I have just returned from my annual two week holiday, this year in Western Germany. This is a family holiday in which I try to fit some birding. We (wife, daughter (16) and son (12) and wallet) went to a German equivalent of Center Parcs near the village of Oberhambach, to the east of Trier. It is set in (I am told) 60,000 acres of forest, quite how they got planning permission I do not know. There are 200 apartments built around the swimming pool, a huge pyramid. The overwhelming majority of people there were Dutch and German, with a smattering of Belgians, British and French, which suits me fine.
First impressions were poor, it looked like a concrete jungle and my first walk in the forest produced loads of Great Tits, and little else. However, by the end of the holiday we had all had a great time and I had seen 50 bird species, including some lifers.
The forest proved to be a tremendous mix of pine and deciduous trees. In addition, there was a large amount of non-forested land and what a delight that was. There were small herds of cattle and small fields of arable crops. We noticed large numbers of weeds growing amongst the crops and wild flowers growing around the edges. There were also large fields full of grass and wild flowers. The result was a huge number of insects, a cacophony of sound and the beautiful sight of large numbers of House Martins and Swallows swooping low over the fields, feasting.
About half of the mornings I got up earlier than the others to have a wander in the forest for an hour. I saw large number of Nuthatches, Great Tits, Marsh Tits and Short-Toed Treecreepers, as well as numerous Jays which were very noisy. Crows roosted in the tops of the trees, as my son and I found out when we went for a late night stroll and disturbed them. An owl was seen but was unidentified. Flitting around the site were Black Redstarts and Blackcaps were frequently seen in the trees that had been left between the apartments.
One morning, entering the forest I saw a Middle Spotted Woodpecker, female, flying around the edge of the tree line. Her red cap showed well. A juvenile was also seen later, as were Great Spotted. A Black Woodpecker was glimpsed three times flying through the forest, although a clear view was never gained. The following day, whilst surveying the fields from a high vantage point (also taking in the 50 visible wind turbines) a Firecrest was seen in the trees.
The following afternoon I had finished watching 3 Red Squirrels feeding in the pines when a bird flew into the very same tree that I was watching. My binoculars revealed my first ever Crested Tit. It seemed oblivious to me and I watched for about 5 minutes. Later in the holiday I was able to show my wife what this delightful bird looked like. A growing sport in Germany appears to be Nordic Walking ( walking with skiing poles), 6 walks were marked throughout the area and my wife and I did 3 of them. They were excellent. On the first (and the only one on which our kids joined us) my son pointed out some 'buzzards' (when he could tear his eyes away from the US & German fighters flying overhead). Now he is profoundly colourblind, but his ability to see mere specks is uncanny. On this occasion the 'buzzards' turned out to be 14 Black Storks soaring on some thermals, a magnificent sight. Later in the walk a fox and 3 Red Deer were clearly seen in the fields.
A trip to see the river Mosel brought Black and Red Kites en route, as well as Buzzard.
The second Nordic Walk (I hasten to add I replaced the skiing poles and fast pace with binoculars and 'birding' pace) brought the first Tree Sparrows I have seen in years and years along with Yellowhammer flying back and forth from some pine trees into a field of wheat. Chaffinches too were with them. A couple of miles further on and I saw a juvenile Red-backed Shrike. A few days later brought a female, though sadly not a male. The third walk was the longest and most disappointing in that only White Wagtails were added to the list although a nest with 3 well grown Hobbys proved more than ample compensation. An adult was flying around too, as well as a Kestrel and, a few yards away, a Buzzard seemed unable to take off, so we left it so as not to disturb it. The nest was high up in a deciduous tree, only 30 yards away from a house. The young were a great sight (and sound) as they hopped around the nest.
And so ended a great holiday (shame about the weather). 50 species, 12 year ticks and 7 life ticks. A really good venue for a family holiday, with fine wine, beer and food. The Germans always proved willing to use English if they could to help out my poor German, which was a bonus.
In addition to the species mentioned above, also seen were:
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Bullfinch
House Sparrow
Magpie
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Mallard
Cormorant
Blue Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Wren
Robin
Woodpigeon
Black Headed Gull
Sparrowhawk
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Swift
Very interesting reading. Thanks for taking the time to type it out.
Hi Rob, did you not make it to the reserve in the South-east of Luxembourg, close to the Mosel River? (not far from where you were staying)