Germany - The Bavarian Alps Tour in June
Limosa Holidays / The Travelling Naturalist
Trip Report, Germany, The Bavarian Alps
June 1st– 8th 2011
The Bavarian Alps
Bavaria in southern Germany is one of Europe’s best kept secrets. Not only is is a stunning land, filled with high peaks, cascading waterfalls, verdant pastures and mixed forests, the land contains many special birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Our holiday began after a flight from London to Munich. Stephen, our guide was on hand to check our rental mini-bus and we set off on the seventy-five minute journey south to our hotel on Lake Kochel with the Wetterstein mountains as a dramatic backdrop, right across the Street!
Very quickly we all settled into the hotel, taking in the stunning surroundings and enjoyed the first of our delicious traditional German meals in the lovely wooden-panelled restaurant with a family of Goldeneye and Great Crested Grebes swimming past on the lake, right in front of the hotel’s restaurant windows.
The weather was warm and mostly sunny during our week in Bavaria, with only wet weather on our arrival and departure days.
There are some great walking areas within well laid out nature reserves and many woodland paths along rivers that flow from the Alps northwards towards some of the main European waterways like the Danube. We explored these areas looking and listening for all kinds of different birds insect and plant species. The wide open meadows of both the lower and upper Alpine pasture offers a wide variety of wildlife including Curlew, White Stork, Common Buzzard, Black and Red Kite, Fieldfares, Common Rosefinch, White Wagtails and Tree Pipit. Some Orchids were still in Bloom and other wetland plants were also flowering which attracted some butterflies and other insects, but not as many as in previous years.
On Murnauer Moos Nature Reserve we explored some of the main paths and marshland track edges where Tree Pipits, Chiffchaff, Icterine, Marsh Reed, and Grasshopper Warblers sang. A few good examples of damsel and dragonflies danced through the verdant Meadows or kept closet o the burbling streams. Common Rosefinches stole the show for the group with very good views of a singing male.
The pathways at all the nature reserves we visited were all well laid out and a joy to walk through. There are information boards at most entrances with further pathway signs that give information on distance and walking times. There’s even a lovely Little ‘Gasthoff’ beside the parking area of the Murnauer reserve, where we took a hot bowl of the local goulash soup and a beer!
The rest of the week gave us good luck with the weather as we travelled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and up to Germany’s highest Peak, the Zugspitze. Unfortunately we arrived on the first sunny day after a spell of good weather and it was also Father’s Day in Germany which saw hundreds of people wanting to make the same journey on the cog-railway to the Summit. Dodging the waiting queues of travellers we went quickly back to the mini-bus and drove a few kilometers to the train’s first stop at the Eibesee, with it’s mountain lake and from there took the faster cable-car straight to the top. Without any nosebleeds we arrived after quickly punching through a layer of light mist closet to the summit.
At the summit the views were spectacular and we could see for over 100 kms. Watching the Alpine Choughs fly past, displaying and caling out in the clear air was quite something at almost 10,000feet (3000m) above sea-level!
Alpine Accentor, Black Redstarts and Ravens flew around or were seen on the snow fringed slopes. Some Alpine Choughs landed on the guard-rails right beside the group and some even stole food from the tourists plates.
We met one of the Forest Rangers on a day out to the Pupplinger-Au, where the River Isar travels on it’s was towards Munich. Here European Beaver lodges could be seen on the minor tributaries. On the large gravel Banks parties of Goosanders sat preening and Little Ringed Plovers flew around the area. Here river is divided into a canal and the old river has secondary tributaries with some marsh and flooded woodland. The canal was originally built for logging transportation and the steep, protective flood banks have a host of insect life amongst the many varieties of flowering plants.
Crossbills, Honey and Common Buzzards and Black Kites were also present.
Further excursions along the large lakes to the north at Ammersee and Stranberger See led us to watch, Hobby, Reed Buntings and Icterine Warblers amongst a host of other splendid wildlife that included damselflies, dragonflies and wild flowers.
On one dull day with an afternoon of rain showers, we walked around Lake Zell, with it's sizeable populations of Red-crested Pochards and Marsh Warblers. Hawfinches, Red-backed Shrikes, White Storks and Red Kites also flew around the area and at the nearby Peterzell ancient Yew tree forest we walked through the dark forest where long ago it was one of the European long-bow centres where archers from all over Europe came to get their bows made.
As usual our excursion by cable car to the unfortunately named but quite beautiful Wankberg, close to Garmisch brought quite a few laughs. Here we caught up with Ring Ouzel and had some really close views. Water Pipits too were quite confiding this year and Dunnocks flitted through the scrub. Stopping off at the middle station we searched for Alpine butterflies and plants, watching Green Woodpeckers and Honey Buzzards crossing the forest.
Some of the other town we passed through were Oberammergau, Farchant and Starnberg-am-See and wherever we went there seemed to be local ‘fests’ taking place and people out in their traditional costumes, enjoying the fine weather and generally all having a good time!
The quality of the hotel and the food we had at various small gasthoffs or hotels were simply excellent whether it was a plate of lentil soup with smoked sausage and bread or fresh fish from the local lakes. The local beer, wines and fruit juces were a perfect compliment to the home-made dishes and the friendliness of the people from 'Bayern' and their warmth was most appreciated– in fact everywhere we went, were helpful, courteous and wanted to tell us about the area and what it offered to tourists.
This year’s tour to the Bavarian Alps was a great success and the weather for most of the week was warm and sunny.
We hope that we may get together again on another tour, sometime in the future and wish you all health, happiness and fond memories at Kochel-am-See.
Stephen Daly, June 2011
Systematic list of species
BIRDS
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
One heard on the morning of the 7th
Greylag Goose Anser anser
50+ flock with young were seen at Lake Zell
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Noted every day, with two pair plus young present on lake Kochel and seven at Starnbergersee
Gadwall Anas strepera
A pair were seen at Lake Zell with other birds also noted on Lake Kochel
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Seen every day, present on Lake Kochel and meadows.
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina
Twelve birds were present at Lake Zell
Common Pochard Aythya farina
One was recorded on the Lake Kochel on 4th
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
Seen most days
Goosander Mergus merganser
A female bird was regularly seen flying around the hotel early mornings. Four pairs at Pupplinger-Au
Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
Pairs were seen regularly on Lake Kochel with chicks
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Seen most days at Lake Kochel and at various other sites
European White Stork Ciconia ciconia
Seen on nearby meadows close to Schledorf on the 6th and the 7th
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Seen in reasonable numbers most days
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis
Strangelay only one bird was seen on the 6th at Lake Kochel early morning
Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Common, seen daily
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo
Seen on three occasions on the tour
Peregrine Falco peregrines
A pair seen at Maurnauer Moos on the 2nd and one male on the 7th at Paterzell
Merlin Falco columbarius One male bird seen driving to Garmisch on the 3rd
European Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus
Birds were seen on the 2nd at Kochel marshes and again on the the 7th at Paterzell
Red Kite Milvus milvus
Seen in small numbers on four days
Black Kite Milvus migrans
Seen daily
Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Single adult male was seen Lake Zell on 7th
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
Common, seen daily
Common Coot Fulica atra
Recorded daily on Lake Kochel, with several others seen at Lake Zell.
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
A few breeding pairs around the meadows at Kochel were seen on the 2nd
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Seen every day of the tour
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Small numbers were noted on several days but large flock on the drive to and at Lake Zell itself on the 7th
Feral Rock Dove Columba livia
Seen every day
Stock Dove Columba oenas
Seen locally on three dates
Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
Seen every day
Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Seen every day
Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
2 birds seen on the 2nd at Muranauer Moss and heard daily at various sites
Common Swift Apus apus
Recorded daily
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Only one bird seen on the river Isar at Kochel on the 7th
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
Singles were recorded on two dates, the 2nd and the 5th at woodland sites during the tour
Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus
Seen on the 2nd at Muranaer Moss Reserve
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis
Two adults gave us good views at the middle station of the cable car on the Wankberg
Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio
Adult male feeding a chick was seen on the 2nd at Murnauer Moos
Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius
Common seen daily
Common Magpie Pica pica
Common seen daily
Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculas
Approximately twenty birds were seen at the summit of the Zugspitze, some distant at Wankberg
Eurasian Jackdaw Coloeus monedula
Seen most days, with largest numbers noted around the town buildings and nesting at the bell tower at Kloster Schäftlarn
Carrion Crow Corvus corone
Common, easily seen.
Common Raven Corvus corax
Seen most days, with nice views had of birds on our visit to the Zugspitze and Wankberg
Marsh Tit Poecile palustris
Recorded near the hotel on 4th and 6th and at Peterzell forrest on 6th.
Willow Tit Poecile Montana
At least two were seen well at Murnauer Moos NR, with another seen near the hotel on 9th
Coal Tit Periparus ater
Recorded daily
Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus
One was seen well on our journey back down the Zugspitze, with another heard at Peterzell forrest.
Great Tit Parus major
Recorded daily
Eurasian Blue Tit Parus caeruleus
Noted daily
Common Sand Martin Riparia riparia
Surprisingly scarce, with only two seen at Starnbergersee on 7th.
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Common, seen daily
Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
At least one bird was heard and seen on the 5th
Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia
Heard reeling at Kochel on the 2nd at Murnauer and on the 7th at Kochel marshes
Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Singing birds were recorded at Lake Zell
Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Heard and seen in suitable habitat
Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris
Reasonably common in suitable habitat, with birds regularly heard and seen
Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina
Singing birds were seen well on the 2nd and 7th
Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
Recorded most days
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
|Common, recorded daily
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
Seen and heard daily
Garden Warbler Sylvia borin
Appeared common in suitable habitat, with singing birds noted most days
Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla
Singing birds were recorded daily, with good views had of an obliging male as we returned from Zugspitze
Goldcrest Regulus regulus
Singing birds were recorded at the Wankberg on the 4th
Northern Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
Recorded daily around our hotel
Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Recorded daily in the woodland area by the hotel
Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla
Singing birds were seen at the hotel
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Common, seen every day
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus
At least eight birds were seen on the 4th, on our visit to the Wankberg.
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
Common, recorded daily
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Seen most days, looking great in breeding plumage
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
Seen or heard most days
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
Recorded on four dates, with a maximum of six at Kochel-am-See
European Robin Erithacus rubecula
Recorded alternate days
Common Redstart Phoenicurus Phoenicurus
Seen on the 3rd and the 6th
Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
Common, seen daily
European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola
Seen on 3rd and the
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata
Seen daily with a resident pair opposite our hotel, and some very obliging birds seen along the river at Kochel
White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus
Seen daily, with several sightings around the lake edge and the nearby river beds.
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Easily seen primarily around urban areas
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Seen in ones or two’s this tour
Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris
One bird was seen by at the summit of Zugspitze
Dunnock Prunella modularis
The only ones seen were on the summit of Wankberg, where they were seen relatively easily
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
Recorded around the lake edge and nearby river banks.
White Wagtail Motacilla alba
Common, widespread and seen daily.
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
Surprisingly scarce with only a few noted singing on the nearby farmland.
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
Nice views were had of several singing birds at Murnauer Moos reserve
Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta
At least eight birds, the majority singing males were seen at the summit of the Wankberg
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Common, seen daily
European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Seen daily
European Goldfinch Carduelis
Seen daily in good numbers
Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina
The only one recorded was a calling bird that remained hidden from view on 9th.
Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
Great views of a stunning male at Murnauer Moos Reserve on the 2nd
Common Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
One juvenile bird at Pupplinger-Au/Isar Canal
Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
One juvenile bird at Pupplinger-Au/Isar Canal on the 6th
One One fleeting view of an adultat our luch stop at Peterzell on the 7th
Yellowhammer Emberiza citronella
Several birds were heard and seen.
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus
Easily heard and seen in suitable habitat. Nice views of an adult male at Lake Zell on the 7th
MAMMALS
Red Deer
Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus
Rabbit
AMPHIBIANS
‘Marsh’ Frog Rana ridibunda / lessonae
BUTTERFLIES
Adonis Blue Lysandra bellargus
Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
Pearl Bordered Fritillary Bloria euphrosyne
Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia
Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina
Mountain Ringlet Erebia epiphron
Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni
Black-veined White Aporia crataegi
Orange Tip Anthocharis cardamines
Clouded Yellow Colias croceus
Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus
MOTHS
Hummingbird Hawk-Moth Macroglossum stellatrum
Black-veined Moth Siona lineata
Burnet Companion Euclydia glyphica
Silver Y Moth Autographa gamma
Blood-vein Timandra comae
DRAGONFLIES
Brown Hawker Aeshna grandis
Beautiful Damselfly Calopteryx virgo
Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens
Copper Demoiselle Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis
Variable Bluet Coenagrion pulchellum
Azure Bluet Coenagrion puella
Common Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa
Common Bluet Enallagma cyathigerum
Large green-eyed Hoverfly sp?
ORCHIDS AND OTHER PLANTS OF NOTE
Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula
Pyramidal Orchid Anacampsis pyramidalis
Southern Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza praeterna
Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsia
Whorled Soloman’s Seal Polygonatum verticillatum
May Lily Meianthemum bifolium
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