Bagamér, Hungary (Bagamér, Ungarn) (Bagamér, Magyarország) 01.2018.

I visited the Valley of the Kék-Kálló and the Daru Hills of Bagamér, parts of the Natura 2000 Networkon the first day of the year.  Place: Bagamér. Date: 01.01.2018.

Mire of Álmosd, Hungary (Moor von Álmosd, Ungarn) (Álmosdi Daru-láp, Magyarország) 08-09.2016.

The wet meadows of the Daru Mire of Álmosd in the southernmost part of the Nyírség Region are remnants of the postglacial period, when former river valleys were closed by sand dunes. It has many relict plants of cooler eras. It is located next to the even wetter Mire of Kokad and both are parts of the Kék Kálló Valley Natura 2000 area. Location: Mire of Álmosd. Date: 08-09.2015.

Maddalena Archipelago, Sardinia (La Maddalena, Sardinien) (Maddalena-szigetek, Szardínia) 05.2013.

The islands of the Maddalena Archipelago are located north-east of Sardinia and are only accessible by boat. There are some pleasant, small villages here but most of the archipelago is in the territory of a national park named Parco nazionale dell'Arcipelago di La Maddalena. Crystal clear waters, beaches with pink sand, granite coastlines formed by the wind and the sea, small forests and interesting flora and fauna make this place fabulous. Place: Caprera Island. Date: 01.05.2013.

Sarandë District, Albania III. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien III.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia III.) 09.2012.

We spent our last days in Albania between the villages of Kulluricë and Kodër. The landscape dominated by only 100-300 m high mounds is spectacular (and there is a nice view on the hills of Corfu), the vegetation was diverse even in the autumn and we managed to find many reptiles and arthropods here.

Sarandë District, Albania I. (Kreis Sarandë, Albanien I.) (Sarandë járás, Albánia I.) 09.2012.

We spent the second half of our Albanian field trip in the southernmost part of the land. We drove to Sarandë and from there through the Butrint National Park (Parku Kombëtar i Butrintit), which is famous for its archeological sites of different eras. First, we stopped near Shkallë to search for reptiles. This landscape differs greatly from the mountainous, forested areas we visited earlier during the trip. It is covered by maquis shrublands and of course the fauna is also different.

Kelemér, Hungary (Kelemér, Ungarn) (Kelemér, Magyarország) 09.2011.

In the middle of September I went on a cycling tour to the Aggtelek National Park in north-eastern Hungary. I took all my photography equipment with me, because I wanted to take some pictures in the unique peat bogs of Kelemér and at a little lake in Jósvafő. I started my tour in the town of Putnok and cycled up towards the peat bog. There are two such bogs close to each other near the village called Kelemér, and both of them are strictly protected. There are very few peat bogs in Hungary and these are the easternmost ones. The bogs are hidden in a dense forest and inside them so many trees (Downy Birches, willows, poplars) are growing that it is quite easy to walk past them without even noticing them. That is probably one of the reasons that these bogs remained quite intact throughout the ages. They are truly unique habitats in Hungary, where climate and the lack of high mountains do not favour the persistence of such bogs (see here).

South Nyírség, Hungary (Süd-Nyírség, Ungarn) (Dél-Nyírség, Magyarország) 08.2011

On the last day of August we drove out from Debrecen eastwards, towards Újléta, to a characteristic sandy habitat surounded by lowland forests and agricultural landscape. On the way we stopped at the Fancsika lakes where we searched for insects and spiders using a sweeping net in the patches of swamp habitats and the cattail vegetation by the water. Even here numerous spectacular species were found that I've never seen before, but the real sensation was found during the night-lamping.

Bugac-Puszta, Hungary (Bugac-Puszta, Ungarn) (Bugac-Puszta, Magyarország) 08.2011.

In the middle of August, with some friends we traveled to an area of the Great Hungarian Plateau quite well known among tourists: the Puszta. We spent 2 days in a nature reserve called Bugac-Puszta near the village of Bugac. The nature reserve is part of the Kiskunság National Park, which is in turn part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. There are characteristic sandy plains and patches of White Poplar - Juniper woods which form a floristic association. The climate is arid and very hot in the summer. These characteristics and the unique fauna make Bugac-Puszta an excellent destination for nature photographers (but the best time to travel here is probably not August).

Košute, Dalmatia, Croatia (Košute, Dalmatien, Kroatien) (Košute, Dalmácia, Horvátország) 05.2011.

We visited a sandy, dry area in Middle Dalmatia, near Košute, where we found some interesting animals, mostly under rocks. Location: Košute, Trilj. Date: 24.05.2011.

Trogir, Dalmatia, Croatia (Trogir, Dalmatien, Kroatien) (Trogir, Dalmácia, Horvátország) 05.2011.

In Middle Dalmatia we found a fascinating flora and fauna, a part of which I’ll try to present in this post. We searched through the hills surrounding Trogir, here the landscape is mostly characterised by arid slopes with large rocks, mediterranean plant communities, and an insect fauna typical of arid areas. Location: Surroundings of Trogir. Date: 23.05.2011.