List of species of birds of Lake Neusiedl — Area (as at 11/2013)

Foreword: As scientia amabilis and as the most beautiful hobby in the world, ornithology is often referred to, which is quite justified but only touches one of the many sides of bird watching. Birds delight us with their singing, the feather colours, their flight and they fascinate us with the mystery of bird migration. In protected areas and beyond, however, birds are also the animal group that helps us in a variety of ways in research, because it reacts to any change in its habitat or because it gives us clues about the effects of climate change. The Neusiedler See region and especially the parts of the cross-border national park, which was founded more than 20 years ago, are at the forefront of Central European target areas for hobby ornithologists for several reasons: In addition to the incomparable variety of perennial, wintering and brooding species in equally diverse habitats, it is the open landscape in which you can make your personal nature observations with good binoculars and a little experience from the way; and because the Pannonian climate makes for a very early spring, a hot summer, a long autumn and a snow-poor winter, birdwatching is not limited to a few months a year. The contribution of the National Park Neusiedler See — Seewinkel Fertö — Hanság goes beyond the area management and monitoring of selected bird species: Area supervision and visitor guidance, pre-information and on-site information, an extensive visitor program and current tips for the respective season are part of our tasks. The network of observation platforms and towers covers all important habitat types. With this list, the authors have compiled only a small part of their expertise on the avifauna of Lake Neusiedl — area. For visitors, however, precisely this compressed list forms the basis for a better understanding of what you can discover here (or have already discovered). We would like to thank the authors and BirdLife Austria for their repeated good cooperation. As a visitor, we wish you unforgettable moments at the lacquers, on the reed edge and in the hat pastures of the cross-border national park. (Kirchberger & Reischl)