Hungary Ramsar wetland
Lake Balaton
106 bird species recorded; the most in December.
Olga1969 · CC BY 4.0
This month here
50 species in January.48 species in February.0 species in March.48 species in April.44 species in May.37 species in June.42 species in July.40 species in August.34 species in September.22 species in October.27 species in November.61 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VU
VU
No records for this month.
VU
NT
VU
VU
VU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
106 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 106Speciesrecorded more than once
- 48Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 1,272Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 104 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 5Raptors
- 5Waders
- 8Gulls & seabirds
- 16Ducks & geese
- 8Herons, ibises & grebes
- 49Songbirds
- 15Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 106 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- White-tailed EagleHaliaeetus albicilla
Waders5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Gulls & seabirds8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Pontic gullLarus cachinnans
- Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Common GullLarus canus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus
Ducks & geese16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Greylag GooseAnser anser
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Ferruginous DuckAythya nyrocaNT
- GadwallMareca strepera
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Lesser white-fronted gooseAnser erythropusVU
Herons, ibises & grebes8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Microcarbo pygmaeusMicrocarbo pygmaeus
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
Songbirds49 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
- Great titParus major
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Eurasian Penduline TitRemiz pendulinus
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
- Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Bearded ReedlingPanurus biarmicus
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Marsh TitPoecile palustris
- Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
- HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- Rock BuntingEmberiza cia
- Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
- Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Crested larkGalerida cristata
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- European SerinSerinus serinus
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
Other birds15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- CootFulica atra
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- European Water RailRallus aquaticus
- Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis
- Syrian WoodpeckerDendrocopos syriacus
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martius
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in December.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan2°/-4°36 mm
- Feb4°/-3°40 mm
- Mar10°/1°41 mm
- Apr16°/6°35 mm
- May21°/11°67 mm
- Jun26°/15°69 mm
- Jul28°/17°62 mm
- Aug28°/17°66 mm
- Sep22°/12°66 mm
- Oct16°/6°54 mm
- Nov9°/2°46 mm
- Dec3°/-3°42 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Lake Balaton.
Freshwater lake in Hungary
Lake Balaton is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Hungary.
106 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 1,272 open records.
The most recorded are the Mallard, the Mute Swan and the Black-headed Gull.
19 species come for the summer, 28 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
3 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard, European Turtle Dove and Lesser white-fronted goose.
The most species are recorded in December.
Get there and watch
- Levendula kemping (FKK)campsite · 3.6 km · 12 within 10 km
- Sir David Balaton Castle Hotelplace to stay · 5.8 km · 242 within 10 km
- Zánkanearest town · 3.6 km in a straight line
- Hévíz–Balaton Airport (SOB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 46 km in a straight lineCar hire at BUD airport (Budapest)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 2marked trails within 4 kmS (Kapolcs, am. – Zánka, há.), Z, Kinizsi Pál-turistaút
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 3restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 12campsites within 10 kmLevendula kemping (FKK), Balatonakali Strand-Holiday Camping, Vadvirág Kemping and 9 more
- 242places to stay within 10 kmSir David Balaton Castle Hotel, Kazincbarcika Város üdülője, Sport Üdülő and 239 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Lake Balaton.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas17 mountains within 25 kmVég-máli-hegy · 6.6 kmTarlóra-hegy · 9.1 kmTóti-hegy · 15 kmCsobánc376 m · 17 kmGulács393 m · 17 kmSzent György-hill415 m · 21 kmKülső-Somogy · 22 kmKab Hill · 22 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmBelső-tó0.3 km² · 14 km
Cavernyas4 caves within 20 kmBarátlakások · 14 kmTihanyi Forrás Cave · 15 kmKapolcsi Pokol Hole · 15 kmLóczy Cave · 18 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Lake Balaton
Hungary
- 56Birdyas Score
- 106Species
- 48Migrants
- 3Threatened
Velence and Dinnyés Nature Conservation Area
Hungary · 72 km
- 87Birdyas Score
- 234Species
- 144Migrants
- 10Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6383) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 1,272 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas, Cavernyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
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canyons
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dark skies
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viewpoints
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birdwatching
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