Читать книгу Walking in Hungary. 32 routes through upland areas онлайн

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Birdwatchers coming to Hungary tend to concentrate on Hungary’s wetlands and the Great Plain, but the highlands also offer plenty of interest. It is worth taking a pair of 8x40 binoculars to sort out the various species of raptor wheeling over forest meadows. Rare but on the increase, the Saker falcon can be seen on the high Bükk plateau, and the range of the imperial eagle is spreading thanks to conservation efforts. Several species of owl seem to have survived the days when superstitious villagers killed them, and the remoter parts of the northern forests provide a habitat for the eagle owl. North-east Hungary is also at the western limit of the ural owl. There are many species of woodpecker, including the black woodpecker with its unmistakable plaintive call. The rare hazelhen, a woodland-loving member of the grouse family, is also to be found in the north. Orchards, smallholdings, vineyards and downs provide breeding sites for summer visitors such as the golden oriole, wryneck, hoopoe and many species of warbler. Thorny scrub on heaths and farmland provides a grisly larder for shrikes, and a closer look at sandbanks in open country and farmland will reveal colonies of holenesting bee-eaters. Stony hillsides are the haunt of rock buntings, stonechats and ravens. Overgrown damp meadows with scattered bushes are the haunt of the shy corncrake. White storks nest on village chimney pots and pylons in a few villages in the hills, but the black stork also breeds in small numbers in the north.