Kreuzberg

More than a week has passed since my last blog post. The simple reason for that is that were absolutely nothing which would have been worth mentioning.  Well perhaps the 112 Egyptian Geese which I had observed at the Röckelein quarry pond last Sunday would have been.

Nevertheless today was a bit more exciting, since I visited a site, which I had neglected for a long time, though it would have taken me only half an hour to get there with my bicycle. I´m speaking of the "Kreuzberg" near Hallstadt, more precisely of its southern slope. Being covered by a mosaic of fruit trees, fields and woods it is the breeding area of several rare and desired species, such as the Wryneck.

Today I took a small circuit walk, which started at the parking ground in "Dörfleins". The first hundred meters ran through a wood, notable species were Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Pied Flycatcher. After that the wood opened and on both sides fruit trees and hedges could be seen. Here I heard a Black, a Green and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. From this point on it is only a walk of five minutes till you reach the big metal cross which gave the hill its name. The panorama from up there is fantastic and I think it would also be a good spot for observing bird migration. This plan however will have to wait a few weeks still. 

I could have expanded my little tour at this point, but I decided to take an alternative path to the parking ground. On my way I stopped once at a little field, which was surrounded by several fruit trees and was the home of at least 8 juvenile Common Redstarts.

For July this is truly a remarkable result and I´m looking forward to the breeding season of next year. I´m convinced that this site has great potential and it is certainly under watched.