A year in Germany 2018 (30 species)

A year in Germany (mostly Berlin) 30 species

 

I wanted to post a few articles as an exchange for all the help I have recieved for knowing where to go on trips from other website users. Germany is an extremely industrialized and compact nation, with a high population and plenty of infrastructure. A third of the country is however forest (mostly commercially managed forest) and there are many protected areas one can still escape to. I saw nothing overly spectacular or rare this year but a nice collection of what there is to see in the middle of a heavily human manipulated and managed region that is central Europe. In my past year working in Berlin I tended to spend most weekends exploring the outercity limits and surrounding nature reserves on foot as these areas are some of the least inhabited and most interesting when it comes to looking for wildlife in Germany. Its easy to stumble upon old war ruins and remains in the forest which can be rather spooky, mostly due to the regions rather recent era under communist rule. When it comes to wild mammals within the city, I saw house mice, wood mice, brown rats and red foxes almost everywhere at night. Rabbits I also saw in the Tiergarten park, Rehberge park, Bahngleisdreieck park, Tegel Airport and a few other places. Red squirrels can also easily be seen in most of the city’s parks during autumn spring and summer months. As for bats, I saw at least 3 species, I am however unsure which type of bat they were, some im sure were common pipistrelle, my bat ID skills need improving. I saw 100s of roe deer all over Germany (and a few in Berlin) throughout the year, they are easy to spot as they are reasonably happy to graze out in the open, even close to motorways and busy railway lines during the day. Wild boar I also saw on many occasions this year, within the city parks in the evenings and also all over the outer areas during dawn and dusk periods. I was lucky to have a beech marten cross my path one evening at night in the center of town also. After receiving a tip from a friend I also saw beavers in Tiergarten park in the summer. One evening I was exploring an old military ruin just south of Berlin and saw a whole family of raccoons sitting inside an old ruined house which was great, though they are an introduced species and are extremely harmful to the local birdlife. I also saw coypus and musk rats just north of Berlin one evening. I hope this is atleest somewhat helpful for anyone planning to head to Germany, there are wolves, Eurasian lynx and other species too, moose (elk) are also making a comeback in much of the countries eastern forests.

 

Species	Where
European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)	Tiergarten, tegel airport, bahngleisdreieck and rehberge in Berlin, Munich donnersberger Brücke
Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)	Surrounding areas of Berlin in open arable land
House mouse (Mus musculus)	Throughout the city, most easily seen running around railroads at underground train stations
Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)	Throughout Berlin in parks
Bank Vole  (Myodes glareolus)	Several seen on walks around woodland and marshland around Berlin
Common Vole (Microtus arvalis)	Several seen on walks around woodland and marshland around Berlin
European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)	One seen in a Garden allotment at night in west Berlin
Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)	Throughout Berlin, everywhere at night
Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)	Most parks and smaller woodlands throughout the country
European Beaver (Castor fiber)	Tiergarten in Berlin and a few close to Königswusterhausen in Brandenburg
Coypu (Myocastor coypus)	Some close to Karow in North Berlin
Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)	In small waterways southern outskirts of Berlin
Alpine Marmot (Marmota marmota)	Berchtesgaden and wendelstein mountains in Bavaria
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)	Throughout most of the outskirts of Berlin, particularly around Wannsee
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)	All over the country, any area with arable land
Fallow deer (Dama dama)	Saw a few from the motorway between Hamburg and Berlin
Red deer (Cervus elaphus)	Saw a group on a night drive in the Bavarian alps
Mouflon (Ovis aries)	A group around Wannsee in the western outskirts of Berlin
Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)	Widespread in the Bavarian mountains, saw them on almost every hike
Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex)	Berchtesgaden National Park in Bavaria
Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor)	Saw one family just south of Berlin
Red fox (Vulpes Vulpes)	Widespread in all environments, easily seen on night drives
Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis)	Saw one briefly in Munich by the Isar river
Stoat (Mustela erminea)	Saw two on separate siting on fields just below the alps, one in its white coat
Polecat (Mustela putorius)	Saw two on night drives in the Bavarian alps
European Badger (Meles meles)	Saw one on a night drive in the Bavarian alps and one on the motorway to Hamburg from Berlin in pure daylight
Beech Marten (Martes foina)	One in the middle of Berlin and many on night drives in the Bavarian alps
Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus)	Widespread during the summer months
Other bat
Other bat

 

I would include a few photos but I am still unable to find a decent way of making a signiture label for them. Any help here would be much appreciated, would love to share some snaps.

On a side note ( yes I know wrong targt group but fun fact) I am not a very experienced birder but saw a total of 110 bird species over the year, without going to any coastal region.