Der Harz

It is the most uplifting and the most depressing of places - to paraphrase Charles Dickens.  I have known the Harz for 20 years and have seen it in all seasons and in all types of weather.  It and I have a complicated relationship.  The Harz Mountain range is about 110 kilometres long, stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and is about 35 kilometres wide.  It occupies an area of 2,226 square kilometres, and is divided into the Upper Harz (Oberharz) in the northwest, which is up to 800 m high, apart from the 1,100 m high Brocken massif, and the Lower Harz (Unterharz) in the east which is up to around 400 m high and whose plateaus are capable of supporting arable farming.



Topographical map of the Harz.  Goslar, where I live, is large red triangle at the top centre left.

A view of the Brocken massif on a fine autumnal day.

There is not a lot of information about birding in the Harz, either in literature or on the internet.  Indeed the few sites that one does come across usually encourage their reader to look for birds elsewhere!  There can be no doubt that bird watching in the Oberharz especially, can be hard work, but the Unterharz can offer much better and interesting prospects if one is prepared to persevere.  The reason for this is that the Oberharz was heavily industrialised by mining in the 18th Century and planted with coniferous plantations to support tunnelling.  The result is a monoculture environment, depressing and dark to walk through and devoid of life other than the occasional visitation by flocks of roving tits and Goldcrests.  Whilst the authorities have embarked on a process of felling and replanting with natural species of tree, we are talking about a period of renewal measured in decades not years.

Raben (Raven) Klippe near Bad Harzberg.

Winter scene above Sankt Andreasberg.

The Unterharz comprises mainly the eastern part of the Harz and its forests are characterised by beech, oak, rowan, birch and other natural indigenous species of pine.  The result, not surprisingly, is a far greater array of fauna and flora and a much more satisfying experience all round.  This region contains some stunning valleys such as the Bodetal - a gorge that can challenge the Grand Canyon (well not quite) and, in the far south east, the Silketal which can invoke, in the right weather, feelings of being lost in an everlasting arboreal wonderland.  Throughout this area there are birds a plenty including Wood Warblers, Pied Flycatchers, Wrynecks, all four species of woodpecker, Redstarts, Dippers, Honey Buzzards (widespread but scarce), Goshawks (widespread but scarce), Peregrines (20 - 30 pairs), Ravens and Black Storks (20 - 30 pairs).

My wicked (not really) stepmother Pauline, with Oscar and Max in the Bodetal.



The Ilsetal above Ilsenburg.

Winter scene above Bad Harzberg.

The Harz also plays host to some bigger beasties including, according to a Forstmiester I met, wolves.  Lynx have also been recently successfully reintroduced and can be seen in an enclosure near Bad Harzberg.  The forests also abound with deer and with wild boar which, despite their relative abundance, I've yet to encounter in 20 years of walking.  Sadly not present in these giant hills are Auehuhns or Capercaillies which are extinct despite attempts - half hearted I sense - to re-introduce them.  This is especially sad since their legacy lives on in many place names throughout the hills.  In summer a walk as high as 500 m will reveal a typical array of common species including Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, as well as Goldcrests, most tits, including of course Crested, Siskins, Crossbills, Hawfinches, Nutcrackers and Jays.  A friend of mine recently saw a Great Grey Shrike 600 m up in early winter - the only shrike I have heard of at this altitude through Red-backed Shrikes can be found quite easily at lower altitudes. Tengmalm's Owls breed in nest boxes throughout the south though I have never sought them out.

Oberharz above Goslar.

Above Bad Harzberg.

So, there are birds to be found here but it can be hard work finding them.  Most bird watching guides recommend visiting only the Brocken plateau for transient Ring Ouzels (which I have never seen) and little else.  This is probably a reflection of the fact that life in general is pretty hard in the Harz - reflected in its poverty and remoteness - and that there are many far better places to watch birds at ground level - Frose springs to mind.  Most of these places lie on eastern rain shadow of this range where summers are generally warm and dry.  Whatever I think of the Harz, the Germans love them.  These hills and the Brocken are full of legends and feature prominently in German legend and literature, especially Heinemann and Goethe. Witches still dance on and fly around the Brocken and beautiful princesses, fleeing on foam flecked horses from terrible giants, still gallop across the hills.  This is the way the Harz should stay, steeped in legend and mystery and slowly returning to their green cloaked original state.