A personal guide to birding at Frose abd Osmarsleben

Located on a former DDR brown coal open cast mining site, Frose stands as an oasis of bio-diversity amongst an arid desert of intensive agriculture and wind farms.  The main site of interest lies below the attractive village of Frose but extends north to include the much larger, deeper and dangerous Concordia See and Konigsauer See to which it is very difficult to get access.  I discovered this site purely by chance as I happended to be driving by and was astonished to see such a large area of wetland and reed bed. I vowed to visit it as soon as I was able and wasn't disappointed.  Also included in this short guide, is the site of Osmarsleben which hosts a colony, sadly seemingly somewhat diminished, of Bee-eaters.  The map below shows the Osmarsleben sites numbered 1 and 2 and the Frose site numbered 3.

Map of Osmarsleben (1 and 2) and Frosse (3) sites.

Frose - the wetland and reed beds lie immediately to the north east of the village astride the small stream

The reed beds with the village in the background

The best time to visit Frose is in May and June when all the migrant birds have arrived and are singing.  Access to the site is easy; a car can be parked on the road running from Frose north east and a good path conveniently bisects the reserve.  The village recently erected a simple viewing hide half way along the path - its not brilliant but its better than nothing.  The habitat includes flooded meadows the other side of road opposite the reserve which, if wet, can hold ducks and waders, extensive reed beds and lagoons which, depending on the time of the year can either hold a lot of water or none at all!

Lapwings at Frose

Marsh Harrier - Frose

Marsh Warbler - Frose

So, a well-timed Spring visit here will virtually guarantee Grasshopper, Savis, Marsh, Great Reed, Reed and Sedge Warblers, Bearded Tit and Penduline (with a bit of luck), Hobbies, Marsh Harrier, Garganey, Bittern (often heard booming).  Less likely are Bluethroats (which seem to be declining here) and Turtle Doves.  Storks and Cranes are a real possibility and I regularly see Honey Buzzards in Soring and Autumn flying over.  Bee Eaters are virtually guaranteed here in Autumn hawking over the lagoons for insects. 

Bee-eaters - Osmarsleben

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben

Bee eater colony - Osmarsleben

Osmarsleben is about 10 minutes further south of Frose so the two locations are easily combined.  Bee-eaters have been breeding in the warm and dry corridor east of the Harz for many years and Osmarsleben has been an important colony for these birds.  The site consists of a series of sandy quarries - some large and some relatively small (see photo above) which are easily excavated by the birds.  Sand Martins are also present in quite significant numbers.  The surrounding countryside is intensively farmed and I fear the extensive use of pesticides has affected the numbers of insects so much that the Bee-eater colony may soon be abandoned due to a lack of food.

White Stork - Frose

Garganey - Frose

In summary, though somewhat remote and isolated, Frose is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.  The quality and array of birds you can see in Spring especially is amazing.  The site is also extremely manageable and, to cap it off, you'll get a good simple German meal and a beer in Martina's Kneipchen in the village itself.  If you want any advice on visiting this area I'd be happy to help: rose.andrew.john@gmail.com