With my internship keeping me busy in Bonn, my birding outings in the last few months have been generally uneventful, being largely restricted to the park in our neighbourhood (with the expection of some great sightings of a Wallcreeper and Peregrine Falcons). With my girlfriend currently living in Munich and my brother also living there, I was happy to combine a weekend with them with being outdoors and seeing some birds. I do not know any particularly exciting birding spots in the immediate vicinity of Munich, but we did explore the Nymphenburger Park and did go on a walk along the Isar River to the South of Munich.
The Nymphenburger Park is a great spot for Tawny Owl, with several known roosting sites of these beautiful birds. We drew blanks at all the spots we visited this time, which was unfortunate as this is always a great bird to show to non-birders. However, I did enjoy good sightings of some waterbirds in the ponds and canal of the Nymphenburger Castle, even though they were all common species. Barnacle and Canada Geese, Mallard, Common and Red-headed Pochards, Tufted Duck, and Great Crested Grebe were around. Because they are used to being fed, they are great subjects to photograph.
Walking along the Isar provided some more interesting birding, with Black Woodpecker calling, and many typical woodland birds in the trees. Common Kingfisher, Grey and White Wagtails, White-throated Dipper, Mandarin Duck, and Common Merganser were seen on the Isar itself.
In the evening, I was surprised to find a small group of Common Goldeneyes, with a male actively displaying – a behaviour I’ve never seen in its species. Producing a very odd nasal call, it stretched its neck upwards and then abruptly threw it back onto its back, bill facing upwards. This was very comical to watch, even though the females present only seemed mildly interested.
While birding was not the priority on this short trip, I was glad to get some birding “under the belt” nonetheless, especially since I could do so parallel to the activities that we would have done with the others either way. The area of Munich surely has many more birding areas that are worth a visit, and I hope I learn of some more spots in the future. In the summer, I will be going birding with two birding friends in the Alps, and am looking forward to getting to know more of the birdlife in South Germany, which I haven’t explored adequately at all.
My Zone Is Birding 