[Cluster]

Hi, I have a trip to Osterode soon and will have two weekends to myself whilst there. I hope to have use of a car if needed. Can anyone recommend one or more birding/nature walks in the area?
Is a printed guide available locally?

Dave

[ychri]

hello Dave,

I have never visited this area, but I suppose here you can get some first web-informations concerning interested sites:

http://www.enjoynature.net/?verein=e...et=-1066958615
zooming will show you more spots around in the area.

ornitho.de will give many good informations, too, but you only get full access to the data if you constantly report (at least some of) your observations.

in both cases, you can contact the local birders by email. my experience is: the locals try to help the foreigners. sometimes they led me to their best spots and spent some of their leisure time for me, even though they didn't know me at all.

there are two general guides which contain descriptions of locations near osterode, some kind of "where to watch birds in...".
"vögel beobachten in norddeutschland"
http://www.amazon.de/V%C3%B6gel-beob...7658992&sr=8-1
locations:
leine (river) south of hannover
lengeder teiche (ponds/lakes of lengede), salzgittersee (lake of salzgitter), heerter see
leinetal (valley of the river leine) between salzderhelden and northeim
seeburger see, lutteranger und seeanger (anger means some kind of meadow, I think)

"vögel beobachten in ostdeutschland"
http://www.amazon.de/V%C3%B6gel-beob...ref=pd_sim_b_1
contains only one spot relatively near to osterode:
brocken (mountain) in nationalpark harz.

I don't know if there is a printed local guide, but I think there should be one (ask the locals).

have a nice time there.

greetings, yvonne

[Cluster]

Danke Yvonne,
Some good pointers and as you say, ask the locals. As I will be working there for a few weeks I'm sure to find someone to help.

Regards...Dave

[Xenospiza]

I spent a month in Goslar (in a better time of the year than February) and found the Harz very hard going... even in June it is very poor birdwise (the low areas around the Harz were more interesting in many ways).

There must be Tengmalm's Owls about, especially in the Osterode area (the local expert should live there – I never contacted him though). You'll need local knowledge or a desire to go out birding at night and play tapes – I am not too sure about the legal status of that!
The interesting woodpeckers (Grey-headed, Middle Spotted, Black) tend to occur more in the low hills than in the Harz (and the first is probably more likely further to the east).

Note that I did not meet any birder there – my colleagues said they had never even heard of anyone looking at birds!

[Cluster]

Thanks for this, Xenospiza. I'll take some time in the lower hills around Osterode.
One main reason for the time here is to occupy two weekends off work. A nice walk with bins in bag will be OK.

Dave

[Cluster]

I'm there (here in Osterode) now. The weather is doing something odd, it's -11c at the moment and going lower at night. My local colleagues say that there have been reports of colder weather (-20c) blowing in on a easterly wind, so my plans to get to the mountains are off.
I've brought a set of outdoor clothing, but it's only good enough to around -10c, so this "fair weather" walker will spend a little time birding in the lowland woods or possibly, just possibly, in the bar......

Dave

[trooper]

Hallo Dave,

The best place for birding that is in easy reach of Osterode is the Northeim lakes and the nature reserve and flood catchment polder between Northeim and Einbeck, it is about 30 minutes to drive from Osterode.
Because of the cold snap most of the lakes are frozen but we are lucky to have an area of water here that remains free, the Geschiebesperre Hollenstedt, it is an area on the river Leine that has been widend and deepend with the aim of catching debris and sediment before it enters the polder area. because the river runs through it it remains free when the other bodys of water freeze and is a magnet for all sorts of water birds.
At the moment, among others are Tundra bean goose(Rossicus), White fronted goose, Whooper and Mute swan, Goosander, Goldeneye, Smew, 1 bittern and in the last couple of days Yellow legged gull and Caspian is quiet regular.
These are not guaranteed to be there all the time but it is worth a look.

If you like you can send me a pm and I can give you the directions how to get there or we can meet up on the weekend(I am working on saturday but have Sunday morning free) I live in a village by Einbeck which is about 30-40
minutes from Osterode.

John.

If you look on Google maps and click Route berechnen, Than enter(A) Osterode am Harz and (B) Hollenstedt, Northeim, you can see where it is, the B241 is the most straight foreward route.

[Cluster]

Thanks again to all. I feel a bit foolish now, I've had a drive out on a small circuit to the lower hills and got out of the car in a couple of promising places.
It has been really busy, cars parked everywhere and lots of people. All on skis.

My colleague and I were the only walkers in the places we stopped in. Only 20Km out of Osterode, it was -14c and three feet deep in snow. No birds to be seen at all.

Looked good though. We both fell through the snow cover a couple of times, next time we take skis rather than bins.

Dave..