'Das endlose Trauerspiel'

One thing you get to learn when living abroad is that your host's national culture is likely to be very different from yours.  And so it is for me with Germany - even though my wife is German.  I suppose that there are a few superficial similarities, but we are all prisoners of our countries' pasts and actually there are very few shared cultural reference points that properly bind us together either as people or communities.  We are, whether we like it or not, rather different.



A 1 Euro coin

When reading German newspapers I am often struck by how different the German establishment's (for want of a better expression) view is on a whole range of issues compared with the prevailing opinion or consensus in the UK.  One issue that certainly does bind us together is the European Union (EU) and the Euro, even though the UK is not a member.  The latter is constantly in the news at the moment thanks to the never ending Greek financial crisis.

Strong stuff - 'Frau Merkel, we also want a referendum!  Take the Greeks out of the Euro!'

German foreign policy since the second world war has been to embed itself within first the EEC and then the EU.  Over time and more by default than by design, Germany has assumed an increasingly important leadership role in the EU mainly because of the Euro crisis and its position as the dominant economic and fiscal power.  Other crises, for example those involving Russia, have also favoured German involvement because of the significant economic and trade links between the two countries.  The German political elite remain wedded to the EU and its future - especially the Euro.  This relationship is a given, a constant, a matter of faith; it is not the pragmatic contractual arrangement envisaged by the British. 



The Bundestag in Berlin.

But are things changing?  Certainly people here are alive to the Euro crisis and many have now assumed a more questioning and sceptical stance.  I don't think most people realize how well Germany has done in the Euro and wrongly assume that their economic success is entirely attributable to the country's manufacturing brilliance.  What I think really upsets people here is the thought of handing over more money to indebted states in southern Europe, especially when they refuse to take Auntie Angela's medicine.  I wonder now whether the Germans will be prepared to hand over the political and sovereign power necessary to make the Euro work.  The acquiescent acceptance, upon which many German (and other) politician's relied to advance the cause of Europe, is I sense draining away.

So where does this leave us - or more pertinently the Germans?  Whilst Germany is certainly wealthy, there is a lot of poverty here.  The legacy of amalgamating unemployment and welfare benefits in 2005 under Hartz IV, is over 7 million people on “mini-jobs”, part-time work that is tax-free up to €450.  This flatters the jobless rate, but in the process Germany has become a split society, more unequal than at any time in its modern history. Remarkably, a fifth of German children are raised in poverty.  So many Germans quite understandably don't think that they can afford to subsidise others - and they probably have a point.  But, you make your bed and you lie in it.  If everything is sacrificed on the exigencies of a indistinct and vapid European dream, without asking the electorate first, then this is where you may end up.  We are all very different - I don't understand how the Germans could have let themselves get here, but then I don't understand them and they don't understand me.

Wiedehopfe - Oranienbaum Heide

Hoopoes, like Bee-eaters, are a bird most bird watchers will go the extra mile to see.  I believe that they also the most recognizable scarce bird seen by the general public out walking their dog in the spring.  With their pharaoh's crest, de-curved beak, pink body and striking black and white striped wings, they are immediately recognizable both by the lay-man as something special and by the hard-core birder as something worth running to 'bag'.


Oranienbaum Heide

Hoopoes are scarce breeders in Germany but have increased in numbers over the past decade benefiting from the effects of warming temperatures and, especially in my part of the world, the conversion of former military training areas into nature reserves.  The Oranienbaumer Heide, near Dessau, is a case in point.  Quite apart from having such an attractive name, it is a large area (2,683 hectares) of unimproved dry grazing land intermixed with forest in various states of development.  The Heide provides a home for a wide variety of heathland birds including Nightjars, Woodlarks, Great Grey Shrikes, Wrynecks (though increasingly scarce) and Hoopoes.   


Oranienbaumer Heide

Orainenbaumer Heide - note the cattle

Approximately 100 pairs of Hoopoe breed in Sachsen-Anhalt and their numbers are increasing significantly thanks to the use of nest boxes.  In the past 2 or 3 years the numbers of breeding Hoopes in Sachsen-Anhalt has nearly doubled and on one heath alone there are now nearly 60 currently held territories. Numbers are also doing really well on the heaths in Brandenburg.  I have visited several Heides over the course of the last couple of years, usually on the recommendation of the good Vogel Beobachten in Ostdeutschland guide, and have often commented on how over-grown many of them have become when compared with the photographs in the book.  Consequently many species, especially Tawny Pipits, seem to have moved out.  The Oranienbaumer Heide, however, seems to be well-managed and native cattle and horse breeds, as well as large scale tree felling, are used to maintain the right mix of habitat.


Hoopoe home?  An armour plated nest box circa 3m from the ground fixed in a young oak tree  - Orainenbaumer Heide

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Orainenbaumer Heide

I have visited the Oranienbaum Heide once before in the hope of seeing Hoopoes but to no avail.  Admittedly the visit was made at short notice and without any research and my colleagues and I had to make do with wonderful views of Great Grey and Red Shrikes, Golden Oriels and an amazing array of butterflies.  The weather during today's visit was extremely hot - 30⁰ centigrade - and there was very little activity to observe.  It was one of those days where you had to work really hard to see anything other than the ubiquitous Red-backed Shrikes and their families, some Stonechats and a couple of Woodlarks, which of course are lovely. 

Hoopoe - Orainenbaumer Heide

Hoopoe - Orainenbaumer Heide

Mercifully, however, and just as I was about to give up, my attention was caught by the unmistakeable view of a Hoopoe flying into a small tree.  Thank goodness!  The bird was quite tame and allowed me to creep close enough to take some pictures.  Whilst I was waiting for it to fly from the tree into the sunlight, my attention was then attracted to some activity in the sky - namely a spanking male Goshawk flying high seemingly hawking some Swifts.  I am usually quite good with Goshawks but male birds can present identification problems with their slightly smaller and less physical female cousins.  However, the combination of bulging secondary wing feathers a more prominent head, a thick set tail and slightly slower wing beats, allowed me to identify this bird as a Goshawk.  Goshawks are widely distributed throughout Germany and can be seen, usually by chance, just about anywhere, though usually in forest habitats.
 

Male Goshawk with Swifts - Orainenbaumer Heide



Male Goshawk with Swifts - Orainenbaumer Heide

Male Goshawk - Orainenbaumer Heide

When, after all this aerial excitement was over, I returned my attention to my Hoopoe, it had gone!  Flown loopingly across the vast heath to a tree or shrub unknown.  There is no list of sightings to report - it wasn't that sort of outing and actually I saw remarkably little!  It was very hot and hard work, but I got my bird - a first for me in Germany.

Bienenfresser

Thanks to their exotic colours and acrobatic lifestyle, most birders retain a special affection for Bee-eaters.  I certainly remember the first time I heard and then saw a flock of migrating birds in the Aeolian Islands off Sicily many years ago.  Too often reports one hears of in the UK are of fast movers in the Spring or later reported breeding accounts, most recently on the IoW I believe.  So, when I moved to Germany, it was with some interest that I learnt that Bee-eaters were breeding quite locally - less than 100 km away from where I live.

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben

Bee-eaters first started breeding in Germany in the 1980s in the Kaiserstuhl in Baden-Württemberg - the warmest place in the country and the source (I think at least) of the only truly good red wine in Germany. Throughout the following decade they spread north, eventually reaching Saschen-Anhalt by the 1990s.  Today, the warm and dry 120 km long by 20 km corridor in the rain shadow of the Harz mountains, provides ideal climatic conditions for bee-eaters and this is where Saschen-Anhalt's population is concentrated.

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben

Finding Bee-eater colonies in Saschen-Anhalt is actually not that difficult providing that you can read German.  This isn't the occasion to bore you with my relationship with the language of Goethe and Schiller, suffice to say that the late night reading of on-line bird reports and other data helps both to find birds and improve my German.  A really good example is the Vogelmonitoring in Sachsen-Anhalt 2012 which you may wish to peruse - the Bienenfressers are on page 32.  On a serious note, you will note that there is almost certainly a great deal more data made publically available than would be the case in the UK. 

Detail of Bee-eater colony - Osmarsleben

In total there were 506 breeding pairs on Bee-eaters in Sachsen-Anhalt in 2012 - 10% less than the previous year.  Despite this probable 'blip', Bee-eaters are continuing to spread north colonising suitable sandy quarries and banks wherever they come across them.  The birds in the photographs were seen close to small village of Osmarsleben and were easy to locate and observe.  Whilst I was there I met a local woman out jogging who, having been completely oblivious to the birds' presence in her own back yard, was thrilled to see them through my binoculars.  Bee-eaters seem to have that effect on people.

 

Bee-eater - Osmarsleben



Drömling - North East

The other day I returned to the northern eastern part of the Drömling.  The weather was hot and sunny making photography difficult because the light was extremely stark.  I was hoping to find some Ortolan Buntings which frequent this drier and more open habitat.  I saw one in this area last year but they are scarce and not easy to find.

Drömling - North east

Drömling from the Schwarze Brücke - Golden Oriels!

My entry point was the small hamlet of Kaiserwinkel which you can see in the middle right hand sector of the map.  Access is quite easy as one can take a car along some good agricultural tracks right up to the main area of interest.  The recently rebuilt Schwarze Brücke is a good place to park.  Spring is, to all intents and purposes, now over and we are now well into the breeding season.  Nevertheless, lots of birds were singing - especially Yellowhammers of which there are plenty.  The Ortolan Bunting song sounds, to my ears at least, like a softer foreshortened version of their Yellowhammer cousin and in my experience it is worth checking all of the latter just in case.

 

Ortolan Bunting - against the sun!

As luck would have it, I quickly located an Ortolan signing from the top of a tall tree.  Unfortunately the bird was right against the sun making good observation of the species’ diagnostic features difficult.  However, the combination of song, warm orange underparts and greenish head, was good enough for me.  Its a nice feeling seeing a bird you've set out to see, especially when they are scarce, but it does rather fill you with that feeling of 'OK, well what next?'

 

Drömling - 'Kernzone'.  Note drier more open habitat.



Cuckoo - Drömling

Puckle and I ventured into the 'Kernezone'.  The habitat here is more open than the southern sector and contains large extensive meadows of grass filled with flowers - perfect for Corncrakes if any were calling.  I quickly came across a Garden Warbler signing from deep within a bush.  How ever long I waited, he refused to come out long enough for me to take a photograph.  I found a second, similarly skulking, 10 metres further on which, seeing that they must have been signing for territory, seems rather strange.  Rather more obliging on the visibility front, were the cuckoos of which I counted 10 by the end of my visit.  They are truly abundant here and must run their 'hosts' ragged.  A family of Stonechats was nice to see as were dozens of Red Kites throwing themselves around the blue sky over the meadows.  I heard at least 6 Great Reed Warblers all signing from the small clumps of reed in the ditches besides the path.  Most of them seemed to be signing half heartedly almost as if they'd given up finding a mate.

Park sign - not exactly the RSPB.

Stonechat - Drömling



Red Kite - Drömling



It was getting towards mid day now and becoming really hot.  There was a discernable reduction in the amount of bird activity.  Somes hares trotted up the path towards us but even Puckle wasn't interested prefering to find a nice shaddy spot to hide - so much for a hunting pedigree!  I heard a second Ortolan fly overhead and saw a group of Cranes descending into an adjacent field.  Following my last visit here I have checked their status in the Drömling and it seems that there is a small breeding population here. Could this have been a family group mooching around?  A White Stork flew by - they also breed locally but not in large numbers.

Lazy dog! - Drömling

2 of 8 Cranes with their undercarriage down - Drömling

Here's the day's list - Mute Swan, Mallard, Grey Heron, White Stork, Red Kite (6), Buzzard, Crane (8), Woodpigeon, Cuckoo (10), Skylark, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stonechat, Blackbird, Marsh Warbler, Great Reed Warbler (6), Whitethroat, Garden Warbler (2), Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike (10), Raven (3), Starling, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Linnet and Ortolan Bunting (2).  Not brilliant, but as I said at the beginning of this post, spring is vorbei and somnolent summer seems to have arrived.

White Stork - Drömling

Linnet - Drömling

War Memorials

I have long been interested in the German approach to the commemoration of war and last year's centenary of the beginning of the First World War caused me to think about the subject even more.  Both my boys attend school in Germany and I was determined that they should learn something about the awful conflagration that enveloped Germany and Britain (and of course others) 100 years ago, especially since the subject's coverage in Germany was low profile to say the least.  The centrepiece of my efforts involved a short detour to some First World War cemeteries and battlefields in Belgium as we drove back to Germany from the UK last summer.

"The Greiving Parents" by Käthe Kollwitz statues in the Vladslo German war cemetery - Duiksmuide, Belgium

We visited the German war cemetery at Diksmuide in Flanders.  The cemetery is famous for a remarkable pair of statues by the German sculptress Käthe Kollwitz.  The pair, modelled on Kollwitz and her husband, kneel at the head of the cemetery in which their own son, Peter, is buried. The effect is the antithesis of heroism and glory and one cannot help feel the consuming grief felt by a bereaved mother and father – in this instance in perpetuity.  The contrast with the Commonwealth Tyne Cot cemetery a few miles down the road could not be starker.  The scale and majesty of the British imperial architecture and the immaculate rows of individually engraved headstones is hugely impressive and redolent of the words “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori” - before Owen used them in an ironical sense in his great war poem. 

 

Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Cemetery - Passendale, Belgium



I am not sure what deductions, if any, one should make in comparing these two styles, except perhaps to note the Kollwitz erected her masterpieces in the 1930s and that, therefore, in some circles at least in Germany at that time, war was already perceived of as something awful and to be avoided at almost any cost.



War Memorial at Klotze, near Wolfsburg

Just as in the UK, after the First World War nearly every German village, town and city erected memorials to commemorate their dead.  Their style is sometimes simple as here in the small village of Klotze near the Drömling, and in other cases more ornate including idealised statues of soldiers - I have to say that these are less common maybe because of extra cost involved. 



War Memorial at Bühne, south of Braunschweig

At the end of the Second World War, just as in the UK, the names of the dead were, in most cases, added to the existing memorials.  But I think the national psychosis experienced by Germany after 1945, was so profound that the country turned its back on anything that reminded them of their recent past - including memorials to their war dead.  Sadly it's not uncommon to see memorials blighted by graffiti and broken glass which would be unheard of in the UK.  On the other hand, Germany's meticulous approach to facing up to her past has ensured that dreadful effects of war are never forgotten.  And this continues to shape this remarkable country's attitude to foreign policy and international relations even today.  Returning to Käthe Kollwitz, there is no finer example of this than the installation in 2007 of another one of her sculptures in the Neue Wache in central Berlin.  Kollwitz's epitaph is a memorial for all the victims of war.

"Mutter mit totem Sohn" - Neue Wache, Berlin

Die Elbe

Perhaps the greatest and most important landscape in Germany lies either side and along the course of the river Elbe.  The river, which rises in the Czech Republic and empties into the North See in Hamburg, is one of the great trade and wildlife highways in Europe.  Thanks to 50 years behind the Iron Curtain, this mighty river remains less tamed and channeled than others - for example the Rhine - and has retained, throughout much of its course in Germany, some amazing wetland habitats which support an incredible array of wildlife.  The landscape is truly continental in scale - there is nothing like it in the UK - and its climate is characterised by warm summers and long cold winters.


Die Elbe from Magdeburg to Jerichow - note the large number of 'ox-bow' lakes

My guide for this trip was the Vogel Beobachten in Ostdeutschland guide, necessary to focus one's attention on such a large area.  My plan was to concentrate on the river north of Magdeburg, through which the Elbe flows, starting in the north and working my way south.  The weather was very warm and sunny.  Jerichow is a small town on the east bank of the river in the north of my area - see map - and fairly typical in the sense that it's landscape is dominated by the river and its flood plain.  The landscape here is very beautiful and charcterised by extensive areas of meadow dotted with vestigial lakes and ponds - marking I suppose the former course of the river.  Despite having the guide, the area was new to me and therefore my expectations were a bit 'hit and miss'. 


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

Having parked my attention was immediately drawn by the unmistakable sound of a Great Reed Warbler singing from some reeds in a nearby small lake.  Because of their size they tend to sing either from small bushes or from the bottom half of reeds necessary to support their weight.  This species is locally common and easy to find - basically look for any reed bed - big or small - and listen out for their unmistakeable song.

Great Reed Warbler - Jericho

The same pond was graced by some incredibly beautiful Black Terns which are also quite widely distributed along the course of the river attracted to and nesting on the plethora of shallow and vegitated small ponds and lakes.  The Germans have a lovely name for terns - 'Seeschwalbe' - which means 'lake swallow' - how apt!

Black Tern - Jericho

A couple of Swallows - Jericho

Wandering further out and onto the floodplain I saw distant Osprey high in the sky.  Whilst I see them regualrly during the Spring and Autumn, I am not sure what this bird was doing here in early June.  Nevertheless, my first of the year and very nice to see.

Osprey - Jericho

Other species were actually decidely scarce as I walked on and was limited to a very obliging Corn Bunting, which seem to be only a little bit more common than they are now in England, a distant Whinchat and some Lapwings.  Birds of prey were represented by the omnipresent Red and Black Kites and Buzzards.

Corn Bunting - Jericho

Lapwing - Jericho

Interestingly, there was no evidence of Grasshopper or Savi's Warblers  despite the large amount of apparently suitable habitat.  Indeed the only warbler I saw here was a Whitethroat which are very widely distributed and common.  A fly-by White Stork finished proceedings as I headed back to the car.  White Storks breed pretty much the whole length of the Elbe and nesting concentrations can be seen in many villages, many of whom compete for having largest number of nests - a nice tradition I think.



Common Whitethroat - Jericho



White Stork - Jericho

And so on to pastures new.  I took the minor roads heading south along the river crossing on a tiny ferry - somehow I never feel completey safe on these small boats whose scale is dwafed by the size and flow of the river.  Fortunately my attention was diverted by a couple of Common Terns - always worth checking for Whiskered in these parts.

A view from the deck!

Safely on the far bank I headed to the small village of Bertingen which is located adjacent to a large ox bow lake and some gravel pits.  I was deep in eastern Germany now and the villages have a uniquely eastern feel.  Many houses are deserted, some are falling down whilst others have been lovingly restored after their 50 year sujorn under Communism.  I sense that many of these habitations will struggle to survive as people continue to head for the major towns.  Anyway, back to the birds.  The lake, which is easily discernable on the map, played host to more Black Terns, Mute Swans, Coots, Moorhens and the usual array of wetland birds.  NIce to see was a Great White Egret which, whilst common in winter, are more difficult to find in the summer months - where do they go?  A Fox added interest - especially for my dog and Red-back Shrikes were common throughout the area.

Herr Fuchs - Bertingen

Red-backed Shrike

And so finally back down to Magdeburg - a historic city of which I am very fond.  It has managed to retain its distinctly east German feel despite all the new development that has taken place since unification.  Magdeburg also has a fantastic cathedral and Domplatz and, perhaps more by accident than design, has retained many small ponds and unkempt areas of habitat suitable for wildlife.  And of course, you are never far from the river.  I visited a couple of ponds on the edge of the city close to the river which were teeming with life, including frogs and an abundance of Marsh, Reed and Great Reed Warblers.  Nightingales seemed to be singing from every other bush. 

Magdeburg and the Dom

Pond at Prester, Magdeburg

I have to say that it was just brilliant to be here on the outskirts of a major city and to see and hear so much wildlife amongst people walking their dogs and cycling!  I suppose the weather helped - it being late spring and warm; the most abundant time of the year.

Hooded Crow - Prester

Grey Heron - Prester

And so finally here's the list: Mallard, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, White Stork, Black Kite, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Osprey, Coot, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Black Tern, Swift, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Blue-headed Wagtail, Wren, Nightingale, Whinchat, Song Thrush, Marsh Warbler, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Jay, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Raven, Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting and Yellowhamer.



Blue-headed Wagtail, Prester

Mighty stream - Die Elbe just south of Magdeburg

In summary, I'd have to say that the star of the show was the river.  She (die Elbe) manages to support such an incredible amount of life and I hardly managed to scratch the surface in a single day.  The Germans recognise how unique this landscape is and are doing a brilliant job in protecting it despite the need to safeguard communities from the occasional, nevertheless devastating effects of flooding.  If you are in this part of the world, the Elbe and its landscapes is a must.  There are few places like it.