Whimbrels in the lido
Observations from April 13th, 2019
This post is about the absolute joy of unexpected observations. I often have the opportunity to spend time at the Lake of Constance in southern Germany. The landscape is absolutely beautiful, the villages and towns are as well, people are nice and friendly, and of course, there’s a rich biodiversity. I just love to go for walks in nature there because it’s always a pleasure. On this weekend in April, I especially needed a soothing walk after a particularly stressful week. I started out in the fields above Konstanz-Wallhausen and took forever because I absorbed all the sights, sounds and odors. Especially, I enjoyed seeing the Yellowhammers, Red and Black Kites again which I so often observe there. I also had a wonderful observation of a Black Woodpecker flying directly above me.
Since it had already taken me two hours to circle half of the village, I wondered if I should go to the lido or go back. The lido offers a beautiful view across the lake and sometimes, especially in winter, some nice observations. What would a visit to Konstanz be without standing at the shoreline? So I went to the lido. At first, I only saw Mallards resting on the beach. I checked with my binoculars – nothing else to see. I went a little further, turned back and checked again. And that’s when I held my breath: Shorebirds! Which I have hardly observed before. They looked similar to Eurasian Curlews, but smaller. I watched, I took pictures, and I slowly crept closer until I finally duck behind a float for swimmers lying on the beach. I couldn’t take my eyes of these two beautiful birds. Could they be Whimbrels? I had never seen these before, but I was actually just reading the book “A Flight of Curlews” by Maarten t’Hart. (In German it is called “Ein Schwarm Regenbrachvögel”, and Whimbrels play a part in the book.) I watched them until they flew off because of a boat leaving the harbor behind the lido.
I got up, a big smile still on my face, and dusted my pants off. I turned to go a little further along the shoreline – and held my breath yet again: some black and white birds looking like Oystercatchers. And Oystercatchers they were! Looking for feed at the Lake of Constance – in a lido, not in a preserve area! I could hardly suppress my joy to not scare them off. Again, I edged slowly closer to get a better view and also better pictures of this life-list first. I watched them for a quarter of an hour. They fed, they rested, and they groomed their feathers. It was magical. I felt like a I had made a spontaneous trip to the North Sea.
Of course I know where the areas are where to watch passage migrants and seldom birds at the Lake of Constance. But it was so much more breathtaking so see them so unexpected. That’s what I love so much about observing nature: you never know what you will see.
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