatear were easy to find.

In the forests of Kamchia and Ropotamo Semi-collared Flycatchers and Sombre Tits were busy singing, and Woodchat Shrikes were occupying their breeding sites. The Strandja and Sakar Hills were a good place to see raptors including Booted, Lesser-spotted and Short-toed Eagle, Black Kite and Long-legged Buzzard.

The Eastern Rhodope Mountains were full of nice birds. Griffon and Egyptian Vulture, Black Stork, Golden Eagle was soaring above while we were admiring Western Rock Nuthatch, Blue Rock Thrush and Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler to name just a few.

If somebody wants to observe woodpeckers and owls April is one of the best months in Hungary and Slovakia. It is perfectly possible to see all the 10 species of woodpeckers of Europe and 5 owl species including Ural, Pygmy and Tengmalm’s Owl during a birding tour to Hungary and Slovakia.

The woods in the Northern Hungarian and Slovakian Hills are at this time loud of the calls of Black, Grey-headed and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. Most trees in the forest are still bare providing a good visibility. With some expert help it is possible to find the elusive White-backed Woodpecker in old beech forests and the silent Three-toed Woodpecker in pine woods. Great Spotted, Little Spotted and Green Woodpecker are fairly common and around habitations with old orchards we can find Syrian Woodpecker and Wryneck.

Pygmy Owl and Tengmalm’s Owl are still actively calling at dusk early April, while Ural Owls are incubating eggs and Eagle Owls feeding their young chicks.

Naturally there is a lot more to see in the hills. Lesser Spotted and Golden Eagle is hunting on hillside meadows, Hazel Grouse walk secretly along the trails, Ring Ouzel sings on tops of pine trees and Nutcrackers are calling. Red-breasted and Collared Flycatchers sing in beech woods, Corncrakes call from wet meadows and Hawfinches are a common sight.

We were walking on the Samole Floodplains in Mole National Park one afternoon and found a small water body with a lot of activity all around. Red-billed Firefinches, Orange-cheeked Waxbills, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus came in to drink. Then an African Pygmy-Kingfisher appeared and sat motionless in a bush. Not much later a colourful Blue-breasted Kingfisher flew in and perched in a tree in front of us.

We watched it hunting for a while and then walked to the other side of the pool. There we first discovered a Malachite Kingfisher sitting atop a branch above the water. Not much later we realised that another kingfisher is sitting motionless in the shade. To our great surprise it was a Shining-blue Kingfisher, a species we haven’t expected to see due to its shy habits.

We were very content seeing 4 species of kingfisher in 30 minutes. Besides the kingfishers we also recorded a Saddle-billed Stork, several Hammerkops and Hadada Ibises, White-faced Whistling-Ducks, Striated and Night Herons around the pool.

To make our kingfisher list of Mole even better the next day we recorded Giant Kingfisher, Grey-headed Kingfisher and Striped Kingfisher (see pic).

A trip report with the list of species seen will soon be posted on Ecotours website Birding in Hungary and Eastern Europe.

Bird migration usually starts at the end of February when short distance migrants start arriving back from the Mediterranean region.

This February flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers appeared 2 weeks ago with the first warmer winds, but it was during last week when numbers started to build up. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin, Common Redshank, Ruff, Little and Common Ringed Plover appeared at the wetlands and the first Garganeys and Ferruginous Ducks arrived too. Skylarks and Corn Buntings have been back and singing for more than a week and Woodlarks started to occupy their territories as well.

The first Barn Swallow was also reported but it will take at least 2 weeks until their numbers will build up.