A fine, fine week in sun-soaked, blue-skied Berlin, where Rich and I have been worshipping the Kings and Queens of Tiergarten, the huge wooded park here in the city centre. It's not all been about Goshawks - more on the other stuff later - but, well, it mostly has....
Rich is guiding Yorkshire Coast Nature clients out here over the coming days (and in all likelihood, so will I this time next year), and so we arrived a few days ago on a combined recon mission (successful) / much-needed jolly (also successful).
Of the former, we were keen to pin down territories and active nests (not strictly the same, as there are usually several 'alternative' nests within each territory).
Happily this wasn't a problem, and searching the extensive, labrythine networks of interconnecting footpaths and tracks, looking for those impressively built structures in the Vs of taller trees, listening for those excited ka-ka-ka-ka-kas, or registering alarm calls from songbirds and corvids was a highly enjoyable way to spend sunny days in a beautiful city park.
We found four active territories in Tiergarten alone, as well as activity for multiple other birds, and we didn't even cover the whole park.... an incredible density of breeding pairs, literally bang in the middle of one of Europe's largest cities.
All videos digiscoped with a crappy old Samsung hand-held against a Zeiss Harpia 85 'scope.
More Goshawk thrills to follow......
