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Birding in or near Hamburg? (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

I'm traveling to Hamburg at the end of the month - March 2015 - and wondered if there was anywhere in reasonably commutable distance that might be worth a birding trip? I'll be limited to public transport for my stay in case that influences any advice or tips you can proffer?

Thanks for reading.
 
There's a few places within Hamburg state - here's a list of reserves:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Naturschutzgebiete_in_Hamburg
I haven't visited most of them; IIRC Duvenstedter Brook is a particularly interesting site for birders, with (according to the wikipedia article) Crane, Goldeneye, Marsh Harrier, Woodcock, Common Snipe, the occasional WTE, and some others that won't be present at this time of year.
The website says you can "take the U1 to Ohlstedt and then walk for 3km along the Kupferredder or with the Busline 276 to Duvenstedter Triftweg and then 20 Min on foot along the Triftweg".
The ones along the Elbe should be the most promising for WTE, wintering geese (mostly Barnacle, Greylag, Greater White-fronted), Lapwing, and various ducks.

Other places - Schleswig-Holstein and the North Sea coast have some of the best birding spots nationwide - depend on how much time you have, whether you have a bicycle with you (AFAIK there's bicycle rental services, e.g. of the Deutsche Bahn. I have no experience with that, though), or how far you're willing to walk.

I'm more familiar with destinations closer to Kiel (particularly two of them which are accessible via train), which might be manageable from Hamburg if you have an entire day. One of them should be fairly easy from Hamburg (1h or less by train, ca. 20min walk); it has Common Crane, Goshawk, Snipe, Black Woodpecker, Bluethroat, Stonechat, Whinchat, Moor Frog (should be active in late March), Fallow Deer, Wild Boar, and occasionally WTE or Hen Harrier. The other one is even better but you'd have to change trains in Lübeck or Kiel AFAIK.
I can provide further details on these places in case you're interested, although there might be similar ones closer to Hamburg which I'm not familiar with.

If you have ample time (1-2 days), you could also consider visiting Heligoland (one of the most popular birding destinations in Germany), which offers Grey Seals and a seabird colony.
 
Great breakdown; thank you SO much.
I've only really got the Saturday daytime to explore, so local will have to do for now. That said, you do make that Kiel site sound very tempting.....Hmmmm. Lots to think about.
 
Great breakdown; thank you SO much.
I've only really got the Saturday daytime to explore, so local will have to do for now. That said, you do make that Kiel site sound very tempting.....Hmmmm. Lots to think about.
It's actually in (close by) Neumünster;
https://www.google.de/maps/place/Do...2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x90f627bbd1f1a966
(from train station Einfeld, you'll have to use one of two roads northwards to get to the main access point; "Einfelder Schanze" is more straightforward, while "Am Moor" (the one east of the railway) is a bit harder to find, but offers a better view of the place as you approach.
This is probably not the best place for birds in the region, but it's relatively easy to access with public transport (moreso than e.g. Wildes Moor) and pretty good for swampland and moorland species like the ones I've listed, as well as the occasional surprise visitor such as Hen Harrier (n.b.: I've only listed the species I've personally observed there).
Not all of the species I've listed show up reliably, but Cranes and Stonechats should (not sure whether Stonechats will be there yet), as well as displaying Snipe (in addition to the more common denizens such as Meadow and Tree Pipits), and singing Bluethroat if they're already there. Mistle Thrush (as well as Fieldfare and Redwing) may be present already. It's also possible that there's still a wintering Great Grey Shrike around (if so, they're easy to find).

There are good places for geese, ducks, waders, raptors and more on both sides of the Elbe too (e.g. Haseldorfer Binnenelbe, Asseler Sand, Nordkehdingen), but the access with public transport can be somewhat complicated, because of the schedule of local buses, so a combined 2h train/bus ride has to be calculated just for getting there.

This may also be useful for finding out what's currently around:
http://www.ornitho.de/index.php?m_id=1&logout=1&langu=en
 
OK - after negotiating various other logistics I have to include, I think I can manage a trip out to Duvenstedter Brook.

Beyond the travel - although any pointers on this would be appreciated - are there particular areas in the Reserve that are more 'worthy' of exploration? I'm only going to have around 5-6 hours out there I think.

Thanks in advance.
 
I haven't visited the place yet (perhaps someone else can give more detailed pointers?), but here's a map of the area. According to the decription, the dotted roads are off limits during rutting season (in autumn), and the SW ones are apparently closed now because of breeding season. I'd try the hides (the asterisk-like markers on the map called "Sichtschirme"), they're mostly along the main route anyway. Have a look around the info centre as well, it's marked with an "i" on the map (in the SW):

https://hamburg.nabu.de/imperia/md/content/hamburg/geschaeftsstelle/5.pdf

Unless someone with more knowledge of the area posts in the meantime (this sub-forum is not very frequented unfortunately), I'll return with more info tomorrow (from a book I've been meaning to get anyway; if you're in Germany more often, you might want to check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Vögel-beobach...keywords=vögel+beobachten+in+norddeutschland; it's probably less expensive in a local book shop though).
 
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Again - very helpful - thank you so much. Unfortunately, my German is not great so the book may be a bit lost on me at the moment. And, yes, this may make negotiating Germany somewhat tricky, but I can away with conversational things - looking up birding terminology has been an eye-opener!!

But I really do appreciate all of your input on what is a quiet part of the forum. Thanks.
 
If you understand a little german, my website might be of much value to you: http://stickbugdiver.jimdo.com/mein...ok-wohldorfer-wald/beobachtungsmöglichkeiten/

Otherwise I'll try to give you some tips were to go, but I think the information on my website have more detail.
First there's the Wohldorfer Wald. It doesn't really matter where exactly you walk, since at this time of year you can expect all the interesting species pretty much everywhere. There's lots of Middle Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, an occasional Black Woodpecker and in the more swampy areas Little Spotteds. Also a single Grey-headed WP is being seen and heard during the last five years or so. At the Kupferteich there are very high chances for Goldeneye, Whooper Swan and Grey Wagtail. Near the information center at Duvenstedter Triftweg chances are high for Hawfinch and Yellowhammer. In summer there are several goodies like Hobby or Red-backed Shrike to be found, but at this time of year, not many uncommon species are to be expected. Maybe a Black WP or a Great Grey Shrike... At the Mühlenteich in the south you may find lots of migrating ducks, especially Teal, Gadwall and maybe some Shovelers. Grey Wagtails are pretty common here as are migrating White Wagtails and sometimes Pipits. On the little lake further down the road Little Grebe and Merganser are common, a kingfisher may shoot by.
If you walk to the cemetary there's normally a Tawny Owl roosting in the chimney and in the conifers Crested and Coal Tits, Goldcrests, Pine Siskins and Crossbills can be found. In the broadleaf trees Stock Dove and Middle Spotted WP are common, here's the best place to search for the Grey-headed WP.
Then you can walk into the Duvenstedter Brook. Along the way many common songbirds can be heard singing and often Fallow Deer, sometimes even Boar and Red Deer hang out. Further in there's a little pond with few birds, but loads of frogs, ringed snakes and newts, aswell as butterflies and fireflies. If its a sunny day some songbirds will come down and take a bath in the pond, not rarely seen are Willow Tit, Blackcap and Willow Warbler. The observation deck behind rarely yields something of interest. If you are very lucky a Water Rail might scramble into sight, otherwise Gadwall and Little Grebe breed here and a few reed-songbirds. You may go further along the way and find different types of habitats. In the forests woodpeckers are common, in the marshes you'll see Stonechat and Marsh Harrier and on the meadows Cranes will be dancing their mating dance. Red Kites and Storks may be around and looking in the direction of the "Großes Moor" (big swamp) WT eagle is an almost sure sight, aswell as more Marsh Harriers, Cranes and some mammals. Around this time of year you should also look for Rough-legged Buzzards and Hen Harriers. One last spot you may not want to miss is outside of the Brook itself again. It's a meadow near the village of Wiemerskamp (nr.12 on my website). Here you'll probably find a pair of Crane, Stonechats aswell as migrating Wheatears. Sometimes even storks and often BOPs are around.

If you came later in the year (around May) you'd find many, many more songbirds in this beautiful place. There are such goodies as Red-breasted Flycatcher, Corncrake, Quail, Honey-Buzzard, lots of songbirds like Oriole and River Warbler. If you stay long enough in the evening you have good chances to hear or even see an Eagle-Owl, especially in the western parts of the Brook.

Otherwise I can only recommend the Wedeler Marsch in the west of Hamburg. Here you'll see thousands and thousands of Barnacle Geese, aswell as lots of waders, ducks, and migrating songbirds. It's also extremely productive for rarities like Red-breasted Geese or rare waders

Good luck in the most beautiful town in the world

Cheers Maffong
 
If there are any special birds you're looking for, let me know. I know the place very well, eventhough I couldn't visit much in the last year, since I moved out of town.

Cheers Maffong
 
Out of curiosity on my own behalf, how good are the chances to see Red-breasted Flycatcher, Corncrake, Quail, and Badger in the Duvenstedter Brook, Maffong?

Cheers
 
I've seen both Quail and Badger once, but both only for less than a second. Corncrake and Quail sing loudly in the summer, but seeing them is almost impossible. I guess badger is not even that difficult if you take a flashlight with you and search in the forest.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher seems to come back. It was already gone and no longer breeding there, but last year there were at least two territories I think. Unfortunately I don't live there anymore, but at least I'll visit again this summer...

Cheers Maffong
 
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