The Steinhorster Becken is a man made overflow basin for the river Ems that now has NSG status. It is west of Paderborn on the Kreis Paderborn/ Kreis Gütersloh boundary. Its the best birding area, IMO, around Paderborn, with lots of water, woodland and fields surrounding it. There is always something to see, although some of it is quite far away and a scope/spektiv is useful if you own one. Today I saw the first Black Necked Grebes that I've seen in Germany, along with many other species that are more common. I photographed a lot of warblers, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap today as well as Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Song Thrush, Nightingale,(Last year I photographed a Thrush Nightingale there, only the second ever recorded in Kreis Paderborn), Northern Lapwing, Tree Sparrow, Barn Swallow etc. etc. Last month we had Black tailed Godwit, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Eurasian Curlew, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Mandarin Duck amongst others. There are breeding Ruddy Shelducks with a clutch of young chicks, a breeding pair of White Stork with 4! young in the nest. There is also a pair of Grey Herons with a nest and I saw a chick there today. Osprey are regulars and last winter we saw Ross's Goose, Snow Goose, White Fronted Goose, Barnacle Goose, Brent Goose as well as the Greylag, Canada and Egyptian Geese that have healthy breeding populations. Great Egret is also seen most days. Over winter or on migation we also see Nothern Shovelers, Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Shelduck, Garganey, boosting the number of species. Apparantly there are also Stock Doves there, but as I've yet to see one anywhere, I'm begining to think they don't exist and everyone else is making up stories. A circular route around the area is about 5 km in length with benches to rest as and when is needed. It is very popular for Sunday walkers or cyclists, so its best to go during the week. I've missed out a lot of species that are seen regularly or are resident, so this is not an complete list of what can be seen here. I like it though and wanted to share this great place with others who might be in the area.