Experience report from the 2026 Eagle Census
The education of children is also very important for our association. Here is a short report from Torda Benedek, an 11-year-old young birdwatcher, in which he shares his experiences and lessons learned at the eagle census organised in January this year.
In the morning, we gathered in a pub. We divided the teams and decided who would go where. We headed to our area and started watching the sky. First, we saw an eagle, then one by one, more eagles appeared.
We also saw a Great Grey Shrike, and we drove a lot of off-road vehicles. Unfortunately, another group found a dead Rough-legged Buzzard. We took pictures of the snowy landscape, saw lots of pheasants, rabbits and deer. Meanwhile, Attila told us that a few years ago, they had seen dozens of vultures. We didn't see any this time, and unfortunately, no Black-winged Kite either. This is a bird like a kestrel, but bright white in colour, and it has been nesting in Hungary for a year and a half.
But what is an eagle census? This is about monitoring birds of prey during the day, recording the data in a table and comparing it with the data from previous years. Of course, if we see a rare species, like the Great Bustard, we record that too. But for them, we have a separate bustard census. The numbers at the end are always approximate, because we can count an eagle, even twice.
After the fieldwork, we had dinner together, which was delicious and felt good after being out all day. I recommend this programme to everyone. I will go to the eagle census again next year.