Postcard from Hungary

Phil is... currently enjoying Hungary.

The emphasis of the trip is on bats, many different roosts have been visited so far this week from small roof spaces and chimneys to natural cave roosts.

Any late summer trip in Central Europe is going to throw up some great encounters with splendid creatures. We visited one chalk grassland area that was hooching with wartbiters (Decticus verrucivorus).

A first for me was an adult common spadefoot, recorded after rain in Aggtelek NP one night. There are very few records for the park apparently.

Another great find was the Carpathian purple slug (Bielzia coerulans) - here in rather drab autumn plumage.

Dragonflies get a look-in of course. This Orthetrum brunneum was a nice year-tick and we are hoping for many more species when we hit some steppe plain wetlands later on in the trip.

Visiting so many bat roosts is a rare privilege, we have seen 13 species at roost or in the hand so far. Grey long-eared bat gets the comedy award.

Take me to your leader.

Reptiles are proving surprisingly elusive but sand lizards have performed, alongside common wall and green lizard.

La glorieuse Loire

On our recent trip to France, we were allowed just half a day on the Loire on 28/7, instead of our planned 2-3 days. We had a great afternoon though and are keen to go back. Our first look at a river was a lunch stop on the Vienne at L’Île Bouchard which produced some interesting Odo’s, with Erythromma lindeni taking pride of place, alongside Calopteryx splendens, Platycnemis pennipes and Onychogomphus forcipatus. Later the kids swam at the confluence of the Loire and Vienne whilst I poked about along the bank. Amongst the numerous Onychogomphus forcipatus we did see one (probably female) Ophiogomphus cecilia. But the view was brief and no photos… Also here a single Lestes viridis and yet more Erythromma lindeni. A great insight into the joys of dragging on the Loire, I hope we return.

My first European Erythromma lindeni turned up on the Vienne and the Loire.

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Platycnemis were common along the Vienne.

Lestes viridis were on the wing along the Loire.

Onychogomphus forcipatus were very common along the Loire and Vienne, diligent searching produced a frustrating fleeting view of my first Ophiogomphus.

Number 2 found this big European mantis (Mantis religiosa) along the riverbank.