The Drömling

The Drömling is a huge area of wet meadowland and ditches lying just to the east of Wolfsburg - the home of VW.  It contains habitats ranging from a decidedly damp centre to dense woodland on its fringes and finally, to drier and sandier tracts of land in the north.  Wherever you go and in whatever season, the Drömling is likely to provide a fantastic day's birding.

Map extract - Drömling



Drömling Landscape

My visit this week concentrated on the central so called wet "Kern Zone", hoping to find a River Warbler, followed by a visit to a slightly drier area where I hoped to find some Barred Warblers.  Within seconds of parking the car I heard a Grasshopper Warbler, at least 2 Nightingales and several Golden Oriels signing or calling.  Very soon after I heard some Cranes trumpeting and, sure enough, just few metres further ahead and around a corner, stood a pair in a meadow at close range.  I don't know whether they breed here but Cranes are always a regular here in small numbers apart from in the autumn when they can be seen in their thousands.  New for me in the Drömling was a Peregrine 'winnowing' its way across the meadows.



Common Crane - Drömling

Wandering further on I encountered the first of many Red-backed Shrikes - here they are truly abundant and I recall reading somewhere, that they are the unofficial emblem of the reserve.  A beautiful bird with an engaging character.

Red-backed Shrike - Drömling

Round the Corner along a wide ditch where I had heard River Warbler before, I came across an exremely confiding Tree Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher - the latter in exactly the same place that I found a family of flycatchers the year before.

Tree Pipit - Drömling



Spotted Flycatcher - Drömling

Having resigned myself to a "no show"on the River Warbler front, I headed back towards the car and half way back, I heard the unmistakable sound of a River Warbler 'chuffing' from deep within a bush.  Patience elicited some amazing views as he belted out his song from top of some dry vegitation - see the photograph.  It was gratifying to find this bird which, despite its eastward advance, is very local in its distribution and is not easy to find.



River Warbler - Drömling

My efforts to find Barred Warblers in the Drömling have always been frustrating - limited to a couple of long distance views last year.  And so I headed out to my second location with mixed feelings.  The site was based on internet research which was now at least 5 years old.  However, it was the best available at the time and it provided a start.  There is also the matter of their song which, to my ears at least, sounds similar to the widely distributed Whitethroat.

White-tailed Eagle - Drömling

Things started well with a distant adult White-tailed Eagle - I believe that at least 1 pair breed in the area and I usually see one or two of them in this area.  I am also not sure where they hunt as there is no local large expanse of water from which they might feed.  Whilst far from common, White-tailed Eagles are quite widely distributed (in my part of Germany) and turn up in the most unexpected areas - thick forest for example - but always a short ride away from some body of water.  Back to the Drömling, a Black Woodpecker flew towards me doing its best to give the impression of flying without any wings - see below!  Always a cool bird.

Black Woodpecker - Drömling

But, and I suppose rather predictably, I found no Barred Warblers and since I searched this area quite thoroughly last year also to no avail, I must conclude that there are now none in this particular area.  Barred Warblers remain, at least for me, a difficult bird to find and I will have to try elsewhere in the Drömling.  A late cameo performance from a White Stork and a Marsh Harrier finished things off quite satisfactorily.

Marsh Harrier - Drömling
 

Here day's list: Mute Swan, Mallard, Pheasant, Grey Heron, White Stork, Black Kite, Red Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Moorhen, Coot, Crane, Lapwing, Woodpigeon, Cuckoo (4), Swift, Black Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark,

White Stork - Drömling

Swallow, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Wren, Robin, Nightingale, Blackbird, Song Thrush, River Warbler, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit (2), Great Tit (2), Golden Oriole (5), Red-backed Shrike, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Hawfinch, Yellowhammer and some Reed Buntings.


Black Kite - Drömling

And so in summary a fairly typical Drömling day - an amazing array of birds most of which were seen at very close range.  If you are ever in this part of Germany, then the Drömling is a must - its a truly fantastic and unique place!