Army Ornithological SocietyAOS Eastern Germany Trip
The internet in our hotel tonight is giving me cause to despair unlike our birding today. We woke to the sound of rushing water which was the stream rather than rain. Our first stop was at some fish ponds where we were not welcome, as soon as we appeared the wardens arrived. Fortunately we could do most of the watching from the road. It was a succesful visit as Bittern boomed and Swifts and House Martins flew around. Red and Black Kites flew over our heads. There were several species of ducks and various warblers sang. A Blue-headed Wagtail and a Stonechat perched up high for us. Our next stop was at the local village where we walked along a track down towards a marsh by a reservoir. On one side of the track a Peregrine was tucking in to a unlucky bird and on the other side Kestrels patrolled the grass fields and Kites soared above the ridge. An Osprey sat in a dead tree at the marsh. We then travelled back into the Harz for a walk in the woods where birding was by sound rather than sight. Amongst the birds added were Black Woodpecker and Nuthatch. Our next stop was further to the east and whilst we drove there was some rain but it did stop for our visit to an Imbiss. At the quarry we found a Little-ringed Plover and then a pair of our target birds, Bee-eaters, that sat on the hedgeline providing excellent views. The omens were good as the noisy Great Reed Warbler was found singing from the top of a bush. A pair of Marsh Harriers showed us how to pass prey effortlessly. We also added Wheatear and Sand Martin to our list. Our next and final stop was by the River Elbe where we walked through woods and fields to get to the river. The highlight of our walk (or was it a trek?) was a juvenile White-tailed Eagle. A Barred Warbler sang from deep in a bush and a fleeting glimpse of a probable Middle-spotted Woodpecker set our expectations for tomorrow. Our list for the trip stood at 92 species when we called it a day and headed to our hotel. Takeaway pizza and a few beers was a fitting end to the day.
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