Bird Watching: River Rhine (1 Viewer)

[PaulCountyDurham]

'Any help appreciated.

I haven't been out of the country since the dawn of covid, and a trip abroad is increasingly becoming an attractive proposition. I like Germany, 'been to various cities/places in that country, and I watch a lot of wildlife documentaries and a few have been based around the Rhine. I'm thinking the beginning of September and Southern Germany, but the most important thing is some interesting birds so it could be farther North in Germany or another country such as Austria. I'll not be going on any guided tours or anything like that. I'll hire a car while I'm there but I really don't like heights, and so I don't want to be driving along mountain verges. The main thing will be somewhere I can drive to, park the car and then walk with my camera somewhere near the Rhine.

I've started to look around the internet for places to go, 'but wondering if anyone has insight that might not necessarily be advertised on-line.

Thanks in advance,
Paul

 

[albatross02]

At river Rhine I have not good knowledge.
I can send you maps and information from books.
Middle of August to Middle of September is peak of migration.

To see Broad billed Sandpiper near Greifswald chance is very high.
In this time 20 - 25 different wader at one day is unsual.
Also Caspian tern is high chance near Greifswald.
Island Poel and bird island Langenwerder ( small part you can step ) is worth to see in this time.

Havel area west of Berlin included lake Guelper See and Bustard area is also worth to visit in this time.

Alpine or pre Alpine area like Pang near Rosenheim and lake Ismaninger Speichersee near Munich airport is also evry good in this time.

Do you have target birds ?

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

At river Rhine I have not good knowledge.
I can send you maps and information from books.
Middle of August to Middle of September is peak of migration.

To see Broad billed Sandpiper near Greifswald chance is very high.
In this time 20 - 25 different wader at one day is unsual.
Also Caspian tern is high chance near Greifswald.
Island Poel and bird island Langenwerder ( small part you can step ) is worth to see in this time.

Havel area west of Berlin included lake Guelper See and Bustard area is also worth to visit in this time.

Alpine or pre Alpine area like Pang near Rosenheim and lake Ismaninger Speichersee near Munich airport is also evry good in this time.

Do you have target birds ?

Thanks for the information.

Target birds: I prefer the song birds.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Paul,

the river Rhine is a long river, and therefore you have mentioned a large area. In S-Germany, you can expect to see Grey-headed Woodpecker and there are still a few Marsh Warblers around in september (although the majority has left by august).

There are some well known places, for examples this area

, where Purple Heron is breeding

But as you mentioned more northern parts of Germany and Albatross has mentioned them, maybe you want to see Great Bustards and more around Ziesar? I am there in September.

Yes, there are so many interesting places in Germany, but this came into my mind: if you prefer songbirds, then maybe you plan a second visit in May (2023), as Marsh, Bonellis and Melodious Warbler and Collared Flycatcher in S-Germany and Ortolan Bunting, Barred Warbler, Trush Nightingale, River Warbler in the NE-parts are in full song then.

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Yes, there are so many interesting places in Germany, but this came into my mind: if you prefer songbirds, then maybe you plan a second visit in May (2023), as Marsh, Bonellis and Melodious Warbler and Collared Flycatcher in S-Germany and Ortolan Bunting, Barred Warbler, Trush Nightingale, River Warbler in the NE-parts are in full song then.

Thanks Alexander. It doesn't have to be September, 'could be July or August. The birds you mention are exactly what I'm aiming for.

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Hello Paul,

the river Rhine is a long river, and therefore you have mentioned a large area. In S-Germany, you can expect to see Grey-headed Woodpecker and there are still a few Marsh Warblers around in september (although the majority has left by august).

There are some well known places, for examples this area

, where Purple Heron is breeding

But as you mentioned more northern parts of Germany and Albatross has mentioned them, maybe you want to see Great Bustards and more around Ziesar? I am there in September.

Yes, there are so many interesting places in Germany, but this came into my mind: if you prefer songbirds, then maybe you plan a second visit in May (2023), as Marsh, Bonellis and Melodious Warbler and Collared Flycatcher in S-Germany and Ortolan Bunting, Barred Warbler, Trush Nightingale, River Warbler in the NE-parts are in full song then.

Hi Alexander, can you tell me the nearest cities that I can fly into please?

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
the nearest cities with graeter airports are Frankfurt (Main), Frankfurt (Hahn! Not near Frankfurt), Stuttgart and Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg

I am in Brühl near Mannheim roughly from mid July to early August. If you are in this area, I can help you finding Purple Heron, Marsh Warbler, Cirl Bunting and maybe a few others.

If you need further information, just ask.

 

[Bitis]

I'm from eastern Austria, so if you decide to go there I can probably help you out.
Depending on place and time a lot of birds are possible that might interest you. It's good for raptors, e.g. Eastern Imperial Eagle and White-tailed Eagle. A lot of woodpeckers, e.g. Syrian WP, Middle-spotted WP or Black WP. In some places like Seewinkel there are also a lot of waders on migration or also residents, e.g. Black-winged Stilt. And of course songbirds, e.g. Collared and Red-breasted Flycatcher, Barred Warbler, Crested Lark, Cirl Bunting, Rock Bunting, ... . And also other birds like Hoopoe, Red-backed Shrike or Great Bustard.

Please feel free to ask if you need more infos

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Hello,
the nearest cities with graeter airports are Frankfurt (Main), Frankfurt (Hahn! Not near Frankfurt), Stuttgart and Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg

I am in Brühl near Mannheim roughly from mid July to early August. If you are in this area, I can help you finding Purple Heron, Marsh Warbler, Cirl Bunting and maybe a few others.

If you need further information, just ask.

'Plenty of flights from here to Frankfurt and Stuttgart. I quite fancy Southern Germany because the cities I've been to have been the like of Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg and so on. 'Would appreciate seeing a different part of Germany. The only barrier is when I can get the time off work. There's always a bit of a battle here with work because we live in a country when there never seems to be a good time and employers would be more than happy in the event contractual holidays weren't taken. I'll get them because I'd rather not have the job otherwise but I'm not sure which month between July and September at the moment.

That's a very kind offer, by the way, and I'll certainly get back in touch with you about this. It would really only be the songbirds for me, but as I say I'll get back in touch with you when I've booked my holidays.

Cheers, Alexander.

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

I'm from eastern Austria, so if you decide to go there I can probably help you out.
Depending on place and time a lot of birds are possible that might interest you. It's good for raptors, e.g. Eastern Imperial Eagle and White-tailed Eagle. A lot of woodpeckers, e.g. Syrian WP, Middle-spotted WP or Black WP. In some places like Seewinkel there are also a lot of waders on migration or also residents, e.g. Black-winged Stilt. And of course songbirds, e.g. Collared and Red-breasted Flycatcher, Barred Warbler, Crested Lark, Cirl Bunting, Rock Bunting, ... . And also other birds like Hoopoe, Red-backed Shrike or Great Bustard.

Please feel free to ask if you need more infos

Cheers Bitis. Where is the nearest city? I'm thinking of where I could get a flight into

 

[Bitis]

Cheers Bitis. Where is the nearest city? I'm thinking of where I could get a flight into

Vienna (VIE - Vienna International Airport).
From Vienna you can reach a lot of good spots within about one hour car drive (of course there also are some much closer ones, e.g. also within Vienna).
If time and so on allows I could also of course help you find some of your target species

PS: European Bee-eater is also a bird that might interest you.

 

[kb57]

Hi Paul, you've probably worked this out for yourself by now, but Lufthansa now do daily flights from Newcastle to Frankfurt - previously only destination in Germany was Dusseldorf and for Frankfurt you had to fly from Edinburgh. You've then got the option of train travel to get to cities like Mannheim.
The other alternative from our area is taking the car on the ferry from North Shields to IJmuiden near Amsterdam and driving - the Rhine south of Frankfurt is accessible in about 6 hours from the ferry. I did it a few years ago to visit friends in Weinheim en route to Switzerland and its an easy drive, leaving Netherlands at Venlo and taking Autobahn 61, which avoids most cities and mostly has speed limits (therefore in theory at least not too scarily fast...).

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Vienna (VIE - Vienna International Airport).
From Vienna you can reach a lot of good spots within about one hour car drive (of course there also are some much closer ones, e.g. also within Vienna).
If time and so on allows I could also of course help you find some of your target species

PS: European Bee-eater is also a bird that might interest you.

Cheers Bitis. Again, thanks for the offer. The hour drive sounds perfect as I don't really want to spend ages driving around to get to where I want to be. If I decide on Austria, I'll certainly get back to you to take up the offer. Thanks again!

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

Hi Paul, you've probably worked this out for yourself by now, but Lufthansa now do daily flights from Newcastle to Frankfurt - previously only destination in Germany was Dusseldorf and for Frankfurt you had to fly from Edinburgh. You've then got the option of train travel to get to cities like Mannheim.
The other alternative from our area is taking the car on the ferry from North Shields to IJmuiden near Amsterdam and driving - the Rhine south of Frankfurt is accessible in about 6 hours from the ferry. I did it a few years ago to visit friends in Weinheim en route to Switzerland and its an easy drive, leaving Netherlands at Venlo and taking Autobahn 61, which avoids most cities and mostly has speed limits (therefore in theory at least not too scarily fast...).

Cheers, kb. 'Not sure about the driving, but the ferry is appealing for a few pints and I'm really not a fan of waiting around in airports for a connection, I'm a like to be on the move type. But, Manchester is only an hour and a half away so I'd be more than happy to drive down there for a flight.

 

[kb57]

Cheers, kb. 'Not sure about the driving, but the ferry is appealing for a few pints and I'm really not a fan of waiting around in airports for a connection, I'm a like to be on the move type. But, Manchester is only an hour and a half away so I'd be more than happy to drive down there for a flight.

Just don't have too many pints if you're driving...last time I did the ferry crossing I got breathalysed at the Dutch border - fortunately I'd only had a small bottle of beer the previous night!