Central Europe November 2025
- Bob Croxton
- Nov 21, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Hungary November 2025
Place names in brackets are where I stayed the night.
More editing and photos to follow.
Thursday 6 November (Bratislava SK)
Arrived at Bratislava 30 minutes early at 6.25 pm, took longer than usual through immigration, as they wanted a face photo and finger prints, but at least I am now registered on the EU system. Picked the hire car up and checked into the airport hotel for the night. This leaved me just enough time to get the bus into the centre of Bratislava and do a small pub crawl.
Friday 7 November (Radošina SK)
Sunny and clear
Vodná nádrž Budmerice SK
Very little water and a lot of mud on the top reservoir. The low sun as I looked accross the adjacent fishpond to the south made identifying the distant wildfowl impossible.
Yellowhammer, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Linnet, Jay, Tree Sparrow, Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Yellow-legged Gull.
Vodná nádrž Kráľová, Šoporňa SK
Mallard, Coot, Blue Tit, Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Wren. Clouded Yellow butterflies still moving south.
While driving
Hooded Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, Magpie, Common Buzzard, Woodpigeon.
Oresany Airstrip
Very quiet compared to past visits, the arable field had been ploughed right up to the airstrip leaving little of the weedy strips favoured by birds.
Kestrel only new bird.
Saturday 8 November (Radošina SK)
Cloudy then rain from mid-morning.
Sokolovoce, River Vah, oxbows and reservoir.
Great White Egret, Kestrel, Mallard, Goosander, Chaffinch Cormorant, Long-tailed Tit (White-headed type), Jay, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Grey Heron, Yellowhammer, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Wigeon, Hawfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pheasant, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Hooded Crow, Goldfinch, White-tailed Eagle, Brambling, Red Squirrel, Coypu, evidence of Beaver activity including a large poplar tree where they have gnawed through a third of the trunk.
Sunday 9 November (Radošina SK)
Overcast all day
Vodá nádrž Krtovce
Third winter Caspian Gull, Male Hen Harrier.
Vodá nádrž Hajná Nová Ves
First visit to this reservoir about a 20-minute walk from the nearest road, down a lane flanked by some good scrubby areas. Unusually there was a lot of hawthorns full of berries. This had attracted good numbers of Fieldfare and Blackbirds, plus a few Brambling and Collared Dove nearby. The water level of the reservoir was well down, new birds Green Sandpiper and Teal.
Svrbice
As on almost every autumn visit over the last 10 years a Great Grey Shrike on the overhead power lines.
Monday 10 November (Lednika SK)
Overcast all day
Maninska Tiesňava Gorge
Spent around three hours here, hoping for Wallcreeper, no luck again on my third visit here. First Grey Wagtail.
Tuesday 11 November (Lednika SK)
Misty start becoming brighter.
Lednika
House Sparrow, Sparrowhawk in the village. A long morning walk through Beech and spruce forest was very quiet apart for Ravens regularly flying over. Afternoon family walk up a steep hill found little other than more Ravens, a Great Grey Shrike and Red Deer.
Wednesday 12 November (Muténice CZ)
Another misty morning.
Spent an hour around Lednika Castle and rock faces hoping for Wallcreeper, but no luck again. Only new bird this morning was a Grey-headed Woodpecker. An uneventful drive to my apartment for the next two days at Muténice Czechia. As I neared my destination which is surrounded by fishponds the first geese skiens flew over. Later in the dark on a walk to the pub, the Merlin app identified Greater White-fronted Geese.
Thursday 13 November (Muténice CZ)
Overcast and cold
Jarohnĕvicky Fishponds CZ
Little other than Cormorants and over 60 Great White Egrets on the main lake. All identified Gulls Yellow-legged. Mallard only duck, Little Grebe. Greylag and White-fronted Geese flying over. Many Blue and Great Tits, plus brief view of a Marsh/Willow Tit. Tree Sparrow flocks, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Muténice Fishponds CZ
One Pochard and a few Tufted Duck amongst the Mallard and Coot. Confirmed from photos Marsh Tit, but little else.
Hodonin Fishponds CZ
Mute Swan and Mallard only wildfowl present, with plenty of Great White Egrets and Grey Herons. One of the ponds had been drained attracting hundreds of gulls, Caspian, Yellow-legged and Black-headed. Two Red Kites, Long-tailed Tits (White-headed type) plus more Marsh Tits
Drove back to my apartment via back lanes finding a smart sub adult Sparrowhawk on the way.
Friday 14 November (Hodonin)
Pastviska u Lednice CZ
Great Grey Shrike, Red Kite, two Egyptian Geese flew-bye
Hlohovec Fishponds CZ
Two lakes had been drained and a road closure meant little access to the other.
Lednice Castle Park and lake CZ
Hawfich in top of the same spruce tree I photographed one in 2017. A few Gadwall in with the many Mallard and Wigeon. Kingfisher and Green Woodpecker only new species. An adult White-tailed Eagle flew over the park, just as I was leaving.
Saturday 15 November (Hodonin, CZ)
Skalické Fishponds SK
Drove back into Slovakia to visit these ponds that are known to have Bean Geese, unfortunately the main lake had been drained and only held a small flock of Teal and an assortment of Larus Gulls.
Hodonin Fishponds CZ
A return here to do a two-hour complete circuit found the same as before plus the first trip Bullfinches.
Muténice Fishponds CZ
An uneventful two hours spent here found nothing new.
Sunday 16 November (Hodonin, CZ)
Lednice/Hlohovec Fishponds CZ
Early mist and rain, becoming sunny
A walk around all 3 lakes. Pintails, immature White-tailed Eagle, Red-crested Pochard, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Goldeneye, a different Woodpecker call checked out on the Merlin app as Syrian. An island on the middle lake held a few Pygmy Cormorants amongst the many Greats. By midday thousands of White-fronted Geese had gathered on the most northerly lake. Red Kites.
Monday 17 November (Fertod H)
Left Czechia to drive south through Austria to my next destination in Hungary. Very heavy rain for most of the drive. The Seawinkle lakes held decent amounts of water.
For the rest of the trip for economical reasons, I stayed in Fertod Hungary and drove back and forth over the border into Austria.
Darscho A.
Greylag, Mallard, Great White Egrets, Grey Herons and the first trip Lapwing and Marsh Harrier.
Fertõ Hanság H.
Lot of Reed growth here in recent years, making viewing difficult. New trip birds Common Cranes, Shelduck and Shoveler. Marsh and Hen Harrier along with many Buzzards and Kestrels.
Tuesday 18 November (Fertod H)
Raptor Tuesday, 8 species observed.
Sunny but much colder
Just before I crossed the border from Hungary into Austria a huge distant flock of Cranes were noted, down in an arable field.
Tedten/Andau Plains, Austria
24 Great Bustards, most seem to have been females, feeding in long grass. Good size flocks of Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer and Goldfinch. Plenty of Buzzards and Kestrels plus 2 Sparrowhawks, no eagles or harriers.
Zicksee A.
Thousands of White-fronted Geese on the lake and surrounding fields. Male Syrian Woodpecker. Male Pintail, Marsh Harriers.
Plains near Apetlon A.
Soaring immature White-tailed Eagle and my first ever Red Kite in this region. Then a male and ring-tailed Hen Harrier.
Fertõ Hanság H.
Huge flock, tens of thousands White-fronted Geese on the lake. Three Curlew flew over. Adult Eastern Imperial Eagle. At least 2 White-tailed Eagles kept spooking the geese, Most then flew off East by sunset. Followed by a large flock of Cranes flying West.
Wednesday 19 November (Fertod H)
Minus 3c Sunny and clear
Fertõ Hanság H.
Many White-fronted Geese moving East at sunrise.
New trip birds when 3 Glossy Ibis flew over South, Common Gull, Pygmy Cormorant, Great Grey Shrike, Reed Bunting. Off to a good start with raptors again, Buzzard, Kestrel, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Marsh/Hen Harriers, Red Kite all in the first hour.
Raptors
Zicksee H.
4 Pygmy Cormorants, A Ruddy Shelduck, not sure how genuine this is? There is a large feral population in Germany, but its not too far from the Eastern Europe wild population. Adult Imperial Eagle.
Darscho A.
First trip Meadow Pipit and a close flock of 49 Curlew.
Plains near Apetlon A.
Five Hen Harrier sightings, White-tailed Eagle, plus numerous Buzzards and Kestrels.
Fertõ Hanság H.
Uncountable numbers of White-fronted Geese, several Hen Harriers and a possible Black Kite.
Thursday 20 November
Clear becoming overcast
Tedten/Andau Plains, Austria
On the way into Austria many large skiens of geese flying east with a few smaller flocks of Cranes. My first Red Kite in this area brings the total number of raptors I have seen here to 10 species. Apart from the usual good numbers of Buzzards and Tree Sparrows, a male Hen Harrier which flew low over c20 Pheasants, which took no notice at all, was all of interest.
Danubiana SK
A last scan of the trip at this huge hydroelectric dam found nothing new. Large flock of Tufted Duck and more Tree Sparrows. Evidence of Beavers trying to cut down a large tree by the side of the dam.
Arrived back at Bratislava Airport at 1145 for my 1310 flight back to Manchester. You now have to have your face and fingerprints scanned at the exit border control. Chaos at platform 13/14 at Piccadilly as trains were delayed and passengers built up, my train only had 3 instead of 6 coaches, just manged a seat, but many standing.
Butterflies
Peacock, Clouded Yellow, Unidetified whites?
Dragonflies
Common Darters some mating.
Mammals
Red Deer, Roe Deer, Coypu.
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