Day in Slovakia

In the morning we checked the small mammal traps with 1 wild field mouse and 2 striped field mice. We saw middle spotted woodpecker around Jasavo and we also saw Wild boar and roe deer.
We visited a bat roost in an Orthodox Church where there greater and lesser mouse eared bats as well as 20/30 Geoffray's bats. The church interior was richly decorated with ceiling and wall paintings.
On the drive to Slovakia we stopped at the border which runs down the middle of the road. The border apparently divided up the old hungary meaning that most of the towns are Hungarian speaking, rather than Slovakian. Scanning round w saw 3 Buzzards and an Eastern Imperial Eagle.
A stop along the road at a natural 'rock garden' with house leek, yellow leek, eastern short-tailed blue, Wood White, Small White and Map.
We went for a Walk in the Szadeloi gorge with great views of Dipper and Asarabacca along the stream and Lesser Purple Emperor and White admirals in the car park. Half way up the gorge is a limestone peak known as the Tooth because of it's shape.
After lunch we drove up to Straseena where we checked the shutters in several house for roosting bats. Eventually we were very lucky to find Northern bat and Particoloured bat behind some upper floor shutters. There was also Mountain Pansy and a pink along the edge of Lake Dedinky.
We ate dinner in Rozsnyo which has a lovely medieval square before driving along the edge of a stream to set up the mist nets. Very quickly we were catching Noctules with Serotine, Schrieber's and 1 Grey Long-eared bats.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hortobagy and on to a Forest School Centre

The plan was to check some dormouse boxes before breakfast but it was raining when we got up so we postponed to later. Following another lovely breakfast we packed the van and set off up the hill to the laundry again. We walked the small canal looking for salamanders. Sandor found the first one and after that there were several sitting on the stones and even on the top of the wall. We saw 7 in all. There was a Pipistrelle in the bat roost box and then we set off in the opposite direction along a footpath. Sandor climbed up the bank and checked about 10 boxes but there were nothing there. We walked back down to the hotel as Sandor drive round to pick up a forgotten bottle of wine.
We set off South towards Hortobagy stopping at a derelict building in a small wood where there was a significant roost of Mediterranean Horseshoe bats. The building is in a very dangerous state and badly needs some money spent on it just to protect the bat colony.
In the fields we found an Oberthur's skipper, browns, and some flowers before re-boarding the van for the drive to Hotobagy with a quick stop in Milosvic to get my sandal stuck and my bag handle sewn up.
We arrived at the landing stage at about 6.00 and met the captain of a small, very comfortable motor boat with padded cushions and a carpet. He took us out for a ride through the river


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Churches and Church attics.

A quick walk round, breakfast and then off to an old church Blopotravia, within the National Park with Peter, a friend of Sandor's, who works in the national park. The key was huge and the inside of the church was very simple with a blue ceiling painted with stars and just a pulpit, no altar.



We climbed the wooden stairs into the roof space where there were several Mediterranean Horseshoe bats.
On to another church at Banhorvati with smaller, darker spaces which was quite cosy.
A third church at Nekezseny held a mound of poo which Sandor and friends remove about every 2 years.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad