Days 1-2

We start our tour in Kiskunsag National Park, an hour’s drive from the aiport. It is probably the most “Hungarian” national park—if such a thing exists. Like Hortobagy, it is mostly grassland, yet the two parks are distinctly different, with Kiskunsag being the more diverse—a mix of lakes, sand dunes, dry forest, villages, and farmland.

Our tour includes a special visit to Peszerpuszta Forest, an area often described as an entomological Mecca of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Due to its proximity to Budapest, this site was among the first in Europe to be extensively explored by naturalists.

Peszerpuszta gained early fame around 1830 for its extremely isolated—and presumably endemic—population of Esper’s Marbled White. Known then as f. clotho, this rare butterfly existed in just two highly localised spots. These small patches of habitat became pilgrimage sites for famous collectors, including many British entomologists whose vivid descriptions filled the pages of The Entomologist and other journals.

We will trace the footsteps of these historical figures, including Margaret Fountaine (who visited in 1898), Charles Rothschild (with his Hungarian wife), and Frohawk, all of whom detailed their challenging journeys to this remote spot. Sadly, the Esper’s Marbled White went extinct here in 1913 due to a tragic combination of climate change, canalisation, and overgrazing.

While you won’t need an oxcart and two days to reach Peszerpuszta from Budapest today, we will certainly take our time to savour the environment and the beautiful drive. This visit offers a compelling look at the history of European entomology and serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of conservation.

The forest became well-researched and many of Hungary’s best moths and butterflies, including Rhyparioides metelkana, Chondrosoma fiduciarium, Porphyrinea pannonica, which were discovered here. Now there is a bold and extensive conservation project try to recover the forest to its original glory, (https://oakeylife.hu/en/main-page/).

Here, we will be lamping in the most beautiful part of the forest among old oak trees and sandy dunes, looking for Staurophora celsia and many other autumn species. During the afternoon, en route to the forest we will have plenty of time to stop and enjoy the stronghold of Great Bustards. One of the local wardens will join us here and make sure we visit the best areas as we scan the plains and farmlands for these spectacular birds.

We will also have a good chance to see Gray Partridge, Eurasian Thick-knee, Eurasian Curlew, Black Stork, Imperial Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Mediterranean Gull, Long-eared Owl, Syrian, Middle Spotted, Eurasian Green and Black woodpeckers, Long-tailed Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, and lots of shorebirds on the abundant alkaline lakes. It’s also the historical spot, where probably the last reliable sighting of Slender-billed Curlew happened in 2001.

Overnight in Kiskunsag NP.

Days 3-5

The Hortobagy: Heart of the Hungarian Puszta. From Kiskunság, our journey takes us to Hortobágy National Park, Hungary’s first and arguably most famous National Park. This vast area is the legendary Puszta, or “Prairie”—in reality, the westernmost extension of the great Asian Steppe.

Part of the Hungarian Great Plain, the Hortobágy is known for its immense, flat horizons and the shimmering Fata Morgana (mirages) that historically captivated travellers.

Established in 1973, this is a World Heritage National Park that preserves the unique Puszta habitat, complete with its famous mirages of trees, church spires, and villages on the horizon.

Many first-time visitors are surprised by the park’s character—you won’t find main entrance gates or large fences here. The area consists mostly of working farmlands, small woodlands, and lakes. However, these are not typical farms; they are strictly controlled and carefully managed. The Hortobágy is famous throughout Europe for demonstrating a successful model where wildlife conservation and farming exist side by side within the protected landscape.

Here we will be lamping for moths in two different habitats, both dominated by oaks, and one of them holding a large population of Gortyna borelii. From local experts we will also learn about the conservation of the species, and other projects run for the benefit of butterflies by the National Park, including Scarce Fritillary and Woodland Brown.

This 800 km2 alkaline steppe lowland is a stopover point for thousands of migrating birds, which feed peacefully among the herds of the endemic Hungarian Gray Cattle and twirl-horned Racka Sheep. The air is loud from the trumpeting mass flocks of Common cranes, feeding on the roadside maze fields, and wherever you look, geese and other birds adorn the sky.

We will also see Imperial Eagles, Saker Falcons, Red-footed Falcon, Pygmy Cormorants, Bearded Tits, Long-eared Owl, Dotterels and Red-breasted Geese with luck, and many more. This is a prime migration, so anything can show up from almost 350 species recorded so far in the National Park.

We will drive out in early morning to the roosting site of the cranes, where a good two hour spectacle will be enjoyed, watching the thousands of cranes flying out from the lakebed to their feeding grounds, hopefully in a beautiful sunrise, something you will never forget!

O/N in Hortobagy NP.

Lajos Nemeth is a freelance zoologist from Hungary. He has been designing and leading tours for 25 years and has led more than 100 to date. Lajos started as a naturalist by becoming a birder at the tender age of 7. He quickly expanded his interests to butterflies by the time he was 11. His interest and knowledge grew rapidly, and he published his first scientific paper on butterfly conservation before grammar school.

As an adult he has been a member of at least 15 entomological expeditions, in Turkey, the Himalayas, Taiwan, and North Africa. These have resulted in more than 200 species new to science (Noctuidae mainly).

Lajos was also an early contributor for the “Prime Butterfly Areas” and the “Mapping European Butterflies” projects. He also spent years on fly and dragonfly-research, and as a keen birder still holds the record of species on one tour in Eastern Europe (254 species).

He has organized several of the European Butterfly Group – Butterfly Conservation (EBG-BC) fundraising tours to Eastern-Europe, and further afield, to places such as Uganda and Madagascar.

In addition to exploring his own country, Lajos has carried out fieldwork in Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. He loves to go back to his favourite spots very often, but has also travelled to some very remote spots, including Tibet, Sudan, Libya, southern Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Comoro Islands, Yemen (incl. Socotra) and more. He also feels home in Egypt and Ethiopia, where he spends his winters and guiding photography, deep desert, scuba diving, and birding-safaris.

To follow later