HORTOBÁGY PUSZTA – FLAT IS NOT BORING
Visiting the Hungarian puszta is a unique experience. Here we encounter thriving ecosystems teeming with shimmering winged friends. The area we’re visiting lies within Hungary’s largest protected region, Hortobágy National Park, which spans 80,000 square kilometers and consists of vast plains with expansive grasslands and wetlands. This area is one of the largest and most important wetland regions of its kind in Europe.

The region has been heavily influenced by grazing since ancient times. The herding culture is still very much alive. The puszta has a typically continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. In late autumn, heavy rains fill shallow depressions in the fine-grained soils. In many places, soda deposits have created saline habitats with unique salt-tolerant or salt-demanding plants, several of which are species usually found on salt marshes along sea coasts. The fact that nature here has remained under similar conditions for a very long time has created an abundance of biodiversity. Even though the landscape is completely flat, the variety within the area is striking. The vast wetlands and ongoing grazing have created ideal conditions for a rich plant and insect life, which in turn supports a magnificent birdlife. Depending on the season, one can see black and white storks, spoonbills, pygmy cormorants, black-winged stilts, flocks of herons and waders, as well as dabbling and diving ducks.

We visit the puszta in mid-May, when conditions are ideal for photographing the most colorful species. The area contains many hides, all built with a focus on one or a few specific species. Our trip will focus on providing the best possible opportunities to capture stunning images of the truly “exclusive” species. We will spend time in hides set in various types of environments. The hides we’ll be photographing from are specially designed for species such as the European roller, bee-eater, hoopoe, red-footed falcon, and little owl. For these particular birds, the opportunities to observe their lives are truly world-class. There are several hides located close to these species’ nesting sites. Here we can see the birds up close without disturbing them. Watching how sharply they spot food in the grasslands is truly fascinating.

In a forest hide, we may encounter species such as the black woodpecker, Eurasian jay, goldfinch, nuthatch, crested tit, pine marten, and many others.