-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Düsseldorf, Germany (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Bushop
- Start date
albatross02
Well-known member
Duesseldorf
Hi,
even I worked in Duesseldorf for 3 months, I do not know this area for birding.
In the federal country Nordrhein Westfalen is a birdwatching station "Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Nordrhein Westfalen".
Maybe You can ask here
http://www.orn.mpg.de/~vwrado/templates/en/address.html
For my opinion Duesseldorf is not so nice and interesting, the town and the surrounding.
Not far is Cologne with some old buidling or Aachen the town of imperator Karl der Grosse ( means Karl the Great ).
Northsea is also not far, but 300 km drive with car can take 2 h or 6 h and even more if there is lots of traffic jam.
Best regards
Dieter
Bushop said:
Hi,
even I worked in Duesseldorf for 3 months, I do not know this area for birding.
In the federal country Nordrhein Westfalen is a birdwatching station "Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte Nordrhein Westfalen".
Maybe You can ask here
http://www.orn.mpg.de/~vwrado/templates/en/address.html
For my opinion Duesseldorf is not so nice and interesting, the town and the surrounding.
Not far is Cologne with some old buidling or Aachen the town of imperator Karl der Grosse ( means Karl the Great ).
Northsea is also not far, but 300 km drive with car can take 2 h or 6 h and even more if there is lots of traffic jam.
Best regards
Dieter
John Eaton
Well-known member
Hi Bushop,
I've visited Dusseldorf many times on business and never found anywhere special for birding. However if it is your first visit to Europe then I guess even the common species will be new for you. There are many woodlands on the outskirts of the city worth walking, though it will be slow birding in the winter months.
If you've got time at the weekends then as Dieter says you could go to the north or better still over to Holland. You might want to look at the following site for ideas: http//members.aol.com/kalakot2/1/birdsgt.html
I've visited Dusseldorf many times on business and never found anywhere special for birding. However if it is your first visit to Europe then I guess even the common species will be new for you. There are many woodlands on the outskirts of the city worth walking, though it will be slow birding in the winter months.
If you've got time at the weekends then as Dieter says you could go to the north or better still over to Holland. You might want to look at the following site for ideas: http//members.aol.com/kalakot2/1/birdsgt.html
Xenospiza
Distracted
If you have the chance to drive, the Maas Valley in Limburg (Netherlands) is nearby (about an hour away). Lots of geese, ducks, grebes possible. I can give directions to local rarities like Eagle Owl, Middle Spotted Woodpecker (and all other possible woodpeckers), both Tree Creepers, Corn Bunting, Caspian Gull (depending on your interests & time). 75 species or so should be possible if you bird hard.
The Dutch estuaries are a bit too far really (over three hours driving), but you might be tempted by the larger numbers of birds.
The Eiffel hills on the German–Belgian border are interesting for a few species, but I couldn't give directions...
For history, Köln (Cologne) and Aachen are good bets (and Maastricht in the Netherlands).
The Dutch estuaries are a bit too far really (over three hours driving), but you might be tempted by the larger numbers of birds.
The Eiffel hills on the German–Belgian border are interesting for a few species, but I couldn't give directions...
For history, Köln (Cologne) and Aachen are good bets (and Maastricht in the Netherlands).
albatross02
Well-known member
Duesseldorf
Hi,
this map is only in german, but gives You overview about top spots.
http://www.birdinggermany.de/deutschland.htm
From Duesseldorf to Berlin is around 400 km. 80 km west of Berlin ( near town Rathenow are some highlights of Germany ).
Lake Guelper See is all time worth to go. Not far is Buckow, which is known for Great Bustards ( begin of January some was seen ).
Also floodplain of river Elbe is nearby..
In this area is good chance for White-tailed Eagle, Geese ( begin of January reported over 14.000 ), Common Bussard, Rough-legged Bussard, hundrets of Whooper Swans and even still Cranes ( 10.000 should stay still in Germany, but last weekend we had almost 15 centigrad, now -5 ).
It depend how flexible You are ( rent a car and so on ).
Other top spots are 80 - 100 km from this area which I recommeded.
Best regards
Dieter
Hi,
this map is only in german, but gives You overview about top spots.
http://www.birdinggermany.de/deutschland.htm
From Duesseldorf to Berlin is around 400 km. 80 km west of Berlin ( near town Rathenow are some highlights of Germany ).
Lake Guelper See is all time worth to go. Not far is Buckow, which is known for Great Bustards ( begin of January some was seen ).
Also floodplain of river Elbe is nearby..
In this area is good chance for White-tailed Eagle, Geese ( begin of January reported over 14.000 ), Common Bussard, Rough-legged Bussard, hundrets of Whooper Swans and even still Cranes ( 10.000 should stay still in Germany, but last weekend we had almost 15 centigrad, now -5 ).
It depend how flexible You are ( rent a car and so on ).
Other top spots are 80 - 100 km from this area which I recommeded.
Best regards
Dieter
Last edited:
Blaumeise
Well-known member
Hi,
I was born in, and grew up north of, Düsseldorf. Birding in that area is suboptimal, given the very dense population and the large number of cities in very close proximity. In fact, the lack of adequate bird protection areas in the province of North-Rhine-Westphalia (of which Düsseldorf is the capital) has been the cause of enforcement proceedings by the EU Commission against Germany at the European Court of Justice for violation of the bird protection directive. But you don't have to go too far for some decent birding if you're not looking for terribly rare species. My favorite spot is in the town of Mülheim an der Ruhr, just about twenty minutes to the northeast of Düsseldorf. Just south of the Mülheim city center, along the west bank of the Ruhr river is a nature preserve for birds (Ruhraue Mülheim). You can usually always find several Grey Herons, Great Crested Grebes and various waterfowl in the area. In the summer there are also numerous warblers and Long-tailed Tits. Not sure what you'll find in January/February, though.
As to historical wonders, there isn't that much in Düsseldorf proper (the town is more suited for shopping for clothes on the Kö and drinking beer in the Altstadt). But if industrial history interests you, you should check out the Route der Industriekultur. This route will take you around the old steel factories and coal mines of the Ruhr valley that fueled German industrialization. Most of these are now defunct and many of them now lead a second life as performance spaces, galleries or landscape parks. The route also includes Villa Hügel, the immense former mansion of the Krupp family. An excursion to some of these sites (the Villa Hügel, Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord and the Zeche Zollverein are really worthwhile) can be easily combined with a birding trip to the Ruhraue in Mülheim as these are all fairly close to each other.
If you do decide to trek out a bit further afield, I would highly, highly recommend the nature preserve Hoge Veluwe in Holland near the town of Arnhem. It's only about an hour, hour and a half drive from Düsseldorf. The nature is magnificent, you can rent free white bikes to get around the preserve and there is a fantastic little art museum in the middle of it (the Kröller-Müller Museum) that has one of the finest Van Gogh collections in the world, including most of his surviving sketches, which are, however, not always on exhibit due to their sensitivity to light.
BTW, Dieter, to English-speakers Karl der Grosse is known for some reason by his French name, Charlemagne.
I was born in, and grew up north of, Düsseldorf. Birding in that area is suboptimal, given the very dense population and the large number of cities in very close proximity. In fact, the lack of adequate bird protection areas in the province of North-Rhine-Westphalia (of which Düsseldorf is the capital) has been the cause of enforcement proceedings by the EU Commission against Germany at the European Court of Justice for violation of the bird protection directive. But you don't have to go too far for some decent birding if you're not looking for terribly rare species. My favorite spot is in the town of Mülheim an der Ruhr, just about twenty minutes to the northeast of Düsseldorf. Just south of the Mülheim city center, along the west bank of the Ruhr river is a nature preserve for birds (Ruhraue Mülheim). You can usually always find several Grey Herons, Great Crested Grebes and various waterfowl in the area. In the summer there are also numerous warblers and Long-tailed Tits. Not sure what you'll find in January/February, though.
As to historical wonders, there isn't that much in Düsseldorf proper (the town is more suited for shopping for clothes on the Kö and drinking beer in the Altstadt). But if industrial history interests you, you should check out the Route der Industriekultur. This route will take you around the old steel factories and coal mines of the Ruhr valley that fueled German industrialization. Most of these are now defunct and many of them now lead a second life as performance spaces, galleries or landscape parks. The route also includes Villa Hügel, the immense former mansion of the Krupp family. An excursion to some of these sites (the Villa Hügel, Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord and the Zeche Zollverein are really worthwhile) can be easily combined with a birding trip to the Ruhraue in Mülheim as these are all fairly close to each other.
If you do decide to trek out a bit further afield, I would highly, highly recommend the nature preserve Hoge Veluwe in Holland near the town of Arnhem. It's only about an hour, hour and a half drive from Düsseldorf. The nature is magnificent, you can rent free white bikes to get around the preserve and there is a fantastic little art museum in the middle of it (the Kröller-Müller Museum) that has one of the finest Van Gogh collections in the world, including most of his surviving sketches, which are, however, not always on exhibit due to their sensitivity to light.
BTW, Dieter, to English-speakers Karl der Grosse is known for some reason by his French name, Charlemagne.
Similar threads
