Itinerary:

Day 1 Arrival

Arrival in Budapest, to be met by your English speaking professional guide at the Airport. Drive to the first hotel on the edge of the Hortobagy National Park, birding en route. Depending on the arrival time in Budapest, there will be the possibility to see Cranes, and geese on the way.

Overnight: Patkos Csarda, Egyek

Day 2 Fishponds

Today we start by visiting some of the huge fishponds (Ohat, Fenyes, Derzsi, Csecsi), which are very important feeding and breeding sites for many species. We will be searching for different ducks and geese. In Hungary both the taiga and tundra Bean Geese occur and we will be continuously checking the flocks for Red-breasted and Lesser White-fronted Geese. The latter has some regular areas, especially managed for them by the National Park, and we will go to this spot as well. White-tailed Eagles are numerous this time of the year, and we often see them hunting over the lakes.

Overnight: Patkos Csarda

Day 3 Southern Hotobagy

Today we visit the southern part of the Hortobagy "pussta", searching for Lapland Buntings and Dotterels. This is a good area for Rough-legged Buzzard and Merlin too. It is one of the best sites to experience the Crane spectacle, so we will wait until dusk to see their flight in to roost sites. Great Grey Shrikes are often seen along the roads, looking for prey from the top of telegraph poles.

Overnight: Patkos Csarda

Day 4 Hortobagy

Clearly one of the highlights of the region are Great Bustards and, in the Autumn, they are already found in flocks. With a National Park ranger we hope to see some of these magnificent birds. Whilst in the Hortobagy, Saker Falcon is a possibility everywhere and in Autumn they can be found close to villages as they often feed on Feral Pigeons. We know several localities where over a hundred Long-eared Owls roost in a few trees. We will visit one of the key places and this will give great photo opportunities. In the afternoon we head towards the Bukk Hills; on our way we will stop to search for Imperial Eagle plus Saker Falcon. Our hotel is situated at the foot of the Bukk National Park; it has fantastic local cuisine and wines, especially to famous "Bulls blood"!

Overnight: Nomad Hotel, Noszvaj

Day 5 Woodpeckers of Farmalnd and Woods

In the morning we can start searching for woodpeckers around our hotel and then later into a very pretty valley of beech forests, caves, streams and quarries. There is a chance to see most of the Hungarian woodpecker species: Syrian and Green are more likely in and around the villages, Lesser-spotted are often seen within mixed flocks of tits during the winter close to forest edges. Middle-spotted, Great-spotted, Black and Grey-headed are all possible in old Beech forests. The White-backed Woodpecker needs a little luck and a lot of searching in the forest! Both Treecreeper species are possible. Nuthatch, Yellowhammer and Hawfinch are very common residents and at the entrance of the valley we can find Rock buntings in an abandoned quarry, where we have also seen Wallcreeper in previous trips. Raven, and Goshawk can be seen as well!

Depending on the time available we may be able to visit Lillafured with its beautiful castle hotel, which is regular wintering place for the Wallcreeper.

Overnight: Nomad Hotel

Day 6 Bukk Forest

Today we are going to visit a place which is the most untouched part of the Bukk forest; here we search for the White-Backed woodpecker again, along with other woodpecker species.

If we are lucky we may have the chance to witness the famous Lipiczai horses, as they are kept outside in the so called "Big meadow" of the Bukk until the real winter comes!

In the afternoon we are going to visit another location of the Bukk plateau (if road condition allows). This is a good area for Ural Owl. We will be walking around in a verdant meadow, which is the hunting field of a breeding pair. If we are fortunate we can see the owl, and with great luck we can spot it in its roosting tree.

Overnight: Nomad Hotel

Day 7 Depature

Travel to Budapest. On our last morning in the region we will have some time to stop en-route to Budapest Airport to catch some more magic moments and look for extra species. You will not have time to get bored!

The evenings will be spent in typical regional restaurants, serving local traditional cuisine, whilst having the opportunity to taste the most famous Hungarian wines!