Birding in Brandenburg, Germany

06th November 2015

Germany is not the most popular of birding destinations but we have visited the northern Baltic coast in previous years, and this was an opportunity to explore the Brandenburg area west of Berlin, an area of rich farmland and lakes. Less than two hours from Glasgow it is an easy destination to reach and though it was cold and occasionally misty we experienced no rain during our stay and little wind. The area is well known for its autumn roosts of Common Cranes (Kranich) some which overwinter, but the majority are passing through en route to winter in Spain. The noisy spectacle of Cranes going to roost on lakes draws the crowds and there are many hides specifically built so the public can enjoy the experience. Thousands of European White-fronted and Bean Geese join the Cranes and it proved to be a unique birding experience against a background of terrific sunsets. In all we recorded 85 species the highlight of which was Caspian Gull, a new species for me. Marsh and Willow Tits were abundant and one of the highlights was finding the northern white-headed form of the Long-tailed Tit and there are some images in the European Gallery. There are special protection areas for Great Bustard and we managed to find a feeding flock of over 50. Unfortunately there was no success in finding some of the scarcer woodpeckers. White-tailed Eagles are well established and there were also sightings of Hen Harrier, Goshawk and Rough-legged Buzzard. There are a number of images in the Gallery. For information, Roger White has written a couple of guidebooks for north and east Germany, available through his website germanybirding.com.

On our way back from Glasgow we stopped off at Pitlochry to see a nice drake Ring-necked Duck.

Bob

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean