Hungary - Day 3

  Today we also had Rob from Farm Lator with us, but we spent the day exploring the woods of the Bükki Nemzeti Park which the hostel sits next to. Rob knew the places to check for the woodpeckers and raptors we wanted, so having him with us was very useful. We very quickly found a pair of White-backed Woodpeckers showing well adjacent to the road. Other stops yielded nice birds such as Lesser Spotted Eagle, a singing male Barred Warbler which showed well at times but was generally elusive, the first Red-backed Shrikes and European Bee-Eaters of our trip and a Jack Snipe that flushed from an area of wet forest.
  Once again there were plenty of non-avian highlights. The undoubted of these was a very distant European Wild Cat which Tim picked out with the scope. Obviously, it was difficult to make out the details given the distance, but the sheer size and the bushy tail could both be made out which make it impossible to be a feral cat. There were butterflies as well, including my first Duke-of-Burgundy Fritillary, which is Europe’s only species of metalmark.
  During the afternoon there was some rainfall, so we spent the evening looking for Fire Salamander in an area of forest that Rob suggested for us. He did not seem so optimistic, but it did not take us long to find our first, and after an hour we had found no less than four of these stunning amphibians.

-White-backed Woodpecker

-Dingy Skipper

-Grizzled Skipper

-Wood White

-Map

-Duke-of-Burgundy Fritillary

-Agile Frog

-Eastern Short-tailed Blue

-Fire Salamander

Species List:
Bükki Nemzeti Park: Common Pheasant, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, European Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Little Ringed Plover, Jack Snipe, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, White-tailed Eagle, Common Buzzard, European Bee-eater, Eurasian Wryneck, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Eurasian Jay, Northern Raven, Marsh Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Barn Swallow, Wood Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Barred Warbler, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Treecreeper, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, Common Nightingale, Collared Flycatcher, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Common Chaffinch, Hawfinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting,