#Geese are a good alarm system and I believe it. Graylags (Anser anser) drive me crazy. They are loud and when you are nearby they just NEVER shut up, alerting every bird within a km of your presence. These birds were calm only because they didn't see me hiding in the reeds 😀 #BirdingHungary

Adult Yellow-legged Gull (Larus micahellis) for #SaturdayLaridae #BirdingHungary #gulls #seegulls

I found the perfect girl for me! 😍 😂 #Hungary #Budapest #BeautifulBudapest

The Fisherman's Bastion on Castle Hill in downtown Budapest #Hungary #Budapest #BeautifulBudapest

My sister is visiting from Canada, so today we did a bit of the tourist thing. Here is the changing of the guard at Sándor Palace.. the official residence of the Hungarian President. Sound on. 😀 #Hungary #Budapest #BeautifulBudapest

Another creature we saw at Feneketlen-tó.. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). #BirdingHungary #moorhens

Short video of one of the Little Grebes at Feneketlen-tó. Now it's there and now.. bloop.. it's gone. 😄 I don't know how it can see anything in that murky water. Not even sure if there are any fish in that lake. #BirdingHungary #grebes #waterfowl

There's a tiny lake in Budapest's 11th District called Feneketlen-tó (Bottomless Lake). Surrounded by cityscapes and heavy traffic, but it still has a pair of Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis). 😀 #BirdingHungary #grebes #waterfowl

A nice male Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) showing off his mustache. 😀 #BirdingHungary #reedlings

I noticed that the Black Woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius) are already much less vocal than they were in late February. Transitioning from establishing territories to actually building that nest hole and raising a family. 😀👍 #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers #WoodpeckerWednesday

Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius) for #WoodpeckerWednesday 😀 #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers

My first White Stork of the spring on Sunday. #BirdingHungary #storks #waders

Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacioloides) in the south Atlantic. ##seabirds #fulmars

Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis) resting on the water. #BirdingArgentina #shearwaters #seabirds

Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis) off the coast of Argentina. Don't often see the sea as calm and glassy as this. #BirdingArgentina #shearwaters #seabirds

One more raptor for your Monday ... a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo). #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #raptors #hawks #BirdsOfPrey #buzzards

White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). The head & chest was still dark brown, unlike the pale tawny colour of a full adult. But then the tail was white, with a few black edges on the retrices. So I called this bird a sub-adult rather than a juvenile. #BirdingHungary #eagles #BirdsOfPrey

Many Black-headed Gulls are now in breeding plumage. For a few weeks at the height of the breeding season, their beak and legs, which are normally deep red, turn almost black. #BirdingHungary #gulls #SeeGulls #BirdsSeenIn2026

Compared to coastal locations, Hungary is not big on "peeps". But when it comes to #sandpipers in the Tringa genus, we got em in spades. Like this Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus). #BirdingHungary #shorebirds #waders

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) taxiing for take-off. Finally showing off some of that brilliant colour, although to me it looks more deep orange than red. But Common Orangeshank just sounds too weird. 🤪 #BirdingHungary #waders #shorebirds #sandpipers #redshanks

So many of these right now in the flooded farm fields.. Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). Too bad this one was wading up to its belly. Hiding those spectacular gams 🦵 😄 #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #shorebirds #waders #sandpipers

I ever noticed that this ♂️ Mallard has a chunk missing from the end of its beak until I downloaded the photo. Ducks' beaks are pretty sturdy structures so it must have been painful when it happened, although the bird seemed to be doing fine now. #BirdingHungary #waterfowl #ducks #mallards

Small flock of Common Cranes (Grus grus) passing by this morning. #BirdingHungary #cranes #SpringMigration2026 #bigbirds

One of the tiniest birds out on the wide open plains... European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) This is a male. They are just arriving now to establish their breeding territories. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #flycatchers

♂️ Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) in fresh breeding plumage. #BirdingHungary #buntings #BuntingHunting

Speaking of ubiquitous, Great Tits (Parus major) are absolutely everywhere right now. The big boys of the tit world. More noticeable at this time of year because they are all singing. 😀 #BirdingHungary #tits #GreatTits

Uniquitous in Hungary wherever there are a few trees.... Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) The specific epithet is a bit of a misnomer as it found right across Eurasia as far as Kamchatka, Japan , Korea and Taiwan. #BirdingHungary #nuthatches #BirdsSeenIn2026

Singing Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia).. unfortunately heavily backlit. Singing rock n'roll 😄🎸 #BirdingHungary #buntings #BuntingHunting

One more image of the amourous Eurasian Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium passerinum) #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #raptors

🎶 Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.. Slide show of the copulation sequence of the Eurasian Pygmy Owl couple. Got everything but the cigarette afterwards. 😂 I even made sure to get some violins in there. 😀 #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #raptors #BirdsSeenIn2026

When this female Eurasian Pygmy Owl flattens her body and raises her tail, it's a signal to the nearby male that she is ready to mate. #BirdingHungary #owls #BirdsOfPrey #TeenyTinyRaptors

#WoodpeckerWednesday is past, but I didn't want to wait until next week to post this great-looking White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #woodpeckers

Speaking of #raptors , saw a pair of Eurasian Pygmy Owls (Glaucidium passerinum). This is a different pair from the ones I saw last week. So strange to see an owl the size of a sparrow. More photos of these little beauties tomorrow. #BirdingHungary #BirdsSeenIn2026 #owls #BirdsOfPrey

The same Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) .. this time in flight. #BirdingHungary #falcons #BirdsOfPrey #raptors #BirdsSeenIn2026

I didn't notice this Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) was ringed (banded) until after I downloaded the photos to my laptop. Aside from the standard aluminum ring on its right leg, it appears to have a faded colour band on the left leg. #BirdingHungary #falcons #BirdsOfPrey #BirdsSeenIn2026

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) for #WaderWednesday . #BirdingUruguay #plovers #shorebirds #waders

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) in Uruguay for #WaderWednesday . #shorebirds #sandpipers #waders

A dense bed of reeds next to a dirt track. I couldn't see anything but I could hear the tapping. I thought to myself, that's got to be a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Sure enough, when I got out of the jeep and walked closer, there it was. 😀 #BirdingHungary #WoodpeckerWednesday #woodpeckers

Here's a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor). You don't expect to see #woodpeckers foraging in a bed of Phragmites reeds but these little guys often do. They are small enough that they can cling to the reed stems. #BirdingHungary #WoodpeckerWednesday

Another #WoodpeckerWednesday is upon us. Here's a Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius) looking for a place to stash a nut. #BirdingHungary #woodpeckers

This is the caracara most familiar to birders in North America... the Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus), although this one is the South American subspecies (C. plancus plancus). Out for a Sunday stroll 😀 #BirdingArgentina #caracaras #BirdsOfPrey #raptors

Another abundant bird in the south Atlantic.. Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris). This one is a juvenile. #BirdingArgentina #albatrosses #mollymawks #seabirds

Here's another "cape" bird. The Rufous-collared Sparrow was "capensis" and this one is Daption "capense" .. the Pintado Petrel. The genus name is an anagram of the common name. By far the commonest petrel we saw in the south Atlantic. #BirdingArgentina #petrels #seabirds

Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) looking for love ❤️ The common Zonotrichia sparrow in South America. #BirdingArgentina #sparrows

So many #butterflies already out and about. On Saturday we saw Commas, Brimstones, Red Admirals and several of these... Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros). Warming up in the sun. 😎 #WildHungary #insects #bugs #lepidoptera

A good one 4 #MacroMonday Oil Beetle (I think Meloe violaceus). It gets the name from the toxic hemolymphatic fluid it excretes when attacked. The larvae attach themselves to bees and when the bee carries it back to the nest, the larva feed on the bee's eggs. 😋 #WildHungary #beetles #bugs #insects

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) doing a little maintenace on its swimsuit. Chaffinch singing in the background. #BirdingHungary

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take the top off the jeep today. 😂 #BirdingHungary

Distant shot of a pure white Fallow Deer (Dama dama). Never seen a white one before and never seen this species out on the grasslands. It is more of a forest species around here. #WildHungary #deer

Another image of White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus). Eyes closed, moth open. 😄 #BirdingHungary #dippers #BirdsSeenIn2026