In June 2019 we travelled to Hungary with six other Wildlife Photographers.
We met for the first time and became good friends.
Our accommodation was at the Bibic Nature Lodge in the Hortobagy National Park. The lodge sits on the edge of a soda lake.
This location was excellent for discovering the abundant wildlife and the hospitality was impeccable.
The Hortobagy National Park is a vast area over 80, 000 hectares of grasslands, marshes, also fishponds with a few roads and access points. It is one of the top nature reserves in Europe. It is Hungary´s first National Park, holding exotic species of plants and animals.
The Hortobagy is first, and foremost, a bird sanctuary, with over 300 species on record, offering exceptional, birding opportunities.
Early each morning we visited different parts of the Hortobagy. After a short break for lunch our guides dropped us off at a different location for the afternoon experience.
It was amazing to see so many birds in their natural environment.There were no no baiting setups for photographs. We took photos of the birds mating and bringing food to feed to their chicks.
Breeding activity is the highest at this time (May-June) Just like anywhere in the northern hemisphere breeding activity is high.
We witnessed many species feeding their young including; Red Footed Falcons, European Rollers, Bee-eaters, Hoopoes, Pygmy Cormorants, Little Owl, Shrikes, both, Red-backed and Lesser Grey, Woodpecker, Black Stork plus many more there are too many to list.
Since returning from Hungary we have spent two days in the Farne Islands photographing Puffins.
We are now planning our next destination to Costa Rica.