BERLIN TRIP REPORT - 23 April 2007
We flew to Berlin with Ryan Air for £30 return and took the train direct to Hangelsberg, a hamlet halfway between Berlin and the Polish border where we stayed with friends. Weather wise it was mild the whole time except the last couple of days when it reached 25 degrees in the sun. We had some drizzle but luckily in the evening. It was the perfect time to go as most the migrants were arriving and the leaves were not fully out.
We spent most of the time in the garden and the surrounding forest which was filled with bird song but we also cycled up to the river Spree. Having read about Great bustard near the Berlin ring road we hired a car and drove there as well for a day trip -you are almost guaranteed seeing them but the views can be a bit distant.(a word of warning about car hire – they don’t like you to cross the border to Poland so its best to check when booking).
Sitting in the garden in the sunshine we could hear the croaking of black woodpecker as it flew over – a surprisingly difficult bird to locate considering its size and noisiness. It can also sound like a raven which didn’t help that much as ravens also flew over – once mobbing an osprey! We were told that grey headed woodpecker was also present but they all turned out to be green woodpeckers. Gangs of brambling came to drink at a muddy pond just outside the garden, serins trilled merrily away and surprisingly tawny owl hooted away during the day. Spanking views of pied flycatchers were had every day as we cycled about the village and we could hear cranes trumpeting in the water meadows along the river but never got to see them! Along the river we found our black woodpecker hole where last year the shrike built its nest. We sat for hours in the sunshine watching it as red kite, black kite, buzzard and hen harrier hunted over the huge meadow. It was here that we twice heard the fluting calls of the oriole but our hosts insisted that is was too early. Another rarity for them was a pair of goldeneye on the river. We also cycled into the forest on the way to another village where I had found an osprey nesting a few years ago and sure enough they were there at the same spot. We watched them bring fish in from the surrounding lakes and eat them near the nest. At this time last year we could see young in the nest. It was a moment of pure magic in the stillness of the forest. During our last visit a lesser spotted eagle flew silently past about ten foot over our heads quite oblivious to our presence!
One hot afternoon sitting on the terrace of a restaurant a large-ish bird landed in the popular hedge above my head and started singing like a green woodpecker but more strident. It was a wryneck. Both redstarts also perched obligingly on fence posts for us that week. Back in the garden we watched transfixed as a pair of Firecrests took nest material and flew off into the trees, a party of seven hawfinch materialised to drink and left just as silently, a lone garden warbler announced itself in some undergrowth at the bottom of the garden and sang all week.
All in all it was a great break with great food and beer with lots of birds.we have already booked to go again.
TRIP LIST
1. Woodpigeon
2. rock dove
3. stock dove
4. Green Woodpecker
5. Black Woodpecker
6. Great Spotted Woodpecker
7. Middle Spotted Woodpecker
8. Wryneck
9. Pied Wagtail
10. Robin
11. Redstart
12. Black Redstart
13. Firecrest
14. Willow Tit
15. Coal Tit
16. Blue Tit
17. Great Tit
18. Long tailed Tit
19. Nuthatch
20. Jay
21. Magpie
22. hooded crow
23. crow
24. rook
25. Raven
26. goldfinch
27. Chaffinch
28. Greenfinch
29. Siskin
30. Serin
31. Commorant
32. Grey Heron
33. Goldeneye
34. Coot
35. great crested grebe
36. mallard
37. gadwall
38. tufted duck
39. mute swan
40. Osprey
41. Red Kite
42. Black Kite
43. Sparrowhawk
44. Hen Harrier
45. buzzard
46. Crane
47. Tawny Owl
48. Swallow
49. Martin
50. pheasant
51. Tree Pipit
52. Pied Flycatcher
53. Song Thrush
54. blackbird
55. starling
56. Golden Oriole
57. Hooded Crow
58. House sparrow
59. Tree Sparrow
60. Bullfinch
61. Yellowhammer
62. Redpoll
63. Brambling
64. Hawfinch
65. Stork
66. Black headed gull
67. Kingfisher
68. chiffchaff
69. willow warbler
70. blackcap
71. garden warbler
72. Grasshopper Warbler
73. Whitethroat
74. Lesser Whitethroat
75. Reed Bunting
76. Nightingale
77. Crested Lark
78. Sky Lark
79. Wood Lark
80. Corn Bunting
81. Lapwing
82. Great Bustard
Hi Savi,
sounds very succesful trip.
Did You saw over 80 kind of birds one day ?
My favourit areas around Berlin are lake Guelper See, lake Rietzer See, naturparc Nuthe Nieplietz und river floodplains Elbetalaue.
Very interesting are this areas also end of October, because the big amoung of migration birds ( e.g. Geese, Crane ).
In this time is also possible to see groups of White-tailed Eagles.
Best regards
Dieter
Hi,
I see you enjoyed your stay. if you come there next time, it is easy to go to Slonsk/Kostrin/Warta mouth National Park just across the Polish border. This can add many waterbirds, including Great Egret and Whiskered and Little Terns and with some searching, Little Crake and Aquatic Warbler.