The Pallas's Fritillary, a true oriental species © Rob de Jong

With a group on one of the cliffs in the Bukk mountains © Rob de Jong

Camberwell Beauty © Jan Trapman

Purple Cloud, a rare English migrant, but common in our garden © Rob de Jong

Aglais tau, rarely in the traps, but common in the surrounding Beech forests © Rob de Jong

Some look for the perfect composition, others want to catch a rare moment, such as ovipostion from this fantastic long horn beetle (Rosalia alpina) © Rob de Jong

Everybody wants to take a Large Copper! . © Rob de Jong

Trip Reports

Moth and Butterfly Festival 2010

Butterfly Photography

With Farm Lator you can travel in a modern, independent way. Relying on our comfortable base, taking (or not taking) part in our quality excursions, you can tailor your own personal holiday. But you can also oldfashiondly travel a week or longer with a private group or a package tour. See the information below on this page (individual or with a group)

Individual

Many independent travellers have visited us through the years. They appreciate our formula. Anybody is free to participate in our day-trips or meals OR to just find his/her own way (supplied with detailed information) and be self-catering. Last but not least our guests have appreciated our prices, which do not compare to those of travel agencies.

Next to specialized excursions, Farm Lator offers a place to stay for anybody with a broad interest in authenticity, culture and nature. Furthermore, it is possible just to relax in the stillness of our village. We offer anybody the possibility to see something extra. That can be experienced birdwatchers, but also somebody who just started or even wants to start watching butterflies. But it is, naturally, your own choise whether or not to participate in our excursions.

In general, our tours and excursions include only the Hungarian part of your journey. Which means that you have to travel to Hungary by yourself, by car, train, bus or plane. We do not take care of transport to and from Hungary. We do give information about the best way to travel, by car, by plain and by train and can come and pick you up at the nearest trainstation in Mezokovesd (30 km). Once you are registered, you will receive detailed information how to travel to our accommodation by car or public transport.

The period from 10-25 July 2010 is specially reserved for individual guests and private groups that prefer to focus on moths and/or butterflies. Because of the great succes we call it the moth and butterfly festival.

The themes of the excursions and target species are listed below.

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With a group

Next to individual arrangements, Farm Lator offers varied possibilities for private groups, as well as for Tour Operators. When you want to visit us with a private group, just contact us to discuss the program and other important details. To get an idea of our tours, read the descriptions of our bird-, butterfly- and nature/culture tours as listed in the menu. Or read the trip reports. Or ask for detailed itineraries and observation lists of previous tours.

Farm Lator also works as an agent for several Dutch, Belgian, German and English travel organisations. With them we co-operate in specialized bird and butterfly tours, but also in more general nature tours. If you are interested in such a tour, please contact us for details.

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Excursions

In general the excursions take only one day. In some cases, we might stay a night somewhere else.

-Birds Target species: (depending on the time of the year) Great Bustard, Saker Falcon, Red-footed Falcon, Eastern Imperial, Lesser Spotted, White-tailed and Golden Eagle, Roller, Bea-eater, Hoopoe, White-backed, Black and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Collared and Red-breasted flycatcher, Great White Egret, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, Black Stork, Pygmy cormorant, Barred Warbler, Common Crane, Penduline-, Bearded Tit, Whiskered-, Black- and White-winged Black Tern and many more.

-Butterflies Target species: Southern Festoon, Clouded Apollo, Common and Scarce Swallowtail, Hungarian and Common Glider, Purple Emperor, Lesser Purple Emperor, Camberwell Beauty, Large and Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell, Cardinal, Pallas's, Scarce, Dark Green, High Brown, Weaver's, Knapweed, Marbled, Lesser Marbled, Queen of Spain, Lesser Spotted and Twinspot Fritillaries, Duke of Burgundy, Woodland Brown, Woodland, False, Great Banded Grayling, Dryad, Large, Scarce Large, Alcon, Green-underside, Chequered, Geranium, Anomalous, Osiris, Eastern short-tailed, Turquoise, Meleager's, Chalk-hill, Eastern Baton Blue, Large, Lesser Fiery, Purple-edged Copper, Orbed Red-inderwing (or Hungarian), Safflower, Chequered Skipper and many more.

-Plants Target species: (depending on time of the year) Orchids: near Farm Lator you can find Orchis coryophora, Orchis morio, Orchis purpurea, Cephelanthera longifolia and rubra, Neottida nidus-avis, 2 Epipactis species. Cypripedium calceolaria is rare but traceable. Several protected, dry grassland Iris species (graminaea, variegata, sibirica etc.), several Feathergrass (Stipa ssp) species and other species that are rare in Europe: Lilium martagon, Campanula sibirica, Echium russicum, Allium flavum, Dictamnus albus, Centaurea pannonica, Cirsium pannonica, Aconitum anthora etc.

Persons interested in more details about fauna and flora could contact us for more information. We have also information about amfibians, reptiles, mammals and other groups of insects.

-Walking (in the Bukk Mountains and on the plain of Borsod Mezoseg)

-Charcoal burner *

-Lime burner *

-Baroque town/Hungarian history *

-Thermal baths *

-Wine cellar *

-Caves

*(more info about these excursions on the cultural page)

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Spring bird tours

Spring is beyond doubts the best period to watch birds. Most birds have arrived from their winter-grounds and are actively preparing themselves for the season. The short vegetation in the fields and the still open canopy in the forests make birdwatching more comfortable. Great Bustards, for instance, are in summer often hidden behind tall grass. A common bird like the Hawfinch is difficult in summer but in springtime easy to observe. This goes for small birds as Barred Warbler, Moustached Warbler and Collared Flycatcher as well. In summer, these birds are hidden in shrubs, reed or canopy, while in springtime perching on visible places.

An incredible number of birds is waiting for us around the fishponds, swamps and plains on the so-called 'pusta'. Thanks to conservation efforts, exciting species with an 'eastern' distribution have increasing numbers. The chance to observe an Imperial Eagle or a Saker Falcon increases year by year. It rarely happens that an excursion day passes without them. Unfortunately the Red-footed Falcon, through unclear causes, is decreasing, but they are still so common that we never miss them during a visit at the plains. This holds with regard to the Exotic Roller, Hoopoo and Lesser Grey Shrike as well. Great Bustards are uncommon, but local guides help to find them. During the spring and autumn bird tours we have always observed them.

At the natural marshes and fishpond the bird spectrum has additive and opposite quality. Opposite in the sense of different biotopes. The variety of birds altogether is striking. Not rarely, within the same short moment, real steppe birds are observed next to herons and ducks. All European herons (beside Cattle Heron) occur and can be seen in sometimes funny numbers. Even the elusive Bittern and Little Bittern show up regularly. Purple Heron, Spoonbills, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Night Heron and Squacco Heron are common species. The Glossy Ibis has small but increasing numbers. The Pygmy Cormorant is invading Middle Europe. Hungary has already more then 200 breeding pairs. In addition, all threeEuropean marsh terns can be observed together regularly. Lust but not least, White-tailed Eagles force us to check the sky now and then.

A week in Hungary is not complete without a visit to the northern hills. Beside Three-toed, all Woodpeckers occur. The White-backed is the rarest, but we frequently succeed to trace it. Wryneck, Lesser- and Middle-spotted Woodpecker forage in the garden of your accommodation. It is a treatment to wake up with the melancholic song of the Grey-faced Woodpecker. Red-breasted Flycatchers occur in the same valleys as White-backed Woodpecker. Luckily, this small and elusive bird has a remarkable song. The Collared Flycatcher lives in these dark, old valleys as well, but is much more common and, following its short and soft song, easy to observe in any older forest. The presence of the Imperial Eagle on the open plains of Hungary, proves that it is an opportunist. Originally, it breeds in extended, remote forests. We have a good chance to encounter them in the hills. Next to Imperial, we hope to catch a glimpse of Golden, Lesser-spotted and Short-toed Eagle as well.

Destinations: These spring tours bring us to Bukk mountains (2 days), Borsod Mezoseg plain and wetlands (1), Kesnyeten floodplain (1), Zemplen mountains (1), Hortobagy plain and wetlands (2).

Highlights: displaying Great Bustards

Target birds: Great Bustard, Saker Falcon, Red-footed Falcon, Eastern Imperial and Golden Eagle, Lesser Grey Shrike, Roller, White-backed, Black and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Collared and Small Flycatcher, Great White Egret, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, Black Stork, Pygmy cormorant, Barred Warbler etc.

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Autumn Bird Tours

In october, 70,000 or more Common Cranes fly and walk around in the plains and fishponds, heading for their final destinations in winter. Shortly we could call it the Crane Spectacle, but there is more to get exited about in this period. This is also the time to see rare migrating shorebirds as Whimbrels, Slender-billed Curlews, Marsh Sandpipers and Phalaropes. With the flocks of Greylag Geese, tens of thousands of Bean and White-fronted Geese and many ducks roost on the water and on the surrounding shortgrass steppe. Lesser White-fronted and Red-breasted geese are also frequently spotted. In addition, Long-legged and Rough-legged Buzzard, Merlin and Pallid Harrier might be spotted. Also during these autumn tours there is a good chance for Saker, Imperial and White-tailed Eagle and Great Bustard.

We will spend also two days in the hills, where we search for Imperial Eagle and White-backed Woodpecker. Rock Bunting, Syrian, Grey-headed, Black, Green, Lesser Spotted and Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Raven won't be too difficult to find. There is also a chance for Eagle Owl. The scenery here in this period is amazingly colorfull.

Destinations: The autumn tours bring us to Hortobagy plains and wetlands (3 days), Borsod Mezoseg plains ant wetlands (1), Bukk mountains (2), Aggtelek mountains (1).

Highlights: high numbers of Cranes flocking into their roosts.

Target birds: Common Crane, Great Bustard, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Long-legged Buzzard, Saker, Imperial Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, White-backed Woodpecker, Hazel Hen.

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Butterfly tours

Click here for an extensive and illustative report on a butterfly tour in July 2006.

NE Hungary has an extremely rich Butterfly Fauna. This richness, paradoxically, is partly a result of vanishing traditional land use. Within some decades, as anywhere else in modern countries in Europe, (almost all) cattle disappeared from the extended and extensively grazed meadows. As a result, the succession of the vegetation has a climax now, with high numbers of flowers and a large variety of structural elements (rocky parts, short grass, tall grass and shrubs), offering an abundance of nectar and protection for insects, without being disturbed by grazing animals. On short term, this development is beneficial for insect populations, most strikingly displayed by butterflies. Long term development depends on many aspects, of which the most important is future usage of the abandoned fields. Here and there small parts are conserved by National Parks, but most of the land has private owners. Butterflies have, in comparison with birds, not much status in Hungary. Despite this, the Hungarian Nature Conservation works hard to focus attention on these fields, which often form a buffer around and an ecological infrastructure between the protected Nature area's.

The richness of butterflies is expressed in quantity as well as in quality. Both common species as Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and rare species as Anomalous Blue show very dense populations. Next to grassland butterflies, species from forest edges and forest roads are extremely abundant. In july, the most common species in or near forests is the Silver-washed Fritillary. A much rarer species of comparable habitat is Pallas's Fritillary, but also this one has high population densities. It is an exiting experience to distinguish it in flight from the other Argynnis species, that fly around in even higher numbers. It is striking how many Large Coppers or Dryads you can see on one day. Depending on the season a large number of species (90-100) can be observed in a week. Please ask for observation lists of previous tours or read the trip reports. Species with a more or less eastern distribution are printed in italics in the target list below. Destinations: Butterfly tours lead us to the best spots in Bukk (3 days), Aggtelek (2) and Zemplen (1). Usually, a day at the plains is added to the Buterfly Tour, merely to increase variety of landscape. Here our focus will be on steppe-birds. Highlights: Southern Festoon, Clouded Apollo, Hungarian Glider, Pallas's Fritillary, Anomalous Blue, Dryad etc. Target species: Clouded Apollo, Southern Festoon, Common and Scarce Swallowtail, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Chequered Skipper, Safflower Skipper, Orbed, Red Underwing Skipper, Silverwashed Fritillary, Pallas's Fritillary, Twinspot Fritillary, Assmann's Fritillary, Lesser Sotted Fritillary, Scarse Fritillary, Marbled Fritillary, Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, Weaver's Fritillary, Knapweed Fritillary, Lesser and Freyer's Purple Emperor, Hungarian and Common Glider, Large Blue, Green-underside Blue, Checkered Blue, Geranium Argus, Turquoise Blue, Meleager's Blue, Chalk-hill Blue, Scarce Large Blue, Alcon Blue, Eastern Short-tailed Blue, Osiris Blue, Lesser Sotted Blue, Anomalous Blue, Lesser Fiery Copper, Large Copper, Purple-edged Copper, Purple-shot Copper, False Grayling, Dusky Meadow Brown, Woodland Brown, Woodland Grayling, Dryad etc.

Moths tours

(Both individuals and groups can subscribe for this event)

Click here for trip reports with observation lists.

Through the years we have studied the nightlife at our domain more and more intensively. Our English guests were the first to be enthousiastic about the Moths in our gardens. Great Peacock, the Orache and Oak Hawkmoth are just a few spectacular examples that can be found in our moth-traps. In our orchard, garden and surroundings you'll find more then you dream of. We run two moth-traps, with incredible results. For example: Oak Hawkmoth, Willowherb Hawkmoth, Orache, Lewes Wave, Great Peacock, Toadfax Brocade, Lewes belle, Scarce Merveille du Jour, Ochraceous Wave, Scarce Hooktip, Pine Lappet, Black-veined Moth and many more. Read the trip reports for observation lists.

Butterfly and moth festival

(Both individuals and groups can subscribe for this event)

The period from 10 - 25 July 2010 is specially reserved for individual guests and private groups that prefer to focus on moths and/or butterflies. We invite anybody with a wish to observe a large variety of moths and butterflies to stay over for a week or so. The last weeks of June and the first weeks of July are traditionally the best weeks for lepidoptera. A very promising happening with each year many English rarities and migrants. For special species that are not found in the garden or the near surrounding, there will be special (facultative) day trips with guidance. Observation lists are available on request. Read the trip reports.

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Butterfly photography

(Both individuals and groups can subscribe for this event)

Each year we dedicate a week to the fastest growing hobby in the world: photography and videography. Very few visitors do not bring a camera nowadays. Some make pretty nice pictures with a small compact, others have purchased a top-end mirror reflex camera. All of us enjoy making pictures, but it is not an easy thing to do. Color, light, composition, to get them all right can be a difficult task. You might want to improve your skills or just share your passion for photography with others. Then join the photography week. Videographers are very welcome too. We do not only see butterflies. Plants are challenging objects too. If you are interested just drop us an e-mail.

Nature-Culture tour

Our mixtures of nature and culture have proved to be ideal for non-specialised nature lovers, with a broad interest for nature in general and the culture of the country and region. The program changes every year, but we'll surely have great walks in beautiful landscapes. You'll see something from the endless spacious pusta and the magnificent forests in the hills. We will walk through quiet abandoned fields (nobodiesland), vineyards and pay attention to flowers, butterflies, birds and anything else crossing our paths. As you can read on our cultural page, in this region some intriguing handcraftworks survived modern technical developments. We will surely visit the lime- and charcoalburners of Bukk National Park. Furthermore, it is unavoidable to enter some of those hundreds of handmade little wine cellars. This is a nice way to get in contact with the local community, to learn something about the local history and of course a good opportunity to taste the richness of God's earth. The prettiest town of Hungary is Eger. This great baroque city will be visited as well and tells a lot about Hungarian history. Destinations: Bukk mountains (4 days), Borsod Mezoseg plains and wetlands (1), Eger (1) Highlights: Beautiful landscapes, surprising handcrafts, baroque city, Southern Festoon, Clouded Apollo, Red-footed Falcon and Imperial Eagle Target species: Large and Scarce Copper, Common and Scarce Swallowtail, Chequered Skipper, Weaver's-, Lesser Spotted, Heath- and Twinspot Fritillaries, Green-underside-, Eastern Short-tailed- and Large Blue. Red-footed Falcon, Golden Eagle, Roller, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Great White Egret, Black and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Collared Flycatcher, Great White Egret, Squacco Heron, Night Heron, Black Stork

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Children holidays

Each year, a week is dedicated to children with their parents. Families from Belgium, the Netherlands and Brittain will join to have an incredible mixture of fun and nature. Please contact us for details. If you are interested, let us know.

Other Central European countries

We have developped a network of contacts in Poland, Slowakia and Rumania.Our local guides and accommodation work on the same standards as Farm Lator in Hungary. Roughly, the tours in Poland focus on birds (Owls, Grouses and Woodpeckers), butterflies (observationlists are available) and or mammals (Bison, Elk, Chamois, Marmot, Beaver, Otter, Eastern Polecat, Spotted Shouslik, rodents etc). In Rumania we have developped programs with Brown Bear, special Mountain Birds (display of Capercaille, Hazelhen) and more general itineraries with birds, butterflies and culture. In Slowakia we have outstanding posibilities to observe illusive birdspecies as Pigmy Owl and Tengmalm's Owl, Hazelhen and many more mountainous spesies as well as excellent bearwatching hides with an almost guarentee to see Brown Bears. Anybody interested in a description, observation list or other details of such tours should just contact: Rob de Jong, farmlator@hotmail.com or telephone: 0036 49 336133

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