Full-Day Birding at Apaj - April 21

Spring Birdwatching Day near Bugyi and Apaj – April 21

On April 21 we started from Budapest city center at 7 in the morning. The weather was nice, sunny, a real spring day. We arrived near Bugyi before 8 o'clock, where we started birdwatching at an observation tower close to the village.

This is an agricultural and grassy steppe area, where we saw several Great Bustards (Otis tarda). Some males were displaying very nicely for the season. In this area we also saw an Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca).

After the towers, we decided to visit a small forest area near Apaj. Here many Wood Warblers (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) were migrating. We also saw a Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis). There was a small wet area where some waders were feeding. Here we saw: Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), and Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). In the area there were also several flying Eurasian Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia). We also saw a Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) and a singing Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica).

After this we went towards the fishponds. On the way we saw a European Roller (Coracias garrulus) sitting next to the road (my first of the year).

At the fishponds we observed many interesting species: Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca), Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus), Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), and for me the biggest surprise was the Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola), which I saw for the first time this year. We saw three birds hunting in the air near the fishponds. Above the ponds we also saw hunting Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo).

The songbirds were also very active in the reedbeds. We heard many singing Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon), Common Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) and one Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon) in one place.

After the fishponds we visited flooded areas, where we finished birdwatching around 4 o'clock. Here we saw many Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), Ruff (Calidris pugnax), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), and a hunting Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

During the day we observed a total of 83 species.