As a new member I thought I'd take advantage of the message boards to let you know about nice birding places in Germany. I've been considering to register at BirdForum and start a thread on a nice location for travelling birders who get stranded on Frankfurt Airport for quite a while.
The location is called Langener Waldseen and is situated just 2 km east of the runway of FAP and is a highly frequented recreation area with an oper-air swimming area. But wintertime is quiet and goods birds - including some vagrants - can be seen on the most western lake. This lake is still an active gravel spit, thus access especially for the best site is more or less tolerated and cannot be guaranteed.
Good birds to be seen on the lake (in fact there are 3 lakes; 1 big lake and 2 smaller lakes with reed fringes) in wintertime here on a regular basis are Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Gadwall(Anas strepera), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) and Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula). At the beginning of December 2012 there was an influx of cold temperatures in Germany. Shortly after a Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellate), Smew (Mergellus albellus) , Common Merganser (Mergus merganser ) and a male Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) as well as up to 10 Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) showed up. The woods hold all 6 species of continental woodpeckers (incl. Black, Middle-spotted and Grey-faced Woodpecker) and vast numbers of Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes ) and Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) in the winter. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) are often heard and sometimes seen in the canopy of the many pine trees. For the last winters 1 Great Grey (Northern) Shrike (Lanius excubitor) used the area as a wintering ground. I have seen large flocks of Common Crane moving overhead in late October from this site.
For direction it is recommended to take a taxi for the 10 minutes trip. Tell the taxi driver to bring you to Sehring Sand & Kies GmbH, Sehringstrasse 1, near the small town of Langen. He will probably take the highway (Autobahn) A5, than exit the Autobahn on the next possibility south of the Frankfurter Kreuz. This is Exit 23 (Zeppelinheim or resp. Neu-Isenburg/Neu-Zeppelinheim/Dreieich) for just 800 m, than you are already on the L3262. Drive this good road for 1,5 km and keep right on the B44 in the direction of Groß-Gerau/Walldorf.
The entrance for the Langener Waldseen is signed "Fa. Sehring". This company is the owner of the gravel pit. Parking on the entrance road is allowed only on weekends. From here you have to walk for almost 2 km along a fenced-of area. If you have passed the fence, the view opens up and you're standing in front of a lake with a wide free water surface. Then you are on a small hill overlooking the slope down to the water. From here observeations are already excellent - besides in sunlight because you are on the northern side of the lake. Just walk for more 10 minutes and you can see the water surface from the east.
Beware: Arrange for a taxi pick-up to return to the airport in due time.
Here is a (more or less) complete checklist of birds recorded: Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Great Bittern, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Velvet Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red Kite, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Common Pheasant, Common Crane, Water Rail, Little Crake, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Black-headed Gull, Stock Pigeon, Common Wood-Pigeon, Common Kingfisher, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Grey-faced Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Eurasian Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Carrion Crow, Common Raven, Marsh Tit, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Winter Wren, Goldcrest, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, European Robin, Common Starling, Hedge Accentor, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Eurasian Bullfinch, Hawfinch
The location is called Langener Waldseen and is situated just 2 km east of the runway of FAP and is a highly frequented recreation area with an oper-air swimming area. But wintertime is quiet and goods birds - including some vagrants - can be seen on the most western lake. This lake is still an active gravel spit, thus access especially for the best site is more or less tolerated and cannot be guaranteed.
Good birds to be seen on the lake (in fact there are 3 lakes; 1 big lake and 2 smaller lakes with reed fringes) in wintertime here on a regular basis are Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Gadwall(Anas strepera), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) and Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula). At the beginning of December 2012 there was an influx of cold temperatures in Germany. Shortly after a Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellate), Smew (Mergellus albellus) , Common Merganser (Mergus merganser ) and a male Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) as well as up to 10 Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) showed up. The woods hold all 6 species of continental woodpeckers (incl. Black, Middle-spotted and Grey-faced Woodpecker) and vast numbers of Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes ) and Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) in the winter. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) are often heard and sometimes seen in the canopy of the many pine trees. For the last winters 1 Great Grey (Northern) Shrike (Lanius excubitor) used the area as a wintering ground. I have seen large flocks of Common Crane moving overhead in late October from this site.
For direction it is recommended to take a taxi for the 10 minutes trip. Tell the taxi driver to bring you to Sehring Sand & Kies GmbH, Sehringstrasse 1, near the small town of Langen. He will probably take the highway (Autobahn) A5, than exit the Autobahn on the next possibility south of the Frankfurter Kreuz. This is Exit 23 (Zeppelinheim or resp. Neu-Isenburg/Neu-Zeppelinheim/Dreieich) for just 800 m, than you are already on the L3262. Drive this good road for 1,5 km and keep right on the B44 in the direction of Groß-Gerau/Walldorf.
The entrance for the Langener Waldseen is signed "Fa. Sehring". This company is the owner of the gravel pit. Parking on the entrance road is allowed only on weekends. From here you have to walk for almost 2 km along a fenced-of area. If you have passed the fence, the view opens up and you're standing in front of a lake with a wide free water surface. Then you are on a small hill overlooking the slope down to the water. From here observeations are already excellent - besides in sunlight because you are on the northern side of the lake. Just walk for more 10 minutes and you can see the water surface from the east.
Beware: Arrange for a taxi pick-up to return to the airport in due time.
Here is a (more or less) complete checklist of birds recorded: Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Great Bittern, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Velvet Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red Kite, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Common Pheasant, Common Crane, Water Rail, Little Crake, Common Moorhen, Common Coot, Eurasian Woodcock, Common Black-headed Gull, Stock Pigeon, Common Wood-Pigeon, Common Kingfisher, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Grey-faced Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Eurasian Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Carrion Crow, Common Raven, Marsh Tit, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Wood Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Winter Wren, Goldcrest, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, European Robin, Common Starling, Hedge Accentor, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Eurasian Bullfinch, Hawfinch
