Germany; Birding around Husum

 The wonderful thing about living in this part of Germany is that migrant species often can just arrive in suburban estates. So it was that on my walks to and from the office there would be chances to see Spotted Flycatcher and Common Redstart, while Tree Pipit was nearly daily flying overhead. There were a few days where I went out specifically birding, and even managed a world tick.

11 September 2021; Beltringharder Koog

  This was the only day really spent birding, with Balduin taking me north to Beltringharder Koog. Initially we had planned to try to see an Oriental Pratincole that had been further north for some time but alas it disappeared just as I arrived, so we opted to stay closer as well.
  This was useful as there was a Spotted Crake in the area, which would have been a world tick for me, and as such we first went to the small hide where we hoped the bird would be. Frustratingly in the hour that we were there the bird showed only briefly and only I saw it. Fortunately there was a group of feeding Greenshank right in front of us, with a very smart Spotted Redshank in tow, while a pair of Bluethroat fed along the edges of the reeds behind. As we were leaving the hide a Merlin came bombing through and snatched a Barn Swallow from right in front of us, before perching up to disembowel it.
  Afterwards we headed to another area of the Koog which was absolutely rammed with birds. Thousands of geese and ducks, with Spoonbills and herons in good numbers as well as large numbers of wading birds. There were quite a few Little Stints present, while Ruddy Shelducks were a novelty on the wildfowl front. A ringtail Hen Harrier came gracefully over the saltmarsh to round off what had been an exceptional mornings birding.

Species List:
Beltringharder Koog: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Spotted Crake, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Western Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Western Jackdaw, Northern Raven, Bearded Reedling, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Common Starling, Bluethroat, Western Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Reed Bunting,

18 September 2021; Husum Schlosspark

  Although I was not out with the intention of birding, there were quite a few bits on offer today that made the afternoon very enjoyable on a bird front as well. When walking through the park there were three groups of Brent Geese that flew over, in addition to a single group that flew over the previous night at football. In total I guess the three skeins added up to 250 birds.
  There were also a family feeding the ducks in the park, and while there were many Black-headed Gulls in with the mallards there was also a fantastic winter plumage adult Mediterranean Gull. This is a new species for me in Germany where it is not super common.

-Brent Geese

Species List:
Husum Schlosspark: Brent Goose, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, European Herring Gull, Common Buzzard, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Barn Swallow, Common Martin, Common Starling,