Dorset

The whole family and Mutti came across to Dorset to stay in our new cottage just west of Weymouth.  We absolutely love it here - the climate and landscape is so soft and gentle and our village is an oasis of peace and calm.  The house represents the fulfilment of lifetime's ambition for me  - to own a cottage close to the sea and near to a bird watching hot spot. 

Rodden Hive - winter

My local patch therefore includes (in order of proximity): Rodden Hive on the Fleet - which is fantastic in winter and chronically under watched, Radipole, Lodmoor and Portland.  Studland is 50 minutes away!  My only concern was whether I would be able to escape the responsibilities of family life to see what would undoubtedly appear!  And, as if not wanting to disappoint, the Dorset Birds website alerted me to the presence at Lodmoor of a Purple Heron - a bird that so far has eluded me.  Sadly the heron proved secretive and only after detailed intelligence gleaned from the various birding internet sites, was I able to determine the best time and location to see it - at precisely 21:15 from Southdown Avenue.  Sure enough it obliged coming out of the reeds and flying north to roost.  Despite the dusky conditions it's purple hew and spots - indicative of a juvenile bird - were clearly visible.

Common Tern - Lodmoor

Other birds I saw at Lodmoor are listed here - the most beautiful of which must have been the Common Terns which breed here:  Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron,

Baby Coot - Lodmoor

Purple Heron, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Woodpigeon, Swallow, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler,

Great Crested Grebes - Lodmoor

Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Reed Bunting of which there were many.  On balance, I was happy to have spent a lot of time at Lodmooor which I now know much better.  Its a great place but the observation of many of pools and vast tracts of reed beds is frequently difficult if not impossible.  A raised hide half way along the path bisecting the reserve would be fantastic.



Female Red-footed Falcon - Wareham

Flushed with success, I considered 'twitching' the Red-footed Falcon at Wareham.  Thus, a cunning plan, enabling my younger son Max to visit a friend staying at Swanage, and for me to see another bird I'd not seen before was hatched (please excuse the pun).  The falcon proved remarkably easy to find aided by the newly installed 'Surfbirds' app and by the serried ranks of tripods stood on a bridge on the A251 just outside Wareham.

Female Red-footed Falcon

And what a stunner - eventually coming in close enough for some photographs - the experience spoilt only by the constant roar and vibration of passing traffic!

Tree Pipit - Middlebere

Thereafter we drove to Middlebere - which must be on of my favourite places in the world.  We walked up onto the heath and meet a most beautiful pink breasted Linnet which flew off before I was able to photograph it, a family of Stonechats and an outstanding Tree Pipit.  Never has there been a bird so modest in looks with such a fantastic display and song.

Tree Pipit 'parachuting' - Middlebere

Eventually we arrived at the hide overlooking the harbour and from which I have seen many wonderful spectacles.  Alas, this is a site for which tide conditions are critical and with a draining basin, we had to make do with a couple of Spoonbills, a spanking Carrion Crow, Shellducks and some, fast becoming ubiquitous, Little Egrets.

Spoonbills and Shellduck - Middlebere

Carrion Crow - Middlebere

Sadly its back to Germany on Tuesday but I think its worth reflecting on the birding experiences here and there.  In Germany, leaving aside one or two useful guides (the excellent Vogel beobachten in Ostdeutschland springs to mind) there seems to be little focus and an absence of internet sites supporting local birders.  The major site most birders use in Germany is Ornitho.de which is a national (also encompassing Luxembourg) resource.  It encourages individuals to enter their sitings but the area covered is simply too large - the whole of Germany!  UK county sites, supported by apps like Surfbirds, seem to provide a more focused and immediate source of information enabling birders to locate scarce and rare sightings.  At its best, it is like an all informed busy communications net.  However, in Germany, many of the species these people chase in England, are far more common and are often easier to see - even though you might have to do most of the leg work yourself.

Stonechat family - MIddlebere

Frose

Today Puckle (my dachshund) and I visited the reed beds at Frose which I had noticed the other day.  They were absolutely fantastic - bursting with birds all of who seemed to be in song.  The weather was warm and windy and access to the site, which is about 500m by 400m, is easy with a path bisecting the reserve and allowing good access and visibility to the several areas of open brackish water. 

Map extract - Frose and the Concordia See

The reed beds at Frose - the village is in the background

Here is the list - pretty impressive for what I believe is an unknown and unwatched location:
Greylag Goose (30 - partially if not fully feral), Gadwall, Mallard (20), Bittern (2, including 1 flying, booming throughout my visit), Black Stork, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier (4), Buzzard, Coot, Crane, Lapwing (10), Black-headed Gull, Turtle Dove (2), Cuckoo (2), Swift, Yellow Wagtail (2), Wren, Dunnock, Bluethroat (4),



Blue-headed Wagtail - Frose

Sedge Warbler- Frose

Blackbird, Grasshopper Warbler (8), Sedge Warbler, Marsh Warbler (3), Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler (2), Blackcap, Bearded Tit, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting


Frose

We also met a really lovely gentleman who told all about the area's history - originally a vast DDR open-cast brown coal mine.  Amazingly, it has now been transformed into this wonderful wetland habitat.

Great Reed Warbler - Frose

Marsh Warbler - Frose

Turtle Doves - Frose

We're off to Dorset tomorrow for a few days - I have to say that it will be a challenge to find as many good birds there as I watched here today.  I'll keep you posted!

Gravel Pits - Goslar

Funny that I should mention not seeing any Red-backed Shrikes - I've just bagged a male at my local gravel pit.  Unfortunately it flew off before I was able to photograph it.  I did, however, get some shots of my resident Great Reed Warbler who was clashing his way through some undergrowth literally, at one point, at my feet.  He was here last year and its good to see him back safely.

Great Reed Warbler - Viennenburg/Goslar

Daneben and the Concordia-See

Went out twice last week firstly early in the week to a village called Daneben south west of  Quedlinburg where Montagu's have bred in the past and then yesterday to the Concordia-See a little further to the south.  Most German Montagu's nest in crops and the area around Quedlinburg and Halberstadt being open and flat has supported a few breeding pairs in the past, including around Daneben.  Not this year though - well if there were some there I didn't see them and they ought to be relatively conspicuous this time of year.  The landscape is quite attractive - despite the German attempts to industrialise their countryside with giant wind and solar farms - with the Harz as a backdrop.  They don't do hedges here though fields and tracks are bordered by fruit trees all of which are in bloom this time of year.  The only ornithological comment worth noting was the presence of Wheatears which seem to be thinly but widely distributed throughout the region.  Drove home towards the autobahn through dreary crop fields looking for harriers - I found one - a Marsh Harrier of which there are plenty.  A bit of a disappointing day to be honest.


Daneben landscape

The Concordia-See is the largest artificial lake in Saxon-Anhalt and it lies 10 - 15 km SW from Quedlinburg.  Apart from having lots of water, it is surrounded by reclaimed scrub land and well-drained grassland.  There are also lots of poplars and in the past I've seen Golden Oriel here too.  Today, however, none seemed to be around and it was left to a supporting cast of 6 Grasshopper Warblers, Corn Buntings and the ubiquitous Whitethroats singing seemingly from every bush.  As usual, lots of Red Kites, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Buzzards but little else on the bird of prey front - no Black Kites and certainly no Montagu's.  None the less an enjoyable visit but on reflection frustrating because there is probably so much more there to see were there the time and information.  At the moment I am having to find everything myself which is satisfying but also time consuming.

Grasshopper Warbler - Concordia-See

I am wondering where all the Red-backed Shrikes are.  A common bird here and I haven't seen one yet - are they late this year or what?  Driving home I discovered, less than 1km away, an extensive area of reed bed and damp scrub.  This is typical - there seems to be so much more of this type of habitat than in the west Germany or the UK for that matter.  It looked most promising but will have to wait for another day.



Whitethroat - Concordia-See