Since we're deprived of woodland (and wildlife) in the UK, I've long had my heart set on visiting the continent in the spring to immerse myself in a soundscape of orioles, warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers and the like. Last year, we opted for Faro and coastal birding - this year, having started a permanent job in October, I was desperately in need of a holiday by April having taken close to no leave since starting. Trips to Bulgaria and Poland fell through, and interests in nature + a bit of geography/history/culture pushed me towards central Europe. I was keen to visit Austria for some gentle urban-ish birding and tourism. Wanting reliability and stress-free organisation, Charlie was my go-to man, and was planning to visit the same area for hiking regardless. A few calls and several hours of research later, we had hyped ourselves into choosing where, when and roughly what we wanted to do. Initially, I planned to tourist for half the trip on my own - I was pleased to find that Charlie was keen to join for the full week, so no solo travel would really be at all involved.
We had divided the trip into 3 stages. The first few days would see us start in Bratislava, Slovakia, followed by a couple of days birding/hiking around Lake Neusiedl in Austria, before finishing in Vienna. There seemed to be plenty of easily accessible urban wildlife-watching spots by public transport, so we agreed that a car wouldn't be necessary.
Xeno Canto Recordings https://xeno-canto.org/set/12421
Part 1 - Slovakia:
Day1:
Some usual issues arose prior to departure, but fears of disruption thanks to tube strikes were successfully avoided, and we both reached Stansted on the morning of the 22nd without disaster. We were in Bratislava by mid afternoon, and first impressions of the city and surrounds were overwhelmingly positive. A helpful lady at the airport guided us towards the bus stop, and the journey from the airport then took us through some bright and tidy suburbs. Bar leaving my cap on the plane, we reached our Airbnb in good spirits, so after a bit of food and caffeine, went for a local stroll into the Old Town, Castle and along the Danube.
From our Airbnb to Bratislava Hrad [the castle and area], we had our first of many Firecrests, Black Redstarts and Tree Sparrows of the trip. A male Pied Flycatcher was a sign of things to come and the easiest trip target for me, a bird I'd never seen in spring. Such smart things, this one showed well briefly around the castle's perimter. Looping back round towards the Danube, we located a few Goosanders flying to roost, and our first Pygmy Cormorant of the trip, a lifer for Charlie. House Martins, Swallows, and common migrants such as Blackcaps were already plentiful, leaving us more than satisfied for what was just an evening stroll. The old town seemed quaint, tidy and just quite pretty. There was a nice bustle to the place, without feeling overwhelming.
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| Bratislava |
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| Svijany beer |
Day2:
As happens when visiting a new place, we were itching to get out again, which is why on the first day, we were up early and left the city immediately.
It made sense, while cooler and birdy'er, to make the most of the early mornings by getting out early and then sightseeing later on. Having crashed early the night before, we opted for a train at 630am to get to a recommended nature reserve north-west of the city. Devinske Jazuro was a mozaic of ecosystems adjacent to the Morava river, a tributary to the Danube. As well as wetlands and marsh, the area held floodplain woodland and scrubland, so was unsurprisingly rich in biodiversity. Our day was momentarily held up by a slightly bizarre train station, where the bridge across was still in the process of being built, so we had to walk a little way back round and reorientate from there (though half the people who got off trains just walked straight across the tracks). Lesser Whitethroats amused us throughout the trip, seemingly being only a garden bird - the first and only of the day was rattling away in the garden of the nature reserve's conservation group. Cuckoos, Yellowhammers, Marsh Harrier, Black Kite and Stonechat were then found in the first fields on route to the reserve.
At this point, the Nightingale-fest also began. An interesting bird, perhaps a Thrush Nightingale in hindsight, gave us the slip, but replacing the niche Robins fill at home were Common Nightingales seemingly occupying every other bush. It was quite remarkable - for us, hearing their powerful song bouncing around and through the landscape never ceased to be a treat.
From the moment we reached the floodplain forests, the birding picked up immensely - lifers and new species came thick and fast, from Middle Spotted Woodpecker to singing Collared Flycatcher, with a supporting cast of Grasshopper Warbler, Wryneck, Marsh Tit etc. A bend on the river with a hint of mud held Green and Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, and later, 2 Garganey, Gadwall, Great and Little Egrets. Arriving at the entrance to the reserve and circular loop, we were greeted by our first Wood Warbler of the trip, alongside White Stork, Savi's Warbler and Turtle Dove. It was rammed with wildlife, leaving us with a difficult choice of two routes. Opting for anticlockwise ruled out crakes for the day, but was the right decision. Tree Pipits [30] tzeeped overhead, before raptors started to appear, with Imperial [2] and White-tailed Eagles [3] the pick of the bunch. Later, a Goshawk and a female Hen Harrier were seen once the wind picked up, but not before we came across a flock of 30 Whinchat (mostly males) and a male Redstart feeding together in a meadow. Most were quite skittish, but views were still fantastic. A flock of Whinchat is not something I've seen before.
Failing to find Great Snipe, we continued to be serenaded by Nightingale, a disturbed Tawny Owl, and much more in the woodlands which enclosed the floodplains. Walking back along the main path saw us bump into a pair of showy Black Storks, a new species for Charlie, and another welcome trip tick. We were more than happy with our efforts at this point, but it all kicked off again at the entrance. Newly arrived [c.15+] Bee-eaters were feeding up, whilst we got a fine performance from a Black Woodpecker, another of several woodpecker targets. Our walk back was interrupted repeatedly by quite a few other species, most notably 2 male Montagu's Harriers which moved through North. We had our first Golden Oriole cat-calling also. Butterflies were still a tad thin on the ground, but fritillaries such as Glanville and a sp from the Swallowtail family (Southern Festoon) was new for me.
Our afternoon and evening was mostly quite relaxed, taking a stroll after dinner to explore more of the old town and suburbs. We were again impressed by the city, enjoying several viewpoints and landmarks such as Stavin, a war memorial monument for Soviet soldiers from WWII.
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| Devinske Jazero |
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| Pearl-bordered Fritillary |
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| Devinske Jazero |
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| Black Stork (CM) |
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| Devinske |
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| Poplar Hawkmoth |
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| Whinchats and Redstart (CM) |
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| Whinchats (CM) |
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| Whinchat (CM) |
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| Whinchats (CM) |
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| WTE (CM) |
Day3:
On the 24th, following our blueprint from the day before, we got the bus for a morning hike along the Danube. Learning that everything, including schools, started earlier, we reached Hamuliakovo by bus by around 730am. The town was SE of Bratislava, offering scenic views along the Danube. Ideally we'd be biking along here, but my dodgy ankle came to be a nuisance once again. Instead, we spent the morning and early afternoon trudging up and down the cycle paths which connected the towns here with the city. Once again, there was wildlife everywhere, both on the river, and in the greenery lining the Danube. We surpassed over 90 species by the time we left.
The end goal we'd set was reaching an area which had been quite wadery. To get there, we passed [customary Lesser Whitethroat and Nightingales] habitats including woodland, scrubland and reedbed, as well as of course the river. Out 'offshore' were over 200 Little Gull and a handful of Black Tern feeding. Every other reed stem seemed to have a Great Reed Warbler clanging away, to the point they went from being a target and lifer to Charlie, to a bird that became part of our internal soundscape. The same could be said for Penduline Tits, several of which were nest-building so showed especially well. Passerines otherwise included Savi's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whinchat, Redstart, Golden Oriole.
Swifts [200+] and 2 Hobby arrived over the Danube mid morning. A male Black Woodpecker showed why many compare them to crows in flight. Reaching the wader spot saw us rewarded with 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, a well-twitched rarity duo it transpired. The wader location was packed with c.115 Ruff, Spotted Redshanks, Temminck's Stint, Wood Sandpipers, Caspian Tern, 2 White-tailed Eagle, 2 Garganey and more were tucked away feeding in this more sheltered corner too. An adorable family of Goosander had Charlie happier than anything else did (apart from the balls of joy that were the white-headed Long-tailed Tits). Wildlife was everywhere, including when we started to saunter back in the afternoon heat. A Grass Snake clipped by Charlie had a snap at my leg, making me jump. A dash into a woodland revealed several Collared Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Wood Warbler on territory.
By 1pm, we were ready to return for an afternoon of sightseeing in Bratislava, with a sprinkling of coffee and beer for me. It was much busier than expected in town, so we sat back and enjoyed the afternoon from a bar, allowing me a chance to work my way through some booze like Svijany, my favourite beer of the week, cheaper than water. The old town was lovely - I found it such a pleasant city to spend time in, and recommend it immensely.
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| Little Gulls (CM) |
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| Black Woodpecker (CM) |
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| Pygmy Cormorant (CM) |
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| GRW (CM) |
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| White-tailed Eagle (CM) |
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| Red-breasted Merganser (CM) |
Day4:
Our Airbnb host kindly agreed to a slightly later checkout, so we took a 15 min bus into the hills to the north of the city for a gentle morning's stroll. It was the most forested area I'd been to in Europe, a vast tract of deciduous woodland extending up Northeast from Bratislava. It was stunning, and full of a number of species I'd gone to Europe hoping for.
By the time we left at 10am, we had enjoyed breakfast to a chorus of 30+ Wood Warblers, Golden Orioles, Common Redstarts, 25+ Collared Flycatcher, Hawfinches, Pied Flycatchers, Willow Warbler, Firecrests, etc etc. Some of the main targets were Woodpeckers, particularly White-backed Woodpecker. We gave this species a fair bit of time, eventually tracking down a female, which offered us a good but brief view. It was amusing as this was found by following drumming, the White-backed being at the end of the woodpecker rainbow. However, our familiarity with the woodpeckers and their vocalisations were not so strong, and this drumming was more like Grey-headed than White-backed. We did also manage Black, Middle Spotted, possibly Lesser Spotted, as well as of course Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers before heading back.
Post-lunch and refuel of energy, we departed Slovakia, and moved across the border to Austria. We'd managed a healthy mix of birding and sightseeing by this point, so in reflection, had started the trip perfectly. 120 species of bird was far more than we'd anticipated for the week let alone first few days.
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| Such good woodland |
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Part 2 - Neusiedl NP:
From lunchtime to mid-afternoon, we travelled from Bratislava to Podersdorf am See, a scenic Austrian town on the eastern edge of Lake Neusiedl. We'd been expecting this to be the actual birdy part of the trip rather than the Bratislava leg, so arrived at 330pm (via Spar) with high hopes after a bus-train-train-bus - this cost around 20 euros, and about 2.5hrs of travel door to door. Our journey saw us see constant Marsh Harriers, Deer and Hares (mammals were so abundant I can barely recall what and when we saw them, just that there were lots).
We planned to have an early dinner, then set off for an evening stroll before an early night. As I rested, drank tea, read dissertations and watched a male Pied Fly from the window, Charlie went for a run, returning extremely excited having found a wader puddle. The evening was subsequently quite eventful - we reached Murphy's puddle stopping regularly en route, particularly as Charlie made some friends on the way down. Ironically, Murphy's puddle seemed inferior compared to the actual wader puddle a few hundred metres further down. There were probably well over 250-300 waders crammed into this tiny flooded field, consisting of mostly Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and Redshank. A supporting cast of Avocet, Black-tailed and [very rare there apparently] Bar-tailed Godwits, LRP, Dunlin, Garganey, Black-winged Stilts, Lapwings, Whimbrel, Curlew, Snipe and Spotted Redshank. A Little Crake was singing at dusk, and Charlie picked up a Long-eared Owl hunting. White Stork, Montagu's Harrier, Savi's Warbler, Wryneck, Little Gulls were all noted too. For us, a certain sort of dreamland.
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| Wader puddle at Neusiedl |
Day5:
The birding day, where we planned to walk down to Illmitz and the core conservation areas of the National Park. Slightly disappointingly, we had gotten unlucky with the weather, it was fairly gusty with the NW being not so good for migration either. We started quite well nonetheless, highlights including a rogue, late White-fronted Goose, a few Turtle Dove, and many waders still sheltering/arriving on the wader puddle (not Murphy's puddle), and another lagoon nearby with a hide. Little Gull were on the move, as were Golden Oriole - we managed at least 4 on vismig that morning, which was pretty cool to see. Spoonbill and Syrian Woodpecker were new, everything else remained roughly the same as the previous night. Most water bodies, wooded areas and fields were full of wildlife, despite the wind.
Adding yet more miles to our day, we opted to go towards an area with a hide/paths overlooking reedbeds and more sheltered lagoons. There was no Moustached Warbler or Bluethroat for our efforts, but plenty of Bearded Tits, 2 Ferruginous Ducks, 1 Little Crake, Hobby etc etc.
The main target otherwise was Red-footed Falcon, and we had a known spot in mind for lunch. We arrived by 12ish, managing Curlews, Yellow Wagtails and a fleeting glimpse of a RFF we feared to be all we'd get. But as we settled down, I picked up a male, which did the kind thing and returned to not just circle close overhead with Kestrels, but also land and display at the known nest site. We were treated to a pair interacting as we ate and relaxed a bit. Wigeon were added, and a male Redstart + 2 Hoopoe arrived 'in-off' as such over the southern corner of the lake. Ready to end the core of our day, we wandered slowly back to Illmitz, where our Burgenland card got us a free bus ride back to Podersdorf. Kentish Plovers were yet another notable addition along the journey to Illmitz, as were Whinchats, a Ruff in a horse field and White Stork. Pretty shattered with 20km or so racked up, we took it easy for a few hours.
Enthusiasm unfortunately got the better of us, so rather than call it a day at 40,000 steps already, a 3.5hr break saw us return to the wader puddle area for the evening. Charlie went ahead whilst I had a bit of local red wine (the best I've had) and did a bit of sound recording. The evening was actually quite special in the end. The wind died down, so waders were all starting to become extremely active. A clearly migrant Scops Owl piped up for a minute in a bush next to the lake's edge, as did a male Long-eared Owl. And not forgetting the fact that Nightingales were all in full song, as well as several hundred Swallows gathering pre-migration. A European Hedgehog was an addition to the mammal list, and was my first alive ever (a depressing thought). To top it off, I went to bed to a soundtrack of duetting Long-eared Owls outside the window, alongside an odd Little Owl and yet more Nightingales.
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| Spotted Redshank (CM) |
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| Hoopoe (CM) |
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| Yellow Wagtail (CM) |
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| Nightingale (CM) |
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| Green Toad (CM) |
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| Red-footed Falcon (CM) |
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| Podersdorf am See |
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| Burgenland 'Great Bustard wine', recorder, birds |
Day6:
Our final morning birding for the trip. The weather overnight was conducive to a bit of migration, switching to clear, light westerlies. 9+ Hoopoe was indicative of there being things to see and find. Swift, more waders, several Black Terns, 19 Ruff, 5 Cuckoo, 5 Temminck's Stint, Med Gulls, Caspian Tern, booming Bittern, singing Wryneck, Golden Oriole, 15 Nightingale, 4 Pied Fly, 2 Redstart, Wheatear, 15 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Whinchat, Tree Pipit etc etc were all new arrivals.
Dragging ourselves back against our will saw us rewarded on the edge of town - a flycatcher corner (sunny, sheltered spot) held 4 Pied Fly, a Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove, and a brief Red-breasted Flycatcher for Charlie, which I missed. As we waited for our bus a little later, Bee-eaters went North with hirundines, and there was evidence of butterfly-migration. Dozens of whites were battling E/NE across the lake, an impressive sight. Podersdorf, I was reassured as being quintessentially Austrian, was lush and peaceful. I found it such an enjoyable part of the trip, full of birds, wine and beautiful scenery. Swallowtail butterflies were a species we never tired of either. We attempted to watch Bee-eaters at a colony, finding only the colony and not any birds.
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| Lighthouse at Podersdorf am See |
Part 3 - Vienna:
We reached our budget Ibis in Vienna at 4pm, after a bus-train-tram. Vienna already looked to be a pretty and organised city, so we spent the evening wandering from the hotel in towards town. Our first walk took us into a green space nearby [Prater park and surrounds] which was also nice and forested. Mandarin and plenty of woodpeckers kept us happy. Before going into the city centre for the evening and for dinner, we decided to give one last throw of the dice to some birding, hoping for something like Icterine Warbler or Red-backed Shrike on the island in the centre of the Danube. Donauinsel looked to be nothing too special, but we arrived with a tiny bit of optimism, which over the course of the next hour declined bit by bit. We were still however serenaded by Nightingale, showing just how common they were. Otherwise, there wasn't much so we decided to cut our losses and turn back to the Metro [worth mentioning, the transport was superb, with buses, trains, trams, metros, good walking routes etc etc].
At this point, Charlie spluttered a few noises, and I turned to see a male Red-backed Shrike staring us in the face only about 10-15 metres away. It was quite amazing urban birding, central city with just some bushes on the Danube, and a bird we spent the whole trip hoping for lit up by the evening sunshine. Possibly one of the moments of the trip, as we were extremely chuffed that our punt paid off. The bird had surely arrived that day, we were fortunate it popped out momentarily at that exact moment. We wandered back in good spirits once the bird disappeared, via evidence of beavers, and a sunset with Swifts screaming overhead. A quick pop around the centre of Vienna saw us reach a few tourist spots, but we planned to save the rest for the final 2 days.
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| Red-backed Shrike (CM) |
Day7:
Using the template set for the duration of the trip, we opted to spend the late morning and afternoon touristing, before heading out for a proper meal to celebrate the trip, and enjoy some Austria cuisine. Before this, we were hoping to give Black-bellied/European Hamsters a go. It was quite bizarre how known Vienna was for these, quite a few I spoke to beforehand were aware and recommended looking for them. A known location for them was the nearby central cemetery, arguably an interesting place to visit regardless, but particularly saddening given current affairs and a sense of history repeating itself. It was surreal to be looking for wildlife here in some ways, but it was clear why so many did - there were Red Squirrels, Black and Syrian Woodpeckers, singing Wood Warblers[7], Pied Flycatchers, Whinchat, Golden Oriole, Sedge Warbler all within the cemetery grounds. We did, eventually, track down a single Black-bellied Hamster in the old Jewish quarter. It was a shame to only see one given how cool it was, with this one individual showing well particularly for me.
For much of the rest of the day, we took it easy and visited as many of the sights as we could. It was never going to be enough time to see much of Vienna, besides a very surface level outlook of the city's history and culture. I did enjoy this nonetheless, and can very much imagine revisiting just for these, as well as food, coffee, beer, wine which were all very appealing too. Wildlife took a backseat for the remainder of the day, with Short-toed Treecreeper in the Schlosspark Schonbrunn the final addition (a spot I'd recommend for lunch and views). My pork Schnitzel dinner and pint felt a deserved way to end, even if not being let into the pub to watch football later on was a tad disappointing.
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| Cemetary |
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| Beaver action |
Day8:
My flight back was mid afternoon so I could be back home by the evening, meaning we still had the morning and early afternoon to wander around and soak up urban Nightingales and Wood Warblers one more time, as well as some pastries, coffee and Viennese sights. A bit of gift shopping brought the trip to a close for me, but not for Charlie who had another week or so of Austria to look forward to. He was convinced he'd not get to 160 sp, before annoyingly smoking it with lekking Black Grouse, Crested Tits and more.
All in all, a trip that exceeded our expectations and then some - the 100sp + relaxed sightseeing became relaxed sightseeing +156-157sp, an unprecedented diversity. It was however the abundance that was extra special, reminding me of my trip to Bulgaria a few years ago. Seeing so many of species such as Wood Warbler, Nightingale, Wood Sand, Ruff, Little Gull, woodpeckers, mammals etc etc was exactly what I envisioned C Europe to be, a refreshing contrast to home. Being able to do this all by bus and train from the two cities was absolutely ideal, a trip that from Western Europe is so easily doable by green means in its entirety - if I knew as much about the transport now as I did when planning, and perhaps less of a financial constraint, I'd certainly have done so. Otherwise, a final thanks to Charlie, who was the ideal travel companion who made the trip as easy and enjoyable as it could have possibly been.
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| The main missing target taunting us... |
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| Vienna |
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