Hungary possesses a unique natural heritage that stands out even on a global scale, emphasized the Deputy State Secretary responsible for nature conservation at the event “Mammal of the Year: the Hungarian birch mouse” held in Miskolc.
The Hungarian Natural History Museum has been surveying the population of the Hungarian birch mouse (Sicista trizona) for 19 years in Borsodi-Mezőség,the only known birch mouse population in Hungary.
Experts working on the GRASSLAND-HU LIFE Integrated Project participated in a study tour to Slovenia at the invitation of the LIFE-IP NATURA.SI project, which focuses on the management of Natura 2000 sites. During the four-day visit, the Hungarian delegation gained a wealth of valuable professional experience.
The Bükk National Park Directorate has dedicated a whole autumn research week to the study of the tiny and extremely rare Hungarian birch mouse in the Borsodi-Mezőség Landscape Protection Area. Besides other research groups, the Bükk Mammal Research Group Association and the Hungarian Museum of Natural History were also involved in the fieldwork research.
Although summer has barely passed, one of the most spectacular events in the world of wildlife, the autumn bird migration, is already well underway. There are species that have already set off during August, but there are also those that are just getting ready for the long journey to their wintering grounds.
The grasslands of the South-Hevesi Regional Unit of the Bükk National Park Directorate are in a beautiful purple colour due to the mass flowering of the Hungarian sea lavender. It could well be the emblematic plant of the Hungarian alkaline grasslands, one of the most characteristic perennial flowering plants of the Tiszántúli steppes, capable of painting the whole horizon purple in summer.
It's time for the first mowing. It is important for farmers to bear in mind that in Hungary, the use of animal deterrent chain curtainare required by law when mowing grasslands and arable lands subjects of either Natura 2000 or Agri-Environmental Payments.
Although the Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus) are still in their wintering grounds in Africa, we should start preparing for their arrival now. We need to prepare in the same way as we have been doing for the past two decades," say experts from the Bükk National Park Directorate.
In the framework of a volunteer programme, the staff of the Bükk National Park Directorate again carried out grassland management work on the Sulymos plateau in Tiszadorogma. Within the framework of the Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project mowing was carried out in areas that couldn't be reached by machines and the previously cut false indigo-bush was collected, the Bükk National Park Directorate said.
The 8-year-long Grassland-HU LIFE integrated project has successfully reached its halfway point. The aim of the project is to improve the conservation status of grassland habitats and species, in order to ensure their long-term conservation.