I used to be very satisfied so to spend the week of Christmas and the brand new yr on the Tegernsee, a small lake in southern Bavaria, in conjunction with my circle of relatives and my female friend. Despite the fact that a couple of sudden hick-ups happened, similar to vital shuttle delays (that have change into the norm when the usage of Germany’s trains) and sure Covid exams that averted some members of the family from becoming a member of, it was once refreshing to spend a while in other places, specifically in a scenic and enjoyable setting just like the Tegernsee.
Whilst I did benefit from the relaxation inside of, we did ceaselessly project out of doors and I used to be satisfied to have a couple of excellent birding moments. The lake itself didn’t produce anything else out of the strange on the other hand, with Eurasian Coot, Nice Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Not unusual Pochard, Mute Swan, and Gray Heron. I used to be hoping for Black-throated Diver, which occasionally winters in lakes in southern Germany, however was once no longer fortunate (you could have spotted a undeniable development rising in my earlier posts, referring to this species…).

The city of Rottach-Egern, the place we stayed, was once in a similar way unremarkable when it comes to birds. The usual lawn birds have been round, even if Eurasian Bullfinch and Hawfinch have been great additions to the commute listing.

An exquisite space for a brief hike is from the automobile parking space “Klamm” to the “Königsalm”, south of the Tegernsee. This trail first passes thru wooded area earlier than achieving a bigger pasture space upper up, offering a excellent mixture of habitat. Coal Tit, Crested Tit, and Goldcrest have been some of the pleasant birds round, they usually have been specifically lovely having fluffed up their feathers within the chilly, changing into tiny balls hopping across the foliage. On the other hand, the principle marvel was once within the type of a Eurasian 3-toed Woodpecker, which I noticed in dangerous gentle however somewhat neatly because it clambered up a tree earlier than flying off. I didn’t be expecting to peer this lifer, one of the crucial in style species within the Alps.

Whilst there are a number of species I’m nonetheless very keen so as to add to my listing within the Alps, such because the quite a lot of sport birds, Alpine Accentor, White-winged Snowfinch, and many others., I used to be very content material with simply performing some average birding in this circle of relatives vacation, specifically as I didn’t have any expectancies and was once nonetheless handled with the woodpecker.