Roger and Andrew White

This was short visit to Berlin looking at some of the sites.

Blankenburg Ponds
This small group of ponds is on Straße 44 near Blankenburger Straße. There was little to see on the water but there were excellent views of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the trees bordering a pond.

Karow ponds
A complex of ponds in the north east of the city. Good paths lead through the site. One of the ponds has dried out and is now a large reed bed. It is best in spring and summer but on this winter walk we saw Siskins. some nice white headed Long-tailed Tits, Marsh Tit, Tree creeper and excellent views of a Goshawk sitting in a tree about 50 yards away.

Moorlinsee
This large shallow pond close to Buch S-Bahn is considered by Berlin birders to be better than Karow. On this short ‘site visit’ there were few birds worth recording apart from a few Wigeon.
Hobrechtsheide
To do justice to this excellent site (a former sewage farm) on the north of the city, at least half a day is needed. As expected, it was quiet at this time of year but in spring the key species include Wryneck, Icterine and Barred Warbler.

Schönowerheide
Again this is a spring/summer site with breeding Hoopoe, Nightjar and Woodlark. It is best not to stray off the paths since it is a former military training area.

Flughafensee
In summer the woodland here is good for Redstarts, and Little Bitterns breed at the eastern end of the lake. A surprise find was 3 Velvet Scoter. Apparently this is a good time to find them on inland waters.

Döberitzer Heide
Another military training area has extensive woodland and open heath. In summer expect the usual heathland birds plus shrikes and warblers, but as expected it was fairly lifeless at this time of year.