One more video from the bear hide in Transylvania. A mother Eurasian Brown Bear with her cub. It just wanted to play while the mother was busy doing what all bears do every waking hour... looking for something to eat! 😃 #WildRomania #Transylvania #bears

Saw a fair number of these in Romania... Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) #BirdingRomania #redstarts #flycatchers #birds #birding

♀️ Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) #BirdingRomania #BirdsSeenIn2026 #thrushes #ThrushRush #birds #birding

Garden Warblers (Sylvia borin) are probably the plainest European warbler. They should add a "g" to the specific epithet, as in Sylvia boring 😂 But they have a great song! Here's a quick video of the one we saw in Romania the other day. Sound on! #BirdingRomania #warblers #birds #birding

Garden Warblers (Sylvia borin) are reasonably common in Hungary but very hard to see. Always staying under deep cover. So I was delighted to see one in Romania singing out in the open. #BirdingRomania #BirdsSeenIn2026 #warblers

This Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) was nice enough to pose for me 😀👍 #BirdingRomania #BirdsSeenIn2026 #thrushes

A hide (blind) in the Hargita Mountains where they feed the brown #bears. When they lift the huge window, the entire side of the shed is open, with nothing between you and the bears. The female on the log was only about 6 meters (20 ft) from where I was sitting. 😬 #WildRomania

Just got back from Romania. In the Hargita Mountains of Transylvania, saw lots of these... Eurasian Brown Bear. Conspecific with NA's Grizzly but a different subspecies. This is Ursus arctos arctos while the Grizzly Bear is Ursus arctos horribilis #WildRomania #bears #Transylvania

In full bloom right now, one of the commonest #trees in the Hungarian countryside is native to eastern North America... the Black Locust or False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia). The Hungarians call it White Acacia. Acacia honey sold in Central Europe comes from this tree. #WildHungary #wildflowers

Not quite #WarblerWednesday yet, but here we go... a Common Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus). This time of year they are all over the place and very vocal. Anywhere there is a patch of Phragmites reeds. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #warblers #birds #birding

Meet Black-headed Gull H99L. Ringed as a young one at the nest in June last year about 40 km from where I saw it. In November it showed up at Yverdon les Bains in western Switzerland. Now back in Hungary. I guess it was on a ski break. 😂 #BirdingHungary #gulls #seegulls

One of my favorite European #wildflowers - the Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). National Flower of Estonia. Official flower of the Swedish province of Östergötland. #WildflowerPower #BlueMonday #MondayBlues

A pair of Ferruginous Ducks (Aythya nyroca) take flight. #BirdingHungary #ducks #waterfowl #justducky

The cuckoo comes in April / He sings his song in May / In the middle of June, he changes his tune / In July he flies away. That nursery rhyme is so true! Right now the woods are alive with the sound of cuckoo clocks .. only it's the real thing! 😄 #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #cuckoos

This is what birders do on a Saturday Night 🪩🕺 Chasing #nightjars with a thermal camera. I was trying to sneak up on a pair sitting on the road when one of them almost took my head off. 😄 #BirdingHungary #nightbirding

Something for #SundayYellow I think this is Spring Ragwort (Senecio leucanthemifolius) but not sure. So many of the Senecio genus look the same to me. #WildHungary #wildflowers #WildflowerPower

Short vid of one of today's Nightingales (a bit shaky because hand held). Small plain bird that likes to hide. But that voice! Hits you like a Mack Truck! 😂 This time of year they sing all day and all night. Don't know when they sleep. #BirdingHungary #nightingales

Drained fish ponds are treacherous. The mud looks solid, but it can be like quicksand. This morning I watched this crazy Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) that was determined to cross the pond. Almost didn't make it, but it managed to extricate itself. 😬 #WildHungary #ohdeer #deer

Speaking of rare sights... here's another. A Wild Boar out in the open during daylight. 😲 Looking for a mud bath to cool off in the heat. #WildHungary #WildBoar

A rare sight! A Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) singing out in the open! A common bird but almost impossible to see. Always under cover of dense foliage. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #nightingales

Portrait of a White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) Probably waiting for its next baby-delivering assignment. 😂 #BirdingHungary #storks #waders #bigbirds

Incoming Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) The big, brash noisy plover of European famland. #BirdingHungary #plovers #shorebirds #waders #birds #birding

Portrait of a Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) #herons #waders #birds #birding

Meet "Beakzilla" .. a Caspian Gull with an abnormally elongated beak. Not a great photo because thru my scope with tons of heat waves. Don't know if #gulls can get AKD (Avian Keratin Disorder) but this beak is definitely not normal. #BirdingHungary #SaturdayLaridae #seegulls

Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius). Despite the name, this is one of the commoner #swallowtails in Hungary #WildHungary #butterflies #insects #bugs #yellow

Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocepahalus) on top and a Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) on bottom. When viewed from underneath, the Med Gull's wings are the purest white I've seen on any gull (apart from the Ivory Gull of course). #BirdingHungary #gulls #seegulls

Portrait of a Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) #BirdingHungary #herons #waders #bigbirds #birds #birding

Portrait of a Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) #BirdingHungary #storks #waders #bigbirds #birds #birding

Incoming White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) #BirdingHungary #storks #waders #bigbirds

One more for #WaderWednesday Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) #BirdingHungary #sandpipers #waders #redshanks

Another wild and wacky #WaderWednesday is upon us. Here's the big boy of the Tringa genus (after Willet that is)... Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) #BirdingHungary #sandpipers #waders

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus). Closest relative is NA's Solitary Sandpiper. Like the latter species, it is usually alone, sometimes in pairs, but you never see them in a flock. At least not around here. #BirdingHungary #sandpipers #waders #WaderWednesday

A Rook dive-bombing a Eurasian Hobby. #BirdingHungary #birds #BirdsOfPrey #raptors #falcons #rooks

One more falcon for today... Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo). All #raptors are opportunists, but #kestrels tend to take more rodents, while Hobbys are bird specialists... birds and dragonflies. They are much faster in flight than the kestrels. #BirdingHungary #falcons #BirdsOfPrey

Male Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). I noticed this one had a ring (band) on its left leg but couldn't read the number. Likely ringed locally. Many kestrels are ringed at the nest every year in Hungary. A very common breeder. #BirdingHungary #kestrels #falcons #BirdsOfPrey #raptors

Here's one from 3 weeks ago.... a Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta). A short distance migrant, it hangs out in the lowlands in winter, then heads up into the mountains to breed. This one was a bit tardy. Most of its buddies are gone by April. 😀 #BirdingHungary #pipits #BirdsSeenIn2026

Black Stork landing.. scattering a few egret in the process. 😄 #BirdingHungary #storks #egrets #waders #bigbirds #birding #birds

Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) in overflight. They look so much bigger in flight because of that huge wing area. #BirdingHungary #herons #waders #bigbirds #birds #birding

The male Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) hanging out... literally! 😄 #BirdingHungary #tits #birds #birding

European Pond Turtle (Emys obicularis). Population is in decline and the leading cause of mortality is getting squished by cars. Partly terrestrial and I guess they like the warm asphalt. Yesterday I had to move three off the road. #WildHungary #turtles #amphibians

Both sides of a Whiskered Tern (Chlidonia hybrida) in full breeding plumage with that slate gray breast. Found all the way from Western Europe to Australia. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #terns #birds #birding

🎵 Don't just stand there, let's get to it / Strike a pose, there's nothing to it. A ♀️ Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) striking a pose for the camera. 😀👍 #BirdingHungary #whinchats #birds #birding #chats

♂️ Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), copying his fashion from a Red-backed Shrike (or is it the other way around 😜). They are very vocal this time of year which makes them a lot easier to find. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #tits #birds #birding

My first Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) of the year today. A tiny heron found mostly in Africa, but comes to southern Europe in the summer to breed. Sitting they appear mostly pale orangy brown, but in flight they appear mostly white. #BirdingHungary #herons #waders #birds #birding

The male Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca). They have a very dark upper wing with a bold white stripe the entire length of the wing, making them very distinctive in flight. #BirdingHungary #ducks #waterfowl

A handsome male Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) on de alert! On the alert for those pesky birdwatchers. 😄 I like the alternate common name.. White-eyed Pochard. Only the male has the white eye, though. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #ducks #waterfowl

And here's one of the Black ones (Ciconia nigra). They are much less tolerant of human activity and nest in secluded riparian forests away from human settlement. #BirdingHungary #storks #bigbirds #birds #birding

Another big stork day. Today, they just seemed to be everywhere. Here's one of the White ones (Ciconia ciconia). They nest in villages and towns are are relatively tolerant of human activity. #BirdingHungary #storks #bigbirds #birds #birding

Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) blasting past me. 😄 One of the most flamboyant ducks in these parts. Big too... the size of a small goose. #BirdingHungary #ducks #shelducks #waterfowl

My first Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) of the year today. This is the commonest summer shrike in Hungary. #BirdingHungary #shrikes #birds #birding