Northeast Germany birding trip report April 2010


Northeast Germany 18-25 April 2010 Birding trip report - John van der Woude - www.jvanderw.nl
The three of us (Nollie, André and I) could not fly to Spain due to the Icelandic ash cloud, so we changed our destination at the last moment and drove into Germany. A reconnaissance of Northeast Germany seemed appropiate enough, after our previous trips in this corner of Europe. We knew we were too early for some true summer birds, but on the other hand we would have late winter birds and, more importantly, more raptors in the air and woodpeckers in the trees. Indeed, we saw displaying White-tailed and Lesser Spotted Eagles, and saw all the possible woodpeckers. Cranes were everywhere (as were Roedeer by the way, altogether we saw some 400 of them). White-tailed Eagle was a common sight, we saw about 30 of them. We did a wide semi-circle around Berlin, and also squeezed in two Polish sites just across the border. The trip was fully based on the recently published birding guide for NE Germany (Vögel beobachten in Ostdeutschland; Wagner and Moning 2009, Franckh-Kosmos Verlag). This splendid book with clear maps and numbered stake-outs brought us to several good birding sites we had not heard of before. Driving straight to these sites was facilitated by our Garmin nüvi car navigator. Accommodation and eating out were generally easy, and, like in most parts of Germany, not expensive. As can be seen on the photos, the weather was good, although rather cold in the middle of the week. The species list at the bottom of this page reflects the transitional time of year indeed, with some winter birds still lingering on, while the summer birds had not yet all arrived. Also, the photos below show that the trees were a bit less far into spring than what we normally see in Holland in the third week of April. At jvanderw.nl, see also my 2001, 2007 and 2009 reports of the lower Warta valley in Poland (site 9 on the map below), all from later in the season.
A = Berlin 1 = Drömling woodlands and meadows 2 = Elbe floodplain opposite Tangermünde 3 = Havelländisches Luch (Great Bustard area) 4 = Gülper See and surrounding wetlands 5 = Müritz national park (lakes, forests) 6 = Feldberger hill area (Lesser Spotted Eagle area); plus Serrahn forest & lake 7 = lower Oder valley 8 = Oder riverine woodland (partly in Poland) 9 = lower Warta valley (Poland) 10 = Belziger meadows (map taken from Google Maps; go there for a more detailed topography)
The Drömling is a mosaic of rough pastures and woodland. At this time, it had few special birds, but anyway produced a good start for the trip list.
Red Kite was often seen on this trip.
Along the Elbe river opposite Tangermünde. Here we saw one of the few Great Egret of the trip.
N of Garlitz in the Havelländische Luch is the best Great Bustard area of Germany. In the hide, we spoke with somebody who knows all about the history of this project. The present population was bred from eggs taken from some remaining Great Bustards elsewhere in NE Germany. So, in a broader geographical sense, it is still an original population, and this is free-living, self-supporting and not being fed. The males were displaying often (evening of 18 April). The photo below (taken from the northern of the two hides) gives an impression of the extense of the meadows of this reserve. In the centre, a fluffed up male tries to impress a female to the left.

The valley of the small Havel river near Schollene/Parey, south of Gülpe (part of site 4 on map above). Here we saw the first groups of Cranes, which we had nearly the whole trip. Also Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and a Black Stork migrated overhead:


The Grosser Graben Niederung S of Gülpe is a wonderful wetland where two White-tailed Eagles were chasing hundreds of Shovelers. Another immature one was upsetting Greylag Geese as it made several (unsuccessful) attempts to take one. We also saw a few pairs of Red-necked Grebe. Snipe was often seen and heard in display flight. The photo is taken from a large hide, from where we discovered several Garganey, like the pair below.

The Gülper See from the hide along the South shore. From here we spotted some birds like Smew, Little Gull and Black Tern. The North shore looks more promising with a marshy vegetation. The photo below shows this northern shore from the back side. Here we had Savi's Warbler, Water Rail, Osprey.

Beavers had clearly been present near the North shore of the Gülper See.

Wet meadow N of the Gülper See. A great view, but it contained very few birds (some Greenshank though).
Old oaks just S of the hamlet Speck in the Müritz national park. Here we ticked several of the forest and woodland birds of the species list, like Wood Warbler, Brambling, Mistle Thrush, Pied Flycatcher and Middle Spotted Woodpecker (great view). The trail to these famous old oaks is not clearly marked inside the hamlet, but just take the narrow trail which starts at the bus stop and goes along a playground.
Just W of the Specker See (lake), as seen from the tall hide built across the cycle track (photo below). Even here, we saw one of the several Black Woodpeckers of the trip. Across the Specker lake (photo below left) we briefly saw Red-crested Pochard. We rented bicycles at the NP office of Federow, which also has a great webcam display of an Osprey nest in an electricity pole. Opposite the NP office, the Bunte Kuh lodge has a nice café-restaurant.


On our way to the Feldberger hill area we passed by the Serrahn forest and lake, where again a tall hide gives a good view of the Scandinavian-like habitat, with, of course, Cranes. Also Marsh Harrier and the usual Osprey.
In the Feldberger hill area, we posted ourselves where, according to the birdfinding guide, Lesser Spotted Eagle can be seen, and we got them very soon indeed. Two were circling around above the forest for quite a while, giving good scope views. Also Great Grey Shrike at the promised stake-out a bit further North.
Hooded Crow is of course one of the most typical birds of NE Germany, as it only breeds East of the Elbe river (in theory). However, here in the Feldberger hill area, we also saw a lone Carrion Crow, far East of the Elbe!
Still in the Feldberger hill area, we had some nice forest flowers as well: Chrysosplenium (Goudveil) and a soil cover of Anemone nemorosa (Bosanemoon).

The lower Oder valley just South of Schwedt, with Pintails, Great Egret and White-tailed Eagle, and the only Oystercatchers of the trip. We had hoped to get accommodation at Schwedt or surroundings, but everything was fully booked because, reportedly, some 2000 technicians were temporarily working here to refurbish a refinery. The other side of the valley is Poland, and the photo below shows the low hills rising up immediately from the floodplain.

A bit further South is a slightly more wooded part of the Oder valley ('Oderbruch'). Here we visited the Polish side, while walking a disused railway track/bridge, with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker closeby.
The Oderbruch from East of Stara Rudnica, with Goosander and Wood Sandpiper. Along this Polish road we also saw Wryneck, at a farm.
Penduline Tit along the dike of the Sophientaler Polder, at the German side of the Oderbruch, a few km SE of Kienitz. Here also our only Grey-headed Woodpecker, and Great Reed Warbler plus a group of (Tundra) Bean Goose. An interesting species mix!
Sophientaler Polder near Kienz, as seen from the dike with the Penduline Tit (photo above). One of the sites we would certainly like to visit once more.
In the area of the lower Warta valley a few km into Poland, at the small Czernowy canal. Hoopoe, Wryneck and Thrush Nightingale. See also our July 2009 report of this area: there, the 7th photo from below appears to have been taken at exactly the same place as now. For River Warbler we were too early now. On the other hand, we had a prolonged singing Thrush Nightingale, and you can listen to it here in stereo (22 MB). This time, we 'did' this area across the Polish border in just one long day, from our hotel in Seelow, the recommendable Waldhotel (with Hawfinch at the parking lot and Nightingale in the garden). The hotel is only a 20 minutes drive from this lower Warta area, which starts right at the border, along road 22 towards Slonsk.
The eastern of the two tracks from Slonsk into the central part of the reserve was, as expected, still under water. As always, a good point for White-tailed Eagle, although by now that was a common bird for us, after all the ones we had seen in Germany already. See the detailed photo map in the 2009 report - this is the road marked as 'I Most' there.
A a few kms upstream along the lower Warta there was still a lot of water in the floodplains.

In the wet meadows of these floodplains, we saw several groups of Ruff. Often there were some 'display quarrels'. Here, we also had several small groups of Wood Sandpiper, and some Great Egret.
The reed marsh east of Kolczyn, as seen from the river dike. We heard Bearded Tit, Great Bittern and later in the afternoon also Little Crake. In the woodland border which is visible in the background we had Great Grey Shrike.
In the Belziger meadows SW of Berlin we saw some displaying Great Bustards in the distance, and closer by this meeting of Hares.
The Belziger meadows was our last site and it produced two nice trip ticks: Little Owl (note the 180 degrees turned head) and a singing Ortolan Bunting.


Species list
The second column shows (most of the) the sites of the more remarkable species. For nice species that we saw practically everywhere, like White Stork and Red Kite, no site has been given. Abbreviations of the sites: Elbe = Elbe floodplain opposite Tangermünde HavL = Havelländisches Luch (Great Bustard area) GlpS = Gülper See and surrounding wetlands Mur = Müritz national park (lakes, forests) Fldb = Feldberger hill area (Lesser Spotted Eagle area); plus Serrahn forest & lake Oder = lower Oder valley, and Oder riverine woodland Wart = lower Warta valley (Poland) Belz = Belziger meadows (W-Dld) = sightings in Western Germany only
Dodaars HavL Wart Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Fuut Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus Roodhalsfuut GlpS Oder Wart Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena Geoorde Fuut GlpS Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Aalscholver Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo sin. Roerdomp GlpS Wart Bittern Botaurus stellaris Grote Zilverreiger Elbe Oder Wart Great White Egret Casmerodius albus Blauwe Reiger Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Zwarte Ooievaar GlpS Black Stork Ciconia nigra Ooievaar White Stork Ciconia ciconia Knobbelzwaan Mute Swan Cygnus olor Toendrarietgans Oder Tundra Bean Goose Anser serrirostris Grauwe Gans Greylag Goose Anser anser Nijlgans Belz Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca Bergeend Shelduck Tadorna tadorna Smient Wigeon Anas penelope Krakeend Gadwall Anas strepera Wintertaling Teal Anas crecca Wilde Eend Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Pijlstaart GlpS Oder Wart Pintail Anas acuta Zomertaling GlpS Fldb Oder Wart Garganey Anas querquedula Slobeend GlpS! Wart Shoveler Anas clypeata Krooneend Mur Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina Tafeleend Mur Wart Pochard Aythya ferina Kuifeend Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Brilduiker Mur Oder Wart Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Nonnetje GlpS Oder Smew Mergellus albellus Grote Zaagbek Oder Goosander Mergus merganser Zwarte Wouw Black Kite Milvus migrans Rode Wouw Red Kite Milvus milvus Zeearend GlpS Mur Fldb Oder Wart White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla Bruine Kiekendief Serr Oder Wart Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus Havik Oder Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Sperwer W-Dld Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus Buizerd Buzzard Buteo buteo Schreeuwarend Fldb Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina Visarend GlpS Mur Serr Oder Wart Osprey Pandion haliaetus Torenvalk Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Boomvalk GlpS Hobby Falco subbuteo Fazant Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Waterral GlpS Wart Water Rail Rallus aquaticus Klein Waterhoen Wart Little Crake Porzana parva Waterhoen Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Meerkoet Coot Fulica atra Kraanvogel GlpS Mur Serr Oder Wart Crane Grus grus Grote Trap HavL Belz Great Bustard Otis tarda Scholekster Oder Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus Kievit Lapwing Vanellus vanellus Kemphaan GlpS Oder Wart Ruff Philomachus pugnax Watersnip GlpS Serr Snipe Gallinago gallinago Grutto GlpS Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa Regenwulp Oder Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Wulp Serr Wart Curlew Numenius arquata Zwarte Ruiter Wart Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus Tureluur Redshank Tringa totanus Groenpootruiter Oder Wart Greenshank Tringa nebularia Witgat Wart Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus Bosruiter Oder Wart Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola Zwartkopmeeuw GlpS Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus Dwergmeeuw GlpS Wart Little Gull Larus minutus Kokmeeuw Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus Stormmeeuw Wart Common Gull Larus canus Zilvermeeuw/Pont. Mw Wart Herring/Caspian Gull Larus argentatus/cach. Visdief Oder Common Tern Sterna hirundo Zwarte Stern GlpS Wart Black Tern Chlidonias niger Holenduif Oder Stock dove Columba oenas Houtduif Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus Turkse tortel Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Steenuil Belz Little Owl Athene noctua Bosuil Mur Tawny Owl Strix aluco Hop Wart Hoopoe Upupa epops Draaihals Oder Wart Wryneck Jynx torquilla Grijskopspecht Oder Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus Groene Specht Green Woodpecker Picus viridis Zwarte Specht Mur Oder Wart Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius Grote Bonte Specht Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major Middelste Bonte Specht Mur Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius Kleine Bonte Specht GlpS Mur Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor Boomleeuwerik Mur Wart Belz Wood Lark Lullula arborea Veldleeuwerik Sky Lark Alauda arvensis Boerenzwaluw Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Huiszwaluw Oder House Martin Delichon urbicum Boompieper Serr Belz Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis Graspieper Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis Gele Kwikstaart Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava Witte Kwikstaart White Wagtail Motacilla alba Winterkoning Wren Troglodytes troglodytes Heggemus Dunnock Prunella modularis Roodborst Robin Erithacus rubecula Noordse Nachtegaal Wart Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia Nachtegaal Oder Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos Zwarte Roodstaart Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros Gekraagde Roodstaart Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus Paapje Wart Belz Whinchat Saxicola rubetra Tapuit Drml Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe Beflijster (Ankum W-Dld) Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus Merel Blackbird Turdus merula Kramsvogel Fldb Wart Fieldfare Turdus pilaris Zanglijster Song Thrush Turdus philomelos Koperwiek GlpS Mur Redwing Turdus iliacus Grote Lijster Mur Belz Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus Snor GlpS Mur Wart Savi's Warbler Locustella luscin. Rietzanger GlpS Oder Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoen. Kleine Karekiet Belz Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirp. Grote Karekiet Oder Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arund. Braamsluiper Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca Grasmus Wart Whitethroat Sylvia communis Zwartkop Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla Fluiter Mur Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix Tjiftjaf Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita Fitis Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus Goudhaan Mur Goldcrest Regulus regulus Vuurgoudhaan (Ankum W-Dld) Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla Bonte Vliegenvanger Mur Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Baardman Wart Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus Staartmees Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus Glanskop Marsh Tit Parus palustris Matkop GlpS Wart Willow Tit Parus montanus Kuifmees Mur Crested Tit Parus cristatus Zwarte Mees Coal Tit Parus ater Pimpelmees Blue Tit Parus caeruleus Koolmees Great Tit Parus major Boomklever Nuthatch Sitta europaea Boomkruiper Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla Buidelmees Oder Wart Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus Klapekster Fldb Wart Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor Gaai Jay Garrulus glandarius Ekster Magpie Pica pica Kauw Jackdaw Corvus monedula Roek Rook Corvus frugilegus Zwarte Kraai Fldb! Carrion Crow Corvus corone Bonte Kraai Hooded Crow Corvus cornix Raaf Raven Corvus corax Spreeuw Starling Sturnus vulgaris Huismus House Sparrow Passer domesticus Ringmus Tree Sparrow Passer montanus Vink Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs Keep Mur Serr Brambling Fringilla montifring. Europese Kanarie Serin Serinus serinus Groenling Greenfinch Chloris chloris Putter Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis Sijs Mur Siskin Carduelis spinus Kneu Linnet Carduelis cannabina Kruisbek Mur Crossbill Loxia curvirostra Goudvink Mur Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula Appelvink Mur Oder Belz Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccot. Geelgors Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella Ortolaan Belz Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana Rietgors Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus Grauwe Gors Havl Wart Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra