The Alps and Lake Fertő
Austria and Hungary, 8 days


Our tour offers the unique combination of two totally different areas, the Austrian Alps and Lake Fertő. The mountains in the vicinity of Vienna are excellent for typical high-altitude alpine bird species such as Capercaillie, Hazel Grouse, Ptarmigan, Tengmalm’s Owl, Alpine Accentor, Nutcracker, Alpine Chough, Snowfinch and Citril Finch, as well as for mammals like Chamois.
The cross border Fertő-Hanság National Park shared between Austria and Hungary incorporates shallow Lake Fertő with its huge reedbeds, surrounding marshes, wet meadows and grasslands. These diverse habitats provide home to many sought-after species. Egrets and herons are found in good numbers, and Garganey, Red-crested Pochard and Ferruginous Duck breeds around the lake. Saker Falcon and Imperial Eagle have their westernmost breeding area here and the magnificent Great Bustard also survives.

Day 1
After arriving to Vienna we meet the English speaking Ecotours guide and drive towards our hotel, which lies at the foot of the Austrian Alps. In the in the scenic valley of the Schwarza Stream lies the village of Payerbach, our base for the next three days. Depending on the time of arrival we might explore the environments of our hotel where Hawfinch, Black Redstart and Dipper occur regularly.
Accommodation: Payerbach, Austria

Day 2
After breakfast we are on our way to Mt. Rax, one of the highest peaks in Lower Austria, a 2007m high limestone massif. Taking a cable car always depends on weather conditions, but if we are lucky we can make a trip to a plateau of 1500m altitude. Here we find ourselves in the middle of the beautiful alpine habitat, which is the best place to search for Alpine Chough, Common Crossbill, Redpoll, Water Pipit and Chamois. The area is excellent for wild flowers and butterflies, including the sought after Apollo, and we can spend plenty of time enjoying all the beauty around.
In the afternoon we will walk along the Schwarza Stream among mixed beech and spruce forests where we expect to see Black and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Crested Tit, Dipper and Grey Wagtail. There is a good Hazel Grouse habitat nearby, so we can make a little hike into the area.
Accommodation: Payerbach, Austria

Day 3
Today we take a wonderful route to another side of Mt. Rax where the dense spruce forest holds Three-toed Woodpecker, Capercaillie, Common Crossbill and Nutcracker. Tengmalm’s Owl was heard and seen here, so with a little luck we might encounter them as well. We will have our lunch here in a scenically situated restaurant with fantastic views on the surrounding mountains. During the afternoon we will walk further to another mountain hut to experience the richness of the alpine meadows. The effort will be hopefully rewarded by some of the typical species of the area, such as Alpine Accentor, Raven, Golden Eagle and even Ptarmigan.
Accommodation: Payerbach, Austria

Day 4
With a short drive from our hotel we approach the foot of Mt. Schneeberg. We might take a cable car (optional and subject of weather conditions) up to 1800 meter. The streams here are so clean that they provide a significant proportion of Vienna’s drinking water. Ptarmigan, Snowfinch, Citril Finch, Alpine Chough, Alpine Accentor, Golden Eagle and Chamois occur here, so we will surely have an excellent last day in the mountains before moving on to Lake Fertő.
Accommodation: Payerbach, Austria

Day 5
We travel to Hungary through little villages to arrive to the area of Lake Fertő. We will stay in the village of Hegykő in a very nice hotel with excellent cuisine. From here we will discover Europe’s westernmost alkaline lakes and the biggest reedbeds of Central Europe protected by the Fertő-Hanság National Park and Unesco World Heritage site.
In the habitat reconstruction area we have good chances to see White-tailed Eagle, plenty of waders and wildfowl including Garganey, Red-crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Avocet and Black-winged Stilt. The grey-headed subspecies of Yellow Wagtail breeds here in good numbers, and Red-backed Shrike is also common. We will look for Sousliks, which used to be the main prey of both Saker Falcon, and Imperial Eagle. This nicely looking little mammal is an endangered species of the short grass steppe. The national park manages gene poles of traditional Hungarian domestic animals such as the huge Hungarian Grey Cattle.
In the afternoon we will take a boat trip to explore some of the secretive shallow ponds among the vast reed beds of the huge Lake Fertő. Here we have good chances to find Moustached, Savi’s, Great and Common Reed Warblers, Bearded Reedlings, and we might enjoy close views of Spoonbill, Little Bittern, Bittern, Squacco and Purple Heron.
Accommodation: Hegykő, Hungary

Day 6
This day is dedicated to the various raptor species of the region including the sought-after Saker Falcon and Imperial Eagle. Red Kite, Honey Buzzard and Montagu’s Harrier are also possible. Close to the border of Austria and Slovakia we will search for the magnificent Great Bustard that has a small but solid population here.
Hanság is another very important habitat reconstruction area managed by the National Park. The wetland with its dense vegetation and dead trees shows us how the once huge marshland looked like 400 hundred years ago. River Warbler, Bluethroat, Marsh Warbler, Spoonbill, Purple Heron, Bittern, Little Bittern, Night Heron are all here and all three marsh terns are possible.
Accommodation: Hegykő, Hungary

Day 7
The programme is full of choices today. We might want to visit one of the beautiful palaces of the noble family of count Széchenyi in Nagycenk, offering special attractions such as the “English Park” with botanical rarities from 4 continents, but the area is also breeding site of Syrian Woodpecker and Golden Oriole. Nearby there is a long established Bee-eater colony. We will also have time to go back to the group’s most favourite site to have a final chance of finding some species we missed during the previous days or simply to enjoy a relaxing afternoon around our hotel.
Accommodation: Hegykő, Hungary

Day 8
After a morning walk to the shore of the lake we travel to Vienna Airport. Depending on the flight schedule on our way we can stop at a scrubby area to search for Barred Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat.