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,

Germany; Dagebull twitching Glaucous Gull

I took a couple of hours away from the office to twitch a Glaucous Gull that was chilling on the dyke fourty minutes up the road. It was an extremely easy twitch, with the bird sat as soon as we arrived and not moving too much until a dog flushed it and the bird moved onto a nearby lake. I had been waiting a long time to see a white-winger this well, so it would have been rude not to visit. There were not too many other birds there, but some nice Barnacle Geese made up an excellent supporting cast.

-Glaucous Gull

-Barnacle Goose

Species List:
Dagebull: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Pintail, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Eurasian Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Skylark, Roe Deer, 

Germany; Dithmarscher Koog

During the afternoon in the office word reached our ears that a Great White Pelican had been seen again at Dithmarscher Koog, where it had been seen before I had arrived. After work we headed there and were rewarded with EXCEPTIONAL views of this STUNNING bird chilling out on the water. I, for one, am a big pelican fan so as soon as news broke I was running on pure adrenaline and it did not dissapoint, actively feeding on the lake in the company of Mallards and Shovelers. Other nice birds for the evening birding included Black Redstart and Spotted Redshank.

-Great White Pelican

Species List:
Dithmarscher Koog: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Goldeneye, Pheasant, Great Crested Grebe, Woodpigeon, Pied Avocet, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Great White Pelican, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Common Kestrel, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Black Redstart, Starling, White Wagtail, Common Linnet, Goldfinch,

Germany; Hauke-Haien-Koog

After work myself and a few of the other guys headed to one of the Koogs further north from Husum looking for waders. We had a really nice evenings birding with a wide range of species that I don't necessarily see very often in Britain. Highlights included Red-necked Phalarope and Temminck's Stint, and a Black Tern was also a nice surpirse. The highlight of the evening was getting close to some fantastic Bearded Tits with individuals from a whole range of ages being very approachable.

-Bearded Tit

Species List:

Hauke-Haien-Koog: Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Egyptian Goose, Garganey, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Eider, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Coot, Water Rail, Woodpigeon, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, Black Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Magpie, Bearded Tit, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Blackbird, Common Starling, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Brown Hare, Roe Deer, 

Germany; Husum

I finally got around to looking for the ST Treecreepers in the town park in Husum. I wasn't sure how easy they would be to track down but the answer was very, and I found two individuals extremely approachable and very showy, interacting with each other and singing. I was a really enjoyable hour or so, wandering around the park. There was nothing else interesting on offer, but the Treecreepers really were excellent value.

-Short-toed Treecreeper

Species List:
Husum: Mallard, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Wren, Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Robin, Starling, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Red Squirrel,

Germany; Black-bellied Dipper

Had a fun little jaunt out from the office to see a Black-bellied Dipper that was wintering on a small stretch of river near a housing estate not far from the centre of Husum. It was my first encounter with this subspecies, pretty cool to be able to study its features. It was present from the moment we arrived, and was always in view despite being a little cautious of our presence.

-Black-bellied Dipper

Species List:

Husum: Black-bellied Dipper,

Germany; Birding around Husum

After six weeks in Brazil it was time to get to working and saving towards my next adventure. Having already been in Germany for a few days Tim and myself decided to have a days birding out and around Husum. My Danish friend Anton from Israel came down across the border and joined us.
We started in a small woodland south of Husum where our main target was Black Woodpecker. Although the birds were very vocal I only saw one as it flew over us, but it was a brilliant flight view. We also had Great-spotted, Middle-spotted and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, as well as two Cranes perched in a field adjacent to the woodland.

-Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Having got the morning off to an excellent start we then headed to the fields and saltmarsh north of Husum where we were looking for geese. We had over 10000 Barnacle Geese, 3000 White-fronted Geese, 1000 Greylags and a single Bean Goose sp. making for an incredible spectacle with so many birds. It was awesome. A nearby lake produced some common winter wildfowl as well as good numbers of Smew, including some stunning drakes.

-Barnacle & White-fronted Geese

We finished off by exploring the saltmarsh, looking for Shore Larks and Snow Buntings. We found plenty of both, although the birds were not particularly approachable. A flock of Corn Buntings was also nice, as was a flyby Hen Harrier.

-Snow Buntings

Species List:
Wildes Moor: Greylag Goose, Woodpigeon, Common Crane, Common Buzzard, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, Common Raven, Carrion Crow, Marsh Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Eurasian Blackbird, Starling, Chaffinch,
Beltringharder Koog: Greylag Goose, White-fronted Goose, Bean Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Smew, Eider, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Hen Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Skylark, Shore Lark, Common Starling, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Reed Bunting, Snow Bunting, Corn Bunting, House Sparrow,

Germany

Thursday 27.09
After work we headed out birding some of the areas not too far north of Husum. Most of our birding was scanning over areas of flooded wetland or fields. In the evening light it was tricky but we had a pleasant enough evening featuring a nice array of species. Highlights included only my second and third ever White-tailed Eagle, as well as a stunning male Hen Harrier and a really smart perched up Merlin. Whooper Swan, Barnacle Geese and Spoonbills made up a pretty splendid supporting cast.

Species List: Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine, Buzzard, Hen Harrier, White-tailed Eagle, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Lapwing, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Curlew, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail, Swallow, Starling,

Saturday 29.09
For our first full day off Tim and I decided to head out to Helgoland, the famous landmark bird observatory where so many rarities are seen. Obviously the islands reputation preceded it, so we obviously had high expectations. And we were not disappointed. The first bush we looked into had a Yellow-browed Warbler in it, the first of an incredible NINE that we found across the island. Other regular migrants included Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers, Whinchats, Stonechats, Wheatears, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. Meadow Pipits adorned every area of lawn, all the while Chaffinches and Bramblings migrated overhead in their hundreds. The beach at the north had a Richards Pipit feeding among the Rock and Meadow Pipits, as well as five Shore Larks. The gull flock perched on the beach had a stonking 2cy Caspian Gull present. Even the boat over had goodies such as Long-tailed, Arctic and Great Skua, as well as Kittiwake and Red-throated Diver. To say that we were impressed with our first Helgoland experience would be an understatement.

-Barnacle Geese

-Caspian Gull

-Shore Lark

-Richards Pipit

Species List: Barnacle Goose, Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Wigeon, Common Scoter, Eider, Red-throated Diver, Cormorant, Gannet, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Caspian Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Kittiwake, Long-tailed Skua, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Shore Lark, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Richards Pipit, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Swallow, Starling, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Lesser Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Redstart, Whinchat, Stonechat, Wheatear, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Greenfinch,

Sunday 30.09
As the software we were working on was being updated over Sunday morning we took a short drive to try and catch the two world ticks that were possible in the area; Black and Middle Spotted Woodpecker. The woodland was small but the birding was really good as we found ourselves surrounded by Marsh Tits whilst Hawfinches flew over. We only managed one of our Woodpecker targets; Middle Spotted Woodpecker, which Tim expertly picked out in the tops of the trees.

-Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Species List: Pheasant, Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Greenfinch, Hawfinch,