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VS: Hungarian interlude

To: "birdchat" <>
Subject: VS: Hungarian interlude
From: "Wim Vader" <>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 10:03:59 +0200

-----Opprinnelig melding-----
Fra: Riet Keuchenius 
Sendt: 29. mai 2007 16:35
Til: Wim Vader
Emne: Hungarian interlude




                                                HUNGARIAN INTERLUDE: SOME BIRDS 
AMONG THE AMPHIPODS

 From 20-26 May the 13th International Conference on Amphipods was held at the 
Limnological Institute in Tihany, Hungary, situated in a beautiful mansion on 
the banks of lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe: the Tihany 
peninsula divides the lake almost in two.
The meeting was flawlessy organized by Dr Ilona Musko and her staff.
We were 43 participants from no less than 21 nations, and as always with these 
amphipod meetings, the whole has almost the character of a family reunion, as 
most of the colleagues know each other and we are so lucky as to be in a very 
harmonious phase, without the scientific feuds and personality clashes that 
often mar such specialist gatherings. But we work hard during these meetings, 
and so there is little time left for sightseeing and birding, apart from the 
mid-conference excursion, that this time also included a few hours visit to the 
Kis Balaton nature reserve.

The meeting was held in the institute that this year celebrated its 80 years 
jubilee. It is situated in a beautiful park along the lake, with many and very 
varied old trees: several species of plane trees and linden, many conifers, and 
a wonderfully flowering large tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera. The dominant 
bird sounds here were European Blackbirds Turdus merula (Always great for me to 
hear their song, as they are very uncommon as far north as Tromsoe), 
Chaffinches Fringilla coelebs, and Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla, together with 
the twittering House Martins Delichon urbicum that nested under the eaves, and 
the scratchy song phrases of Black Redstarts Phoenicurus ochruros from the 
roofs. While writing this, I realize that this is not strictly true: the really 
dominant sounds, at least as heard from inside, are the cooing strophes of the 
Woodpigeons Columba palumbus (very tame also here) and the goo GOOO goo of the 
Collared Doves Streptopelia decaocto. In addition, a Great Reed Warbler 
Acrocephalus arundinaceus shouts its hoarse messages from a neighbouring 
reed-bed day and night.

The lake here, as everywhere, is very shallow, and seems chockfull of small and 
larger fishes, while Natrix snakes are also constantly present. Not too many 
birds here: Mallards waddle lazily out of the way along the shore here and 
there, but otherwise I only see the occasional Great Egret flying past (This 
species is one of the great success stories of Hungarian nature protection), 
there are a few cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis around (there should be 
fish enough for many more), and a few times I see a Black-headed Gull or a 
Common Tern. There are a few other birds in the park, and the most welcome 
sound for me are the full flute tones of the Golden Oriole, a bird I never see 
in Scandinavia---not that I often catch more than a glimpse here either, 
orioles are surprisingly adept at hiding themselves, in spite of their glowing 
colours. There are also Greenfinches, Goldfinches, European Tree Sparrows, 
Great, Blue and Marsh Tits and even a Spotted Flycatcher, while Hooded Crows 
are ubiquitous, and of course there are House Sparrows galore.

This week it was unseasonally hot: even the Hungarians said it was warmer now 
than usually in summer, with temperatures probably around 35*C during the day 
and also tropical during the nights, which made for little sleep. One advantage 
of this hot and often quite humid weather was that it accentuated the many and 
various smells of flowers and trees: the jasmines and Ligustrum of the hedges, 
and the Lavender of street sides and in the gardens, where the first cherries 
were already ripe. Also in general there are lots of flowers, but I had 
problems identifying many of them, clearly had not brought quite the right 
book---anyway this is a bird list! 'Downtown' Tihany (a village of some 2000 
people, around a venerable abbey that dominated the skyline, and where one of 
Hungary's earliest kings (c. 1200) lies buried), lies on top of the ridge that 
makes out the peninsula, and thus c 50-60 m uphill from the Institute. Here 
Blackcaps, Chaffinches and Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos sing, and here 
and there we hear the dreamy murmur of  Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur as 
well as the sharp jingles of Serins Serinus serinus. On telephone wires i find 
a Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella and later on a Red-backed Shrike Lanius 
collurio: Whitethroats Sylvia communis are indeed quite common, and I also hear 
a single Lesser Whitethroat S. curruca with its characteristic rattle, which 
has earned it the norwegian name Moeller (=Miller. All mills in Norway are 
water mills). Raptors there are not all too many here, I think---but then my 
botanical interests prevent me from looking up enough: there are buzzards Buteo 
buteo, and over the agricultuitral landscape there are harriers Circus 
aeruginosus. There are also a few falcons: Kestrels Falco tinnunculus of 
course, but also Hobby F. subbuteo and on the way to Tihany from the airport I 
spot a small and cozy Red-footed Falcon F. vespertinus.
All these are impressions glimpsed during short breaks or on our way to a 
restaurant, and I have no doubt that active birding during an entire day would 
have yielded many more bird species.

As i mentioned, the conference excursion included a few hours in the Kis 
Balaton nature reserve, a very large area of marsh and reed, that  serves 
primarily as a means to cleanse the river water from the agricultural areas 
before it flows out into Lake Balaton: the water quality in the lake has 
ameliorated quite substantially during the last few years. At the same time a 
wonderful nature area has been created, and even a visit as short as ours, 
where we basically only had the chance to peek from two large bird towers, 
makes this abundantly clear. There are Great Egrets and Purple Herons Ardea 
purpurea everywhere here, with fewer Grey Herons A. cinerea, and there are two 
sizes of cormorants: to my great surprise there are here, besides the Great 
Cormorant, also quite many Little Cormorants Ph. pygmaeus, apparently a new 
development in the area. I also spot regularly Squacco Herons Ardeola ralloides 
in their summer finery, and once even a Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus flies 
over the reeds and lets itself be counted. Black-headed Gulls are everywhere, 
and there are also lots of terns, with Whiskered Terns Chlidonias hybrida by 
far the most common. But I also see many Black Terns Chl.
nigra, a single White-winged Tern Chl. leucoptera and a few Common Terns Sterna 
hirundo. In open water Coots Fulica atra are by far the most common swimming 
bird, but there are also ducks (again Mallards, Gadwalls, Tufted Ducks, and a 
single Red-headed Pochard --a colleague also spots a Ferruginous Duck) and 
grebes (Great Crested, Black-necked and Little), Moorhens, Greylag Geese and 
quite many Mute Swans, often with young. These swans form a problem for the 
reserve, as they steadily increase in numbers and are exceedingly territorial, 
denying other waterbirds to nest within their extensive territories.
No doubt this area is also a paradise for reed birds, but we were not close 
enough and it was too windy to hear e.g. Locustella species.

Altogether this week gave a very nice first impression of summer birdlife in 
Hungary, and one day I'll return to study the area more in detail. I am very 
grateful to Ilona Musko for making it all possible, and so very comfortable. 
Great hospitality!  (PS. In the guest book of the institute I found an entry by 
a foreign professor, who had written: "Many thanks for your great hostility"!

                                                  Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
                                                                  9037 Tromsø, 
Norway
                                                                  


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