Activities and hobbies

Birdwatching x 3: 7, 8 and 9 March

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On 7 March a visit to Tierpark, my favourite zoo in the world, and Europe’s biggest landscape zoo.

There was not a whole lot going on, except the herons were busy building nests in the highest treetops, flying to and fro with building material. Such majestic and elegant flyers.

The hightlight was the black woodpecker – one of the rarer types of woodpeker, at least in Berlin – which I spotted towards the end of the afternoon on my way out.

I saw many great spotted woodpeckers. The first photo is of one flashing its characteristic red rump, and the second of a couple of pigeons, even more common, looking as if they were thinking of starting a family.

On Saturday 8 March a birdwatching walk with Volkshochschule Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Lichtenrader Wäldschen, led by ornithologist Enrico Hübner. The special focus was on woodpeckers, since apparently, all five Berlin woodpeckers had been spotted in the area. We saw many “Buntspechte”, a couple of Mittelspechte, one Scwarzspecht, and one Grünspeccht – the latter very high up. We saw and/or heard a total of 29 birds. I got one bad photo of the Grünspecht. The forest was quite dense so even without leaves on the trees, it was difficult to take photos.

On Sunday 9 March Landschaftsfriedhof Gatow and adjoining fields

“Spandau each month on the 9th”: Bezirksgruppe Spandau des NABU Berlin, led by Christine Kuhnert.

Very exciting – a cemetery I did not know existed, and lots of birds to see. I definitely want to go back, perhaps very early in the morning to the fields, and then enter the cemetery when it opens at 7.30.

Here is a not very good photo of a jay (Eichelhäher) and a kestrel/Turmfalke, and one of a raven/Kolkrabe of which we saw quite a few:

And a first for me: Yellowhammer/Goldammer. So beautiful:

The first two is of a chaffinch/Buchfink. I am not sure about the next two:

The long-tailed tit/Schwanzmeise I have seen many times but never managed to get a half-way decent photo. These are the best I have taken so far:

The next bunch probably need no introduction, except the last one which I was told was a Rotmilan.

Buzzard/Mäusebussard (the same on all three photos):

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Daytrip to Halbe 6 March

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Thank heavens for gorgeous weather, because getting out into nature and looking for birds to photograph is the only thing that keeps me sane (such as it is ….) these days.

Today I hopped on the RE7 to Halbe to visit the Waldfriedhof and to take a look at the nearby lakes.

I am still cursing myself for not having hauled my camera out of my rucksack before getting off the train, because no sooner was I on terra firma than the most magnificent red kite (Rotmilan) flew by overhead, in perfect lighting. Finding a second chance at photographing a red kite is now my main obsession.

Anyway, the cemetery was overwhelming due to the sheer number of graves, and of course by far the majority of people buried there were terribly young.

Bonus tip: Restaurant Kalimera-am-See.

But first, a photo of a pigeon taken from my home.

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Two spontaneous walks 3 and 4 March

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On Wilmersdorf Cemetery and along Fennsee

    I can highly recommend taking up photography as a hobby. I find that especially nature photography, and more speifically bird photography – or attempts thereat, can help forget.

    If you do not have much time to get out into “real” nature, check out your local parks and cemeteries, and you’ll be surprised what you can find, once you start looking. And March is a great month for it – the birds are very active, and there are no leaves on the trees yet.

    So, in gorgeous weather, I decided to set out early on my way to VHS in Prinzregentenstraße.

    And early the next morning, I swung by my local cemetery on my way to my local LPG supermarket.

    By the way, much as I hate pigeons, I have to admit, they can be quite photogenic.

    And I was happy to see a treecreeper there for the first time. Tiny, always on the move, in camouflage colours it is difficult to spot, let along photograph.

    Activities and hobbies, Uncategorized

    Birdwatching in Britzer Garten on 2 March – despite …..

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    The day started misty and cold, but since I have never been so angry in my life, I decided to stick to my original plan of attending the bi-weekly walk with Bernd Steinbrecher of Freilandlabor Britz. Those walks are always enjoyable so it would in any case be healthier to go out and focus on something else – like staying warm, for example – than to follow my gut instinct and stay at home and continue building up to a stroke or a heart attack :-).

    A good photo of a green woodpecker – finally – might have saved the day but though I saw several, I STILL did not get a decent photo.

    The Life of a Danish Pensioner in Berlin

    Pub quizzes and quiznights

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    Last updated 04 March PM.

    UNDER DEVELOPMENT, IN PROGRESS, AND WILL BE UPDATED AS NEEDED AND RELEVANT

    “Let’s get quizzical” in Alte Turnhalle on alternate Sundays: The next one is 16 March (sign up here), with Team The Village Idiots NOT attending. The next one I am organising is on 30 March, and on that evening, I already have a full team.

    For others who want to attend in future, I strongly recommend trying to start a team of their own, signing up in meetup to secure a place since the quiz is getting more and more popular and as mentioned above, there were 33 teams last time. Even if people do not have a full team, it is easy to find others to complete a team on the night – just arrive early enough, and tell Steve the quizmaster.

    Steve usually announces dates a month ahead on instagram here.

    —————————–

    Here is how it goes: Let’s get Quizical, advertised on Meetup here, on instagram here, and on Facebook here. I have a whatsapp group which everyone can use to communicate about this and putting teams together. It takes place mid-week at 19.30 in alternate weeks in Bergendorf Sundays at 18.30 in alternate weeks in Alte Turnhalle, Holteistraße 6-9 (important to arrive well in time to be seated and ready to start at 18.30).

    I have never, and probably never will, attend the mid-week quiznights in James June, but am trying to attend all the ones on alternate Sundays in Alte Turnhalle, and I assume the system is the same: reservations are done either individually or in groups, and up to now, walk-ins have been possible, but the quiz is getting popular and the hall fuller and fuller each time. The majority of tables are reserved for teams who register on meetup, and the rest are “mix-tables” where individuals can get together with walk-ins to form a team. A team is maximum six people.

    In both cases, questions are asked in both English and German, the cost of attending is 3 euro per person, and in every other way it follows a classic pub quiz pattern.

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    The weekly rant I

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    I see more and more adults – especially men (??????) – with lollipops sticking out of their mouths. Apparently, it is a “coping mechanism”. I am wondering, again, whether Stephen Fry knew how prophetic he would turn out to be when he coined the phrase “the age of infantilism” about eight years ago. Back then, I think he was referring to silly socks and wearing baseball caps, most often back to front and indoors, incessantly. He probably did not in his wildest imagination foresee grown men with lollipops. But that seems to be a sight we now have to live with. (Our coping mechamism: Impulse control).

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    Nature protection area Fauler See, and a bit of Obersee

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    This “Naturschutzgebiet” was a great discovery which I definitely want to return to.

    I left home around sunrise, and after spending several hours, which went by in a flash, I returned to Café Strudel for brunch.

    In addition to the birds on the photos, and the usual suspets, I saw kleibers, treecreapers and longtailed tits.

    Below is a very bad photo of some ducks I do not recall seeing in Berlin before, so perhaps they are just passing through. I am told they are Eurasian Wigeons:

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    More about central heating, Berlin style

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    A continuation of this post.

    Sunday. Feeling fluey with a slight temperature. Would really like to stay at home all day, just for once, but with 16.4 C that would mean staying in bed under at least one duve all the time.

    But all my bones are aching, as are head and throat, so I really do not feel like spending the day in cafes and libraries.

    Still no word from plumber Detlef Spinka after my whatsapp to him – which he read and ignored on 17 December 2024, and I still have not managed to find out whom to turn to as flat owner (renters have their association, but as owner you do not seem to have any rights).

    Perhaps I should contact Hausverwaltung (Schön & Sever) after all. I had decided not to this winter, since the other winters I have received useless replies, and another one would just annoy me, and the problem is still there.

    The Life of a Danish Pensioner in Berlin

    Munich and Karlsruhe February

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    Day 1 train Berlin-Munich not without its glitches: Heating problems and – what else is new on DB – no coffee.

    In the afternoon the exhibition on surrealism and antifascism, in Lenbachhaus. Surrealism is in my opinion by far the most interesting of all the -isms, most of which range from insipid and spineless to decorative and pretty and in many cases dull as ditchwater.

    Also visiting Dachau on the same occasion.

    Day 2 Dachau

    Easily reached from the centre of Munich by public transport.

    Before you ask, please see this post (scroll down a little).

    Like an idiot, I left the camera card in my hotel room, so I only took some snapshots with my phone:

    And some in idyllic Dachau centre, in stark contrast to what I am sure everybody knew about what was going on a mere three km away:

    Day three train Munich-Karlsruhe and Art Karlsruhe.

    I do love a big fat art fair, and this one never disappoints. I had forgotten how big it is, and that it actually merits a tro-day ticket. Perhaps next year ……

    Added bonus: to spend a few nights in hotels with functioning heating systems, unlike the one in my own home.

    Day four: Before returning to Berlin, I had planned on spending the last morning in Städtische Galerie, but the weather was suddenly spring-like, so I went to the zoo instead. (I had already had a view from my hotel room directly onto the Red Panda enclosure).

    Apologies in advance for the overload of images (some of them abstracts) of the great white egret:

    Thoughts and opinions

    I love Berlin but it does have its less attractive quirks

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    For example (in addition to the many lies being told seemingly totally accceptably and described in a previous post) when outdoor temperatures drop to zero and below, I can often only manage about 17 C inside my flat.

    I know from previous years that reporting that to Hausverwaltung (Schön & Sever) is a waste of time. They don’t care, and at best refer to the plumber who knows the house (Detlef Spinka) who ignores my messages.

    That is also Berlin.

    Normally, it is not a big problem for me – I don’t like having more than 19 C indoors anyway, and can manage with socks and blankets when I am at home, but having people around can be a problem, for example for the bridge evenings.

    I am currently considering cancelling tomorrow’s film evening, alternatively have loads of candles to light in the hope that they will raise the temperature a degree or two, and provide the aforementioned socks and blankets. But candles are also a health hazard.

    During some of the past much colder winters, I have shut off the bedrooms and only used the living room (where I have also slept) and the kitchen.

    The colder is it outside, the colder the radiators. That is Berlin logic. Or Schön & Sever logic, or whatever.

    And before anybody says “Mieterverein” for the thousands time I am not the “Mieter” and therefore have no rights ;-).

    And of course I have the additional handicap of not being German, so those of us who are not ethnic Germans are shut down immediately whenever we try to say a pip-squeak in the annual owners’ meetings, which I have therefore stopped attending. It feels like being in a meeting of a local AfD section.

    For now, I shall just enjoy the views in the knowledge that it is only a matter of weeks till it becomes warmer outside and no longer a problem.

    In the meantime, here are some photos from last night’s snowfall:

    The life of a Danish pensioner in Berlin