Full- Day Birding Trip in Apaj - March 3

Early Spring Birding Around Bugyi and Apaj – 65 Species in One Day

On March 3 we started our day at 7:00 in the morning from the center of Budapest. After about 40 minutes we arrived in Bugyi, where we began birdwatching.

First we explored the agricultural fields near Bugyi. Here we found a large flock of about 1500 Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons). The birds were close, so we could check them very well, but we did not find any other species except a few Greylag Goose (Anser anser).

Geese usually stay in the area until April, so there is always a good chance to see Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus) or Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis). Because of this, it is always worth checking every goose carefully.

However, in this area we had a great observation of Great Bustard (Otis tarda). We saw a group of 14 males.

After this we continued towards Apaj, where we stopped several times in the grassy steppe areas to look for birds. Here we saw flocks of thousands of Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), and also many Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope).

Then we headed towards the fishponds, where many ducks were present. We saw Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), and Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula). On the first pond we also found two Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) inside a larger flock of Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons).

At the fishponds we also saw at least two White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) flying.

On the flooded grassy area next to the fishponds we checked another large flock of geese, and here we found a Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis).

After this we explored other parts of the fishpond system. First we visited the observation tower, which stands in the middle of the ponds. When we arrived, we immediately heard a Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus), and later we were also able to see it well.

From the tower we could already see Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) at their nesting site, preening their feathers. From the tower we also saw many Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), and we also had a nice view of a Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus).

Because we really wanted to observe Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), we visited a nearby nesting site at the ponds. Here we saw three old nests from last year, and after a few minutes of waiting we found two Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), which came quite close to us.

After this we explored the grassy flooded areas next to the fishponds. Here we observed thousands of waders. We saw Ruff (Calidris pugnax), Common Redshank (Tringa totanus), European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria), Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), and Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata). In this area we also saw an adult Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) sitting on a dry tree.

It was already late afternoon, so we decided to finish the day at the mining lakes near Bugyi. This turned out to be a good decision, because here we saw some new species: Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus), Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), and Smew (Mergellus albellus).

During the day we had very nice early spring weather, with no wind and about 15°C.

In total we observed 65 species during the day.