Bavaria in early spring (1 Viewer)

Nothing too exciting this time, as we have just returned from visiting family in Germany. We stayed in the village of Schonlind, just north of Wunsiedel about an hour and a half of Nuremburg and 25km from the border with the Czech Republic. As this was a trip purely to catch up with family, birding was fairly limited to early mornings and occasional afternoons. The area isn't particularly popular with tourists, but it is certainly a pleasant area to spend a few days.

Day one

After arriving the previous evening and enjoying a meal I opted to get out early the next day. There were a few interesting species immediately present as I left the lodge; singing black restart on the rooftops, white wagtail hawking insects on the lawn, and the thin robin-like call alerted me to 3 hawfinch sitting atop a tree. I headed out of the village along a dirt track leading into the forest, which echoed to the songs of common woodland birds; blackbird, wren, robin, chaffinch, nuthatch etc. Several siskin were singing from the pines, whilst migrant Chiffchaff and willow warblers sang from the fringes. An odd song attracted my attention to a singing fieldfare - presumably a breeding bird in the area as I later saw individuals collecting nesting material.
An area which had been felled a few years ago allowed for a break in the treeline, and in this area I picked up the first of many singing Crested tit. I spent a while watching the birds feeding as this is a species I hadn't seen for a considerable time, and I enjoyed their hyperactive antics and quirky punk rock appearance, further enhanced by their harsh, nasal calls.
Several firecrest called from a stand of fir trees, and after a bit of pishing I coaxed a bird out and enjoyed some good views. I headed back for breakfast quite content with the mixture of species that would brighten any day in the UK.
Later in the day I ventured out in the afternoon to look for raptors. It was a bright and unseasonably warm afternoon - perfect conditions for soaring birds. The first large bird I clocked was a bit of a surprise, as it was thermalling several hundred metres in the air - a grey heron. A scan of the horizon revealed the expected buzzard, kestrel and sparrowhawk, whilst a commotion behind me saw me look up to see a female goshawk being harassed by carrion crows.
That was pretty much it for the first day, and it was great to be able to spend a bit of time in the forest.

Day two

Again it was an early start for me, and I opted to head south along the main road that headed towards Wunsiedel. The same mix of species were noted around the village with the exception of hawfinch - though I later saw a couple of birds flying over a different part of the nearby forest. A loud drumming caught my attention, and my suspicions were confirmed when I heard the loud whistling call of a Black woodpecker. Again the forests here were an enjoyable place to be, but the species were fairly uniform in the area. I can't complain, as any of these species would brighten any day in the West Midlands - particularly a black woodpecker
Later in the day I returned to the spot where I had had success with raptors the previous day, and I was not to be disappointed. Several buzzards were soaring over the trees, and a peregrine shot overhead. The best was yet to come though, as the grey form of a male Hen harrier drifted into view. The bird began quartering a clearfell area before gaining height and joining a pair of buzzard on a thermal. It was magical to witness this bird materialize out of nowhere before disappearing into the ether, presumably heading to breeding quarters further north. As I wandered back to the village a few Crossbill flew over, whilst the melancholy notes of a Woodlark drifted towards me in the warm breeze.

Day three

This morning I followed up on a tip off from a local hunter, who had mentioned a good area to view wild boar not too far from the village. I made it to the boggy clearing for about half 6 and climbed the lookout to wait and watch. There was clear evidence of activity with footprints and several areas churned up by the animals. I stayed put for an hour but sadly no sign of any pigs. There was some compensation in the form of a fine red deer stag, and a lovely blue headed wagtail that pitched down briefly to refuel on flies. I was treated to Willow tit and treecreeper, both of which fed in the trees immediately next to my elevated perch.
I began to make my way back towards the village for breakfast, and as I walked along the treeline a cracking goshawk burst through the trees in hot pursuit of a woodpigeon, the pigeon crashed into some bushes about 20m away and the goshawk pulled up sharply. I fumbled for my camera as the bird gained height and joined a buzzard, and just about managed a dodgy pic of the two together.
This encounter put me in a better mood after dipping on the boar, so I decided to head back through one of the thicker stands of trees. In this area were several firecrest including two males who chased each other just above my head. I continued on a little further, when I picked up a distant call that I immediately recognised, but could scarcely believe that I could hear; Pygmy owl! I followed the call into the trees and managed to get a recording on my phone (if anyone wants to hear it please let me know) but sadly the bird stopped calling before I could pin it down to a smaller area. In pursuit of the bird I had wandered quite a way into the forest, and became a bit disoriented in the closed canopy, I headed for a clearing I could make out through the trees and from there followed a dirt track east. It felt like I was a fair way from where I wanted to be, so I was very surprised when I could make out the shape of one of the neighbour's barns!
I spent the rest of the day hanging about with the family, before enjoying a rather boozy evening in one of the local pubs which ended in a "lock-in" and a late finish. Many a schwarzbier had been consumed so there would be no early start the following day!

Day four

The final full day before an afternoon flight home the following day.

I awoke at a fairly reasonable 8am, and to my surprise my head wasn't quite as bad as I'd assumed it would be, though probably as a result of turning in before the red wine was broken out! I didn't have any plans in particular and I was free to wander for as long as I wanted as the family were out horse riding until lunchtime. My first port of call was the track where I had heard the pygmy owl the previous day, and sure enough after about 20mins I picked up the call again, but this time much deeper into the trees. Several fire crest and crested tit were giving alarm calls a bit further down the track, so I hastily made my way towards the commotion. I scanned the trees in the area where the birds were but I couldn't pick anything up not matter which angle I moved to. I was about to give up when a larger bird flapped out of the tree - here we go... or not, as a male sparrowhawk flew out. By this time I'd not heard the calling for 5 or so minutes so I decided to continue on. Hopefully I will catch up with them in Poland again this year and maybe even clap eyes on one!
After a while I picked up on a drumming black woodpecker, and I tried a trick I'd picked up in Poland last year - whistling the call as loudly and accurately as I could. After a few minutes this trick paid off as a smart male flew overhead before alighting atop a dead tree. These are such amazing birds to see, and they look almost corvid like in flight such is their size. I also noted my only red squirrel of the trip as it fed quietly on pinecones.
At a railway crossing I was very pleased to see a rather tatty but still beautiful Camberwell beauty basking on the stones. Presumably these are individuals that had overwintered successfully, though I did note a few other butterflies on the wing such as peacock, comma, small tort and something that looked a bit like a skipper.
In a stubble field I watched good numbers of chaffinch feeding, and mixed in with them were a few yellowhammer and tree sparrow, but the real prize was a cracking male Brambling which was nearly fully adorned in resplendent summer plumage.

That covers the birding part of the trip, and it was certainly an enjoyable 4 days in an area I'd not been to before. The family seems quite settled in the area, so future trips will certainly be in the pipeline. I'll be interested to see what is about a bit later on in spring and also winter (nutcracker looks like a good bet, particularly in some of the higher areas).

A few images

A few pics from the trip, not the best quality sadly!

Wild Boar in Germany's rural areas are famously wary (I've only managed to see them twice so far); they might've noticed your presence somehow. Ironically, it's probably way easier to see them in Berlin than elsewhere.

I'm still somewhat envious because of the Red Deer and the Pygmy Owl.