Wiesenweihe

Things have been looking up.  I've found a couple of local birding 'buddies' and gained access to the local e-mail-based information network.  The social and information desert that had hitherto been sapping my interest in going out, has been sated.  I had always thought I was happy being out and about with Puckle, but in the end even his illustrious company would have been insufficient to sustain me.

Map area of Schladen, Hornburg and, to the east, the Grosse Bruch.

And so it was in early May that we received intelligence of a male and female Wiesenweihe hunting over arable land 20 km north east of Goslar.  The birds were quickly located displaying and our hopes of a summer watching these, most beautiful and elegant of birds, was raised as high as they soared together in the German early summer sky.  Being so close to where I lived, I returned every day hoping to confirm a nesting site.  But the birds proved elusive and I was able to locate them only intermittently amongst the numerous Red and Black Kites, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels, Hobbys and, on one occasion, Honey Buzzard.

iPhone screen shot showing search areas west of Schladen.

First 'grab picture' of male Wiesenweihe SW of Schladen taken on 11 May 17.

First 'grab picture' of female Wiesenweihe SW of Schladen taken on 11 May 17.

After 10 days of intermittent sightings I was forced to admit that my birds had gone and were, to me at least, lost.  However, towards the end of May an email reported the sighting of 2 birds hunting in the Grosse Bruch east of Hornburg.  An immediate expedition was mounted and both birds were quickly located hunting over arable land to the east of Hornburg.  Our relief was palpable but we continued to work on the assumption that the birds would be breeding and therefore we were desperate for any evidence of nesting.

Male Wiesenweihe with Hornburg church in background - 23 May 17.

Female Wiesenweihe with Hornburg church in background - 23 May 17.

Little came of our efforts and we seemed to have lost the birds again.  Accordingly, we extended our search area east into the Grosse Graben.  Somewhat ironically, I had spent hours searching this area in vain the previous year thinking all the time what perfect habitat it was for these birds.  The picture below shows the nest area and, as you can see, it consists of extensive meadow land interspersed with ditches.  Both sides of the valley are surrounded by arable crops - mainly wheat and barley.

Breeding area - Grosse Bruch. 18 Jun 17.

Protective fence surrounding nest on which he female is perched.  20 Jun 17.

The nest.  3 eggs.  More may have been laid.  20 Jun 17.

On the 20 Jun I noticed that someone had placed a protective fence in a meadow which served obviously to indicate where the nest was located.  Actually my assessment had been correct and it was obviously good to know that the birds had at last got down to the business of reproduction.    Taking the opportunity of the female's temporary absence I sneaked a look into the nest in which lay 3 relatively small white eggs.  A normal clutch can consist of as many as 5 or 6 so more may have been laid later.

The male bird perched close to the nest site.  22 Jun 17.

Female - early Jul 17.

Male - early Jul 17.

Female - early Jul 17.

Male - early Jul 17.

So we await hatching.  Our birds have obviously left it late to breed.  I think that both harriers are first time breeders and that this is probably their third summer.  I think they arrived first in the Schladen area and prospected looking for somewhere suitable and eventually decided to move further east into the Grosse Bruch.  Here they evidently took some time to settle choosing a location in grass, as opposed to crops, roughly on the Niedersachsen/Saxon-Anhalt border.  In terms of behaviour the harriers seemed to be remarkably tolerant of Kestrels which they allowed to perch on the fence surrounding their nest as well as hunting in the immediate vicinity.  Other raptors, including a second male Montagu's Harrier, were not tolerated and were chased vigorously from the nest site.

Black Kite - Grosse Bruch - late Jun 17.

.One of several Kestrels, perched close to the nest site - late Jun.

Two male Montagu's Harriers at the breeding site - early Jul 17.

Male Marsh Harrier - Grosse Bruch - late Jun 17.

The Grosse Bruch is an amazing habitat.  It is a linear valley feature running east-west from Hornburg as far as Oschersleben.  At its centre runs the Grosse Bruch its self which is a semi-canalised wate course.  Both banks, especially the southern, are lined in some places at least with luxuriant grass and semi-wetland.  During the first half of the summer I saw in the vicinity of the Harrier site large numbers of breeding Red and Black Kites, Marsh Harriers, a single Hobby, Kestels, Buzzards, Marsh Warblers with attendant Cuckoos, Whinchats and Quails.  Disappointingly, I heard no Corncrakes.

Hare - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

Cuckoo - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

Marsh Warbler - Grosse Bruch - Jul 17.

I am in England at the moment.  I look forward to returning to Germany to see hopefully at least 3 young Montagus Harriers before they depart to Africa.  This is the first time Montagu's Harrier have bred in the Grosse Bruch since the 1930s, and the fact that at least 3 birds, possibly 4, have been present throughout the summer, obviously bodes well for the future.

Post script: sadly the Wiesenweihe nest failed due to an unprecedented storm which brought heavy rain and hail to northern Germany in July.  The exposed chicks, which must have been about six weeks old, had no chance.  Goslar suffered flooding and many communities were significantly damaged.

BREXIT and Article 50

“It is so hard to leave—until you leave.
And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.”

John Green, Paper Towns

Eight months after the UK voted narrowly to leave the EU, Theresa May will trigger Article 50 - the formal process by which a country leaves the EU - this week.  The intervening 7 or 8 months have been a period of phony war, during which the UK's negotiating stance has gradually become clearer and the EU's position has oscillated between threat and pragmatism.

A serious politician for serious times.

As I read about the EU's half-hearted 60th anniversary celebrations in Rome and noted for the first time the absence of a British Prime Minister, I felt a palpable sense of sadness.  That things should have come to this pass is unfortunate (though not a 'tragedy' Mr Juncker) and the situation is certainly now unrecoverable.  The die is cast.

Perhaps a British point of view.

Miscalculations on both sides led to BREXIT.  Cameron fatally overestimated the extent the EU would accept British proposals for reform, and the EU and Merkel especially, displayed a level of obduracy and refusal to embrace the kind of reforms that would have accommodated the UK's concerns.  This intransigence made people like me vote to leave.

Némésis britannique?

It is clear that in the intervening months Britain has not "collapsed: politically, monetarily, constitutionally and economically" as Mark Rutte claimed it had; the rupture between Remainers and BREXITEERS has begun to heal, and even more Scots than in 2014 want to remain part of the UK.  In short, the world has not stopped spinning.  The UK, whether it wanted to or not, is now engaged in a process of national renewal.

A bit rich coming from Der Speigel.

No doubt the next 2 years will be difficult and I do not underestimate the EU's ability to act irrationally in attempting to punish the UK for leaving.  The assertion, held by many in the EU, that things must be seen to be better in the EU than out, is frankly not much of an advertisement for staying.

A Week in Winter on the Darß

We visited Germany's Baltic coast several years ago.  We stayed for a week in the summer on the island of Usedom close to the Polish border.  Ever since then, this area has held an attraction for me, namely because of its wildlife which is fantastic.  Mid winter is an altogether different proposition but the prospect of a week's birding on the Darß filled me with excitement.  As it happens, our visit coincided with a week of mixed weather including to begin with rain, a tremendous storm surge and finally a day so beautiful, clear and cold, that angels must have been present.

Map of the Darß

The lighthouse Darßer Ort, which includes a museum and restaurant

The Darß is famous for being a resting place in the spring and autumn for tens of thousands of migrating cranes and geese. To the north lies the Baltic Sea and to the south the lagoons of Saaler Bodden and Bodstedter Bodden.  The peninsular measures between ten and twelve kilometres from north to south and from east to west.  In winter the island provides a refuge for thousands of birds, including ducks, swans, geese, waders and other passerines.  Some residents stay throughout the year, including the fabulous White-tailed Eagle which I saw several times during the week.  There are three main areas for birding here including, on the north western corner the Darß Ort which includes beach habitat, salt marsh, reed beds and coastal lagoons, to the south the Saaler and Bodstedter Boddens which contain wintering water birds, and finally the north eastern extremity bordering the Baltic sea again.  A word of warning, the distances here can be quite significant and most people get about here on bikes during the warmer months.  However, if you are on foot, be prepared for a lot of walking - sometimes the best birdwatching areas and hides, nearly all of which are open to the elements, can be up to 10 kilometers from the nearest car park!

Darßer Ort in the rain.  I saw a White-tailed Eagle here, one of few species big enough to brave the extreme wind and rain!

Coastal habitat on the north eastern end of the Darß.  The temperature here, with a brutal wind chill, must have been close to -10C!

My first excursion was to the Darßer Ort in the rain.  The nearest car park is in Prerow and thereafter it is all by foot - and round trip of about 10 kilometers!  The best approach is to walk along the beach towards the small harbour.  Beach life included a flock of Snow Buntings, Sanderlings, Knot, Redshanks and some common duck species on the sea, including a Eider.  On arrival at the harbour, it is best to follow the circular path through a mixture of forest, reed beds and coast lagoons adjacent to the sea.  The latter were lashed by rain and wind and contained only a single Great White Egret, some Tufted Ducks and Scaup.  A fabulous adult White-tailed Eagle lumbered past.

Sanderling on the beach

Snow Buntings on the beach.

Redshank, Knot and Sanderling on the beach.

The following day was a complete wash out because of a tremendous storm which descended from Scandinavia.  The Baltic is not normally a 'rough' sea like the Atlantic for example, but the waves we witnessed from a pier at Zingst, were some of the largest I have ever seen.  The region experienced it worst tidal surge in 10 years causing flooding on several areas of the coast, including a rather exposed caravan site located on the beach.  Birding in these conditions was simply not an option!

Rough seas and high tide at Zingst.

The aftermath of the storm - a flooded caravan park on the beach.  The sea water is frozen solid.

At least the next day was dry, but the ambient temperature had dropped to -4C and an evil accompanying wind brought the temperature down to an inhospitable -8 to -10C!  Nevertheless I ventured out to the north eastern end of the island and parked as close as I could to the area I wanted to visit.  Things started well with another White-tailed Eagle but the distance to hides was sign posted at 10 kilometers - a round trip of 20 kilometers on foot which, I must confess, defeated me!  The other factor was that in such an exposed and hostile environment, very little was about.  Somewhat depressed, I returned to the car and decided to explore the southern side of the island which was more sheltered.  Thank goodness there were some birds: hundreds of Mute Swans accompanied by a hand of Whooper Swans, and Tufted Ducks practically as far as the eye could see.  Unfortunately the water was too rough to allow me spot any divers or grebes which I presume inhabit this refuge.  I also spotted my only geese - a gaggle of White-Fronted grazing close to the road.

Saaler Bodden - Swans and Tufted Duck

Mute Swans - Saaler Bodden

Whooper Swan, one of several - Saaler Bodden

White-fronted Geese - Saaler Bodden

My final day dawned cold, clear and still.  I returned to the Darßer Ort area with my two boys in tow - not ideal bird watching companions!  The first thing that struck us was the flood damage, especially to a beach caravan park.  Several were fixed hard in the ice and presumably heavily damaged if not ruined.  The beach turned up more Snow Buntings and waders as well as lots of Hooded Crows feeding of vegetable and organic matter left high and dry from the previous day's storm.  A flock of Yellowhammers were also present, though disappointingly no Shore Larks or other bunting species. 

Hooded Crow - Darßer Ort

Snow Bunting - Darßer Ort

One of many Yellowhammers - Darßer Ort

Following the storm surge, most of the footpaths had been shut and so we had to take the long route to the lighthouse - only another 3 kilometers!  After a hot chocolate I ventured as far north along the beach as I could before being stopped by the floods - again!  To be honest the sea was relatively quiet with a few Cormorants and a female Eider.  Highlight of the day must have been a fabulous female Goshawk which flew across us so close we might have touched her.  I am always impressed by the purpose and power exhibited by this species - surely one of the world's most impressive avian predators.

Cormorants hanging out; note the ice on the right hand side - Darßer Ort

Distant female Eider Duck - Darßer Ort

Darßer Ort - the view from the lighthouse looking north.

So, all in all a most enjoyable week despite 3 days of terribly challenging weather.  If you visit remember the distances are considerable, especially on the east end of the island where they can be prohibitively so.  I look forward to coming again in the spring to see the Cranes and whole host of migrating species that use this wonderful piece of coast.