Hungary is a European paradise for migratory birds
Hungary lies on one of the most important routes of the north-south autumn and spring bird migration
– reported Ádám Ezer, a Körös–Maros National Park ecotourism employee of our paper. He added: currently, almost 25,000 cranes are still resting in the Southern Great Plain, at the Fehér lake in Kardoskút.
Péter Csonka, a Tata wild goose chase its main organizer, the head of the landscape unit of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, pointed out: mainly the extensive agricultural environment drives the bird migration, so the Carpathian Basin is an important wintering place for wild geese interested in the tundra, since the birds interpret the former forest areas as large pastures.
The most important aviary
The evening sighting of the majestic, large birds as they soar into the sunset with outstretched, long necks and distant cooing calls is impressive.
Ádám Ezer recalled the unusual sight of cranes.
The birds nesting in the northern swamps of Europe, mainly from the Baltic states, travel four to five thousand kilometers to Hungary. Before they move on to their wintering grounds in North Africa, they spend several weeks every year in our nature conservation areas of particular importance, including at Fehér-tó in Kardoskút, which is one of the most important bird resorts in the Carpathian Basin in spring and autumn.
If we have a good year and the lake hasn’t dried up, the number of cranes reaches 20,000, but this year more than 30,000 birds arrived
– reported Ádám Ezer, an employee of the Körös-Maros National Park, adding: the goal is not to beat records, but to assess the intensity of the procession and the features of the area.
Tiszántúl’s wetlands function as important bird shelters, home to hundreds of thousands of breeding and nesting species during the migration period, so thousands of wild geese, wild ducks and flocks of ducks can also be observed in the area. The employee of the national park also explained that the richness of the area is also enhanced by those bird species from the north, for whom we are the south: such as our wintering blue grebe, short-eared buzzard, great watchdog or small falcon.
On one of the largest contiguous patches of wasteland in the Southern Tisza, the maintenance of the lawn is solved by grazing with gene preservation in mind: thus passers-by can regularly encounter gray cattle, herds of cicadas or rack sheep.
He revealed: the wetlands of the Körös–Maros National Park are also important because their number has drastically decreased throughout Europe in the last century. It is not a coincidence – he emphasized – that the international agreement called the Ramsar Convention was created for their protection, and the naturally formed, saline White Lake also falls under its scope.
Ádám Ezer said that it was a breeding species in Hungary in the period before river regulation and swamp drainage, which is now only present as a species, while nowadays they migrate twice in larger numbers, in autumn and in our country. The latter migrate at a faster pace, as they hurry back to their breeding grounds in the north, to Sweden, Finland and Poland. However, in the fall, together with the crane boys, they go to their well-established thousand-year-old stations to rest.
These picturesque flocks can be observed at dawn and dusk as they descend from the surface of the lake to the surrounding stubble for food – mainly corn kernels – and back.
The employee of the Körös–Maros National Park mentioned as a special feature that in the last 10-15 years there are not only overwintering crane groups in Hungary, which do not migrate to Mediterranean North Africa, but groups that have been vacationing since the nineties can also be observed.
The directorate of the Körös–Maros National Park holds a crane party every Saturday during the November period, when the staff of the nature conservation service waits for those interested with telescopes and binoculars, said Ádám Ezer. – THE safe monitoring the key is calmness, as this is the only way to maintain the bird’s paradise.
Geese are symbols of loyalty
About two thousand wild geese came back from the cornfields to rest on the water of the lake, when we asked Péter Csonka, the main organizer of the Tata wild goose event, about the birds stationed at the Öreg-tó in Tata.
Birdwatching and bird monitoring have been going on at the lake for almost forty years, this is Hungary’s best-researched area for wild goose breeding
– introduced the head of the landscape unit.
Since the eighties, we have been counting the birds every two or three days, this year around fifty thousand geese have arrived.
As he said:
the breeding grounds of flocks consisting mainly of mallards and summer geese extend beyond the Arctic Circle, they nest in northern Siberia and the northernmost part of Scandinavia, sometimes traveling six to seven thousand kilometers to the Carpathian Basin.
– The birds resting at the Old Lake get hungry after waking up, then they gather in flocks of thousands and go to their feeding places. At this time, the lake is almost empty, and at noon 10-12 thousand geese come back to rest – the chief organizer reported on the habits of the migrating birds.
Péter Csonka also talks about the idea of five or six people behind the last, 22nd wild goose event in Tata, which is a meeting point for birds and nature conservation without a sausage atmosphere. He recalled:
they wanted to pay tribute to the geese, which make a huge migration. He emphasized: geese are symbols of loyalty, as this is shown both in pair loyalty and in their territorial attachment.
– Not otherwise during their movement, because the wild geese fly with attention to each other, in a characteristic V shape that helps them move.
The leader bird flying in front creates an air vortex for the others, so the birds in the back don’t get so tired, which is why another goose always replaces the leader in a tiring situation, so that he doesn’t get hurt. Geese flying behind encourage those in front with a loud cackle. Thus, in a group, it can only travel more than seventy longer distances than if a single pair of lds were flying. Wounded and sick geese are not left alone either, two hold them together and stay with them until they recover or die
During their migration, the birds visit resting places in the hope of rest and food: without these, they would not be able to survive the long journey, so it is important not to disturb them in these areas – pointed out the head of the landscape unit.
The magic of indentation
– On the occasion of the wild goose event, we will present the equipment park necessary for bird watching, we will also explain the programs, actions, conservation work and the results of bird and nature conservation – announced Péter Csonka.
– We present many elements of environmental awareness at the lakeside event, which moves almost 15 thousand people every year.
Today, wild goose hunting is concentrated on six or seven weeks, as small group wild goose tours have been launched, which nature lovers can sign up for until Christmas.
The expert emphasized: the uniqueness of Tata’s Old Lake and the event lies in the fact that the wetland is located in the heart of the city. The settlement surrounds the approximately two square kilometers of water in the shape of a horseshoe. – On the other hand – continued the main organizer – it is the largest nature conservation event in East-Central Europe, which is also unique in the world, as it is organized on a voluntary basis and is carried out by state and civilian, credible nature conservation specialists.
– The draw-in is always the highlight of the event – revealed Péter Csonka – the other programs are encores, so people can spend a whole day in Tata.
When the geese arrive in the evening, and ten thousand of us silently and intently listen to their sound, presence and movement on the shore, that gives the greatest strength to our work and our passion
he said.
Cover image: wild geese on the shores of Lake Öreg (Photo: István Győrffy/Zalai Hírlap)
