Munich 28.11.2014

Today we were lucky enough to have the company of Abinash, a friend Becky made through the Birding Pals website. (Sorry if I have spelt your name wrong my friend!)  It was a cold misty day (-2c) but remained dry throughout.  We met Abinash at Hopbahnhof station and made a short tram journey to Nymphenburg Park.  

The large lake was home to Canada and Greylag Goose, Goosander, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe.  The surrounding trees were filling with flocks of Long-tailed Tits, large amounts of Nuthatch, Wrens, Treecreeper (heard) and Goldcrest.  The park is also home to two Tawny Owls both light and dark.

There is a beautifully clear small stream that flows through the park which is a fantastic spot for Kingfisher.  We were lucky enough to see one fishing just metres away.  Below is the stream.

We took a short underground journey east to an area surrounding the Isar River.  Here we saw Mandarin Duck.  The area is very good for Dipper but none showed for us today.

Other species to note were Great Spotted Woodpecker (in large numbers) and Buzzard.

Male Hen Harrier Marshside

Today we stopped off at Marshside before heading on to the NW Birdfair.  Manged to get quite good views of the HH actively hunting.  It really was an impressive sign to behold.  We also saw Peregrine, Merlin and Kestrel.  Whilst at the Birdfair at MMWWT we saw Marsh Harrier and Tawny Owl.

Kestrel Hesketh OM