That was the year that was

Twenty posts later and with nearly 2,000 page views but no comments - thanks I think to 'blogger.com's' annoying insistence that those wanting to leave a comment set up a Google account first - I approach the end of the year.  I wrote my first blog in April, describing my fruitless search in the Groβer Graben for Montagu's Harriers and, thereafter, my ornithological activities throughout Saxon Anhalt, Dorset and, finally this autumn, in Cyprus.  Along the way I have seen many wonderful birds and discovered some great country - the Elbe valley springs to mind.  I have in Cyprus also witnessed appalling barbarity.  Man's inhumanity to man is well-documented, but his neglect of the environment and unkindness to God's birds and beasts sometimes has to be seen to be believed - and usually all in the pursuit of money.

Barnacle Geese in Feb - Roden Hive, the Fleet, Dorset, England.

Dark-bellied Brent Geese in Feb - Roden Hive, the Fleet, Dorset, England.

I suppose I ought to start the year with Rodden Hive in Dorset on the Fleet.  This is one of those places for which the season is important.  Quiet throughout the summer, though with some interest in spring and autumn, the Fleet in winter plays host to thousands of Coots and an amazing array of ducks and geese.  This was my first winter here and so the site and its secrets were new to me.  Long-tailed Ducks are a speciality here at this time of the year and, since I missed them last year, I'll make a special effort to find them this winter.  Rodden Hive is also off the beaten track and so I usually have the place to my self.  Well worth a visit at any time throughout the winter, especially if the weather is hard.

Bonaparte's Gull (flying) - Radipole Lake, Weymouth, Dorset

Goldcrest - Radipole, Dorset

Staying in Dorset, and just up the road is Radipole Lake in the middle of Weymouth - famous in British bird watching circles as a temporary home for all sorts of rarities.  In March the reserve was graced by a Bonaparte's Gull which I was lucky enough to see.  I also managed to get close to a beautiful tiny Goldcrest which was obligingly foraging his way along the footpath.  But I suppose my Dorset highlight must have been in May when in a single day I saw a Purple Heron at Lodmoor and a female Red-footed Falcon hawking above the water meadows near Wareham.  This year I failed to find any Dartford Warblers which, being one of my favourite birds, was a bit disappointing.  Usually quite easy to find on the right habitat but I sense their numbers are low following some hard winters.

Robin - Lodmoor, Dorset

A baby Coot hoping not to be eaten by a Pike! - Lodmoor, Dorset

In terms of landscape the Elbe is hard to beat both in terms of scale and beauty.  There is simply too much to see in a single trip and I've learnt to take a longer term view in discovering its secrets.  Nevertheless my visit in June was simply fantastic in terms of what I saw.  The highlight I would have to say were Black Terns - gracefully skimming across luxuriant ponds.  And I should recall my early morning walk in Prester on the outskirts of Magdeburg - a semi-urban environment bursting with life.  Later in the summer I would retrace my tracks along the Elbe with my youngest son Max , except this time by bike.  A brilliant way of seeing the countryside if ever there was one and something I will repeat next year.

Flood plain landscape around Jericho, Elbe - note the tall grass and small lake middle right

Black Tern - Jericho, Elbe.

Two special birds that had grabbed my attention by the fact that they bred locally were Hoopoes and Bee-eaters.  I'd seen the later before in Germany but only fleetingly and so find and visit a colony less than an hour away thereby securing this most beautiful of birds as a regular local, was actually quite special.  Little did I know at the time that I would end up seeing them quite frequently as the summer progressed hawking across reed beds at Frose.  For my Hoopoe, however, I had to work quite hard.  I knew the rough location - the Orainenbaumer Heide - a huge area of heath and young forest, but not the detail and so it was with eventual relief that I came across a bird.  Next year I'll need to spend more time here in order to watch and study them better.  I should also mention the fantastic male Goshawk I saw pitch perfect against a bright blue sky.

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben.

Hoopoe - Orainenbaumer Heide.

Male Goshawk - Orainenbaumer Heide.

I suppose the highlight of my year must have been the 3 weeks I spent working for the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) in Cyprus. CABS's 'raison être' is to combat the illegal hunting of birds which, in Cyprus, is at epidemic levels.  It is assessed that over 100 million birds visit Cyprus every spring and autumn and over 2.5 million birds are killed by trappers on the island every year.  I have recently seen the CABS autumn Cyprus report which states that percentage of live trapping sites visited during the autumn has decreased, which I suppose must be good news.  Nevertheless, the practice of illegal trapping remains a significant blot on Cyprus' reputation and pressure must be maintained to reduce this barbaric activity. 

Female Blackcap or 'ambelopouri' about to be released by a CABS volunteer.

Clockwise from bottom right: a dead Ortolan Bunting, Red-backed Shrike, Wood Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat and Great Reed Warbler

The autumn has been quiet and, living in the middle of the central European land mass, bird migration is more difficult to note than in, Dorset where migrants concentrate in places like Portland before flying south to France.  What is always notable, however, is the passage of thousands of Cranes.  I observed my first birds at the end of August and saw my last on 27 November near Weimar passing south in a wintry sky.  The only other record of note was a probable Lesser-spotted Eagle flying south west low across the countryside east of the Harz.  Summer here passes more with a whimper than with a bang - thousands of migrants must pass through - but on a broad front and therefore largely unseen.

Migrating Cranes and an aircraft's vapour trail, near Weimar.

Winter seems hardly to arrived this year.  As I write, temperatures are in the low teens and there seems to be little chance of a white Christmas, even in the Oberharz.  In the new year I will visit the Drömling and the Wulfener Bruch near Dessau on the Elbe.  Both contain huge areas of wet meadow land and are an oasis for ducks and geese.  I am also still waiting for my Siskins, Bramblings and Hawfinches all of which visit my garden.  I think that there must still be too much food easily available and I hope it stays that way for them too.

Wulfener Bruch landscape in winter.

Before signing off, its worth mentioning some of those I didn't get round to seeing this year.  High on my list of disappointments must be Corncrakes which are locally, shall we say 'hearable', and of course Montagu's Harriers which I spent many hours looking for in vain.  Another notable exception were Honey Buzzards which breed widely but scarcely throughout the area.  I can usually count on finding a pair or two in the Harz but this year apparently not.  Finally, I really missed my Dartford Warblers this year.  Living in Germany I can only see them when visiting England and I never got round to visiting the heathland habitat on which they depend. 

So that was the year that was.   If anyone wants advice on any of the sites I have visited, please get on touch and I'd be very happy to share my secrets.  A Happy Christmas and successful New Year to you all.