BBC 2016: Hungary and Romania

Team unity is important for BBC, and we have an unwritten rule that we find a date for our trips which is acceptable to all. So I was surprised at the end of May 2016, whilst planning a trip to Hungary and Romania, that the rest of the team had already left for Budapest. Always write rules down! I grabbed my binoculars and toothbrush and searched the web for the next available flight.

In my absence, the three renegades sneaked off to the Zemplen Hills in northern Hungary - on the Slovakian border near to Ukraine.

They bribed the services of some unsuspecting guides, and replaced me with automatic shutter release.

With the help of the guides they were able to spot Eastern Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) - which, in Europe, only breed in this area.

To prove this, they were shown a nest containing two chicks.

They were also shown a haunt of the biggest owl in Europe, the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo).

The guides also knew where nest boxes had been put in the woods for Ural Owls (Strix nebulosa). In Europe these owls are mainly resident in Scandinavia and Russia (though are distributed across to Japan) but there are also isolated populations in south-east Europe - S. n. macroura, the largest of over a dozen sub-species.

They had timed it just right to see a recently fledged owlet flying around and getting used to its new environment.

The proud parent looked down at them from a nearby tree. Care needs to be taken with Ural Owls, as they will attack those who wander too close to an occupied nest.

When Mike and I visited Scandinavia in 2003 we saw many owls, but failed to see the Ural Owl. I now realize that the early departure to the Zempen Hills had been a cynical ploy by Mike to get one ahead of me on our owl lists - the yellow-bellied toad. Or, as it's known in latin, Bombina variegata - seen here sitting in a puddle.

It's very similar to the Fire-bellied Toad (also found in eastern Europe), and both have heart-shaped pupils. The Yellow-Bellied can be recognised by its coloured fingers.

Crossing the road, another great reptile - an Aesculapian Snake (Zamensis longissimus). They are whoppers (as the latin name implies) but nonvenomous, killing their prey by constriction rather than by biting. Aesculapius was the classical god of healing, depicted with a snake wrapped around his staff (supposedly this species) - which later became the symbol of medicine.

You may remember the impressive Amata phegea Nine-spotted moth from the 2017 Croatia blog (if not, why not?) where I explained its wasp mimicry and identification.

The renegades struggled to identify any wildlife after the guides left them, which explains the look of disappointment on their faces when they met me from the train at Hortobagy station in the east of the country. Over a beer a deal was struck whereby I would once again take up my leadership role, in exchange for them taking me to see the Ural owls (using the GPS coordinates saved on Steve's photographs).

Whilst at Hortobagy, we headed off to the Hortobagyi Nemzeti national park.

The 800 square kilometre park forms the largest semi-natural grassland in Europe. It is a remnant of the great steppes across Eurasia formed during the Ice Age, over 100,000 years ago, by the grazing of wild animals such as bison, horses and woolly mammoths.

Today domesticated livestock do the job. Hungarian Grey or Steppe cattle are an ancient breed indigenous to Hungary.

Another ancient Hungarian variety - Hortobagy Racka Sheep, with their characteristic spiralled horns.

In the distance we saw Great Bustards (Otis tarda), the heaviest living flying animals - the males can weigh up to 18 kg. They are birds of grasslands, and are now found mainly in the great steppes of central Asia and Turkey - with closer populations remaining in the Iberian peninsula and central Europe. The last wild bird in England was shot in 1832, but they have been reintroduced to the Salisbury Plain.

A male Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) quartered.

A Little Owl (Athene noctua) also looking for a meal.

Cranes (Grus grus) were stopping on their way to north-east Europe for the summer.

Hortobagy is famous for its Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus), a kestrel-like bird in which the males are slate grey except for bright orangey-red feet and 'trousers'. They live in colonies, and a group of trees can be visited in the park where they are clumped together like starlings - what a sight. They breed in eastern Europe and Russia.

Perched on a pylon, another kestrel-sized bird with red 'trousers' - a Hobby (Falco subbuteo). 

Finding some peace on a wire by the roadside, the much-hunted Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur). It is estimated that around 3 million are shot each year in southern Europe.

The park also contains wonderful wetland areas.

Wetland birds congregate here. Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia)...

...Squacco Herons (Ardeola ralloides)...

...and Pygmy Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pygmeus). They began breeding in park in 1991, and have since spread throughout Hungary.

Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) had arrived.

Two years before, in Israel, we saw a 'brown-spotted' Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) on its way to breed in Scandinavia or Russia. This 'white-spotted' will spend the summer in this part of Europe.

Sand Martins (Riparia riparia) flew in and out of their burrows in the sandy banks.

A family of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) had also made a burrow in the soft sand, and we watched the cubs sun-bathe on its edge.

Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) have been given a helping hand to nest.

Then south, across the border into Romania.

We travelled into the center of the country - the area surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains.

Here, traditional building blends in well with the surrounding nature.

There were reminders that the country was liberated from facism by the Soviets.

Romanians, as implied by the name and language, see their descent from the Romans - who occupied the area then known as Dacia (later to be the name of the cars produced here) - rather than being slavic like their neighbours.

The countryside outside of the towns seems to have avoided the green revolution. Much of it is covered by traditional hay meadows, full of wild flowers.

The fields are peppered with Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus), a plant semi-parasitic on grasses - which keeps them at bay, allowing flowers the space to flourish and shine like jewels.

A close relative of Yellow Rattle is Field Cow-wheat (Melampyrum arvense), also a semi-parasite of grasses.

White Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) shares a meadow with yellow Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis).

This orchid belongs to the Orchis Palustris group, and is probably O. elegans (based on distribution).

I believe this to be the Broad-leaved Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis).

This is the Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera bifolia) - as opposed to the Greater one.

A Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora).

Broomrapes are interesting plants. They lack any chlorophyll, having brown instead of green stems, and instead gain their nutrients solely by parasitizing adjacent plants with their roots (not incompletely as for Yellow Rattle). There are about 150 species globally - I've no idea which this is.

Flowers evolved to attract insects to pollinate them - most obviously butterflies. A Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea) feasts on a crucifer, though its host plants are in the pea family.

There's nothing like a bit of old poo to attract butterflies, and these Common Blues (Polyommatus icarus) are really tucking in.

The Blue-spot Hairstreak (Satyrium spini) uses Buckthorns as host plants.

An iridescent Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). 

A Green-underside Blue (Glaucopsyche alexis), also associated with plants of the pea family.

Age is taking its toll on Steve, and his eyesight and reactions are not what they used to be. In fact he's going a bit potty - using plastic pots to catch and observe butterflies. Here he has imprisoned an Osiris Blue (Everes decoloratus), a Mediterranean species which specializes on Sainfoins (Onobrychis).

A magnificent Hungarian Glider (Neptis rivularis), found from central and eastern Europe across to Japan. It will happily lay its eggs on the Meadowsweet.

A Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia) - very partial to violets.

A Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa), a grass-lover of central and eastern Europe.

The Large Heath butterfly is found throughout north and east Europe, but this is the closely related Eastern Large Heath (Coenonympha rhodopensis) - another grass-lover, restricted to local populations in south-east Europe.

To complete the grass-feeders, the Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania).

Doing a very good butterfly impression, a Speckled Yellow moth (Pseudopanthera macularia). Its larvae feed specifically on the Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia).

Here, the Common Buzzard reaches its most easterly distribution, and is replaced by the Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus) - with, as the name implies, a much redder beast.

Another natural born hunter, a male Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio).

The female sits nearby.

In the wooded areas, we got nice and close to what looks to be a juvenile Great-spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). 

Always welcome, a flash of yellow with a dreamy fluid song - a male Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus).

Jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) can be told from other 'crows' by the greyness of the back of their heads. The tone of grey varies geographically: in the nominate sub-species C. m. spermologus, breeding in western Europe, it is dark - whilst in C. m. soemmerringii, the population with the widest distribution from eastern Europe and the middle east through to Siberia, it forms a light collar. Breeding in-between, in central Europe, and intermediate in tone, is the nominate sub-species C. m. monedula. Romania is at the transition zone of C. m. monedula and C. m. soemmerringii. So which ones did we see?

In the east of the area, we found a wetland reserve.

Sedge Warblers (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) were calling from the reeds.

Another Cuckoo, maybe with its eyes on a Sedge Warbler's nest in which to rear its young.

We watched a Marsh Harrier, this time a female, taking bedding material back to her nest.

Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) also nest in this region.

In the nook of an old concrete post we noticed our second Little Owl. Note in its claws it has a crunchy meal in the form of a Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus).

At the edge of the water, what I think is an Edible Frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) - whose legs, as the name suggests, are served in restaurants in France. It is very similar to the Pool Frog and Marsh Frog - all three species living together in central and eastern Europe - but it is more elongated than the Pool Frog, with a more pointed nose and a tendency to be more green, and is smaller than the Marsh Frog. Species usually have two latin names, so why does the Edible Frog have three - what is kl.?

The Edible Frog is in fact a fertile hybrid of the Marsh Frog (P. ridibundas) and the Pool Frog (P. lessonae), formed when these species came into contact after geographic separation during the Ice Age. When isolated populations of animals come into contact, they usually either do not recognise each other or mate and produce infertile offspring - thus maintaining the populations as two separate species - or they mate and produce healthy offspring, and the populations merge into one species. So, how can a 'hybrid' species exist? The answer is hybridogenesis: populations of the Edible Frog clonally produce sperm and eggs with the genome of only one of the parent species - the Marsh Frog (RR) or Pool Frog (LL). If Edible Frogs mate, their offspring will usually be inviable from having a duplicate copy of the same genome - so they must mate with the species with the opposite genome to produce more hybrid Edible Frogs (RL). Species which need genetic input from another species to maintain themselves are called kleptons, or kl. for short. To complicate things, Edible Frogs may perpetuate alone in populations (EE) by their viable female offspring producing individuals with three sets of genomes (RRL or LLR) - though the impact from inviable hybrids makes this a less stable system.

On this trip we saw over 140 species of birds (including those best seen in the east of Europe: Lesser-spotted Eagle, Little Crake, Corncrake, Syrian Woodpecker and Sombre Tit) and 30 species of butterflies, as well as mammalian treats such as Brown Hares and River Otters. 

And that is the last of my lockdown BBC trip reminiscences. All subsequent trips were added to the blog in 'real' time. Soon the covid mists will clear, to reveal us travelling once again to some unspoilt corner of the globe to uncover what nature may be there.

BBC - united we sit.