Birdwatching in Germany
With more than 480 recorded species of birds Germany is an interesting country for birdwatchers.
To the south in the Alps you will find many raptors and Mediterranean migrants. The Baltic Sea and the Waddenzee to the north is famous for waterfowl and waders. Central Germany with its forested uplands is home to many woodland birds and low-lying land and moors to the north offer birds like Grasshopper Warbler, Black Kite, Cranes, Bearded Tit just to name a few.
Many serious and knowledgeable Birdingpals are listed around the country and willing to help you get the most out of a visit to Germany. To make your birding even more pleasant, you should consider staying in small towns, where you will find many cozy old inns with great food and of course real beer.
Local Birdingpal Contacts
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Local Birdwatchers
Using the Birdingpal resources you must agree to the following: If you contact a local Birdingpal and make arrangement to go birding, you should note it is common courtesy to make sure you show up for the appointment. If for any reason you are unable to do this, the least you must do is contacting the local Pal right away. Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Initial | Last Name | Area | Available | Language | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Poley | Heidelberg, Baden-Wuerttemberg | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| N | Koch | Mallsch, Baden-Wuerttemberg(summer) | Anytime | German/English French/Turkish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blackforest and the river Rhine planes between Freiburg and Heidelberg. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| V | Schmidt | Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg | Weekend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Feuersenger | Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born 1969. Interested in wildlife since early childhood I became particularly interested in birding at about 15 years old. I started recording bird sounds around 2006. Since 1995 I am living and working as a professional taxidermist in Mannheim. Mannheim is about 80 km south of Frankfurt and about 20 km northwest of Heidelberg. It is a medium sized industrial city in one of the most densely populated parts of Germany. There are a few birding localities in the close vicinity that can easily be reached with a bicycle, including some remnants of old riverine forest. A well known birding spot (good in spring summer and autumn), the Wagbachniederung at Waghäusel, can conveniently be reached by train from Mannheim. I do all birding by bicycle or public transport (or a combination of both). I might have a spare bike around, so if you feel like biking - just ask (although I can't promise anything). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L | Seaton Yates | Radolfzell am Bodensee, Baden-Wuerttemberg | Anytime | English/German | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I live close to Lake Constance, a sheet of water that is shared by Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Being a pensioner, I have a lot of spare time - and am greatly interested in birds. We have Eagle-owls and White Storks in our neighbourhood, apart from migrating ducks and small birds from Africa. Not far from here one can see colourful Bee-eaters in the Kaiserstuhl area. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| B | Belknap | Ansbach, Bavaria | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I work in Ansbach, and am here on weekdays, and even some weekends. Otherwise, I go to Bad Kreuznach for the weekend. Both places offer birding in typical German/northern European woodland, maquis, field, and meadow. I have seen rarities around Bad Kreuznach, including a Hoopoe, and once, a few years ago in January, a Snowy Owl! Common birds in both Ansbach and Bad Kreuznach are Great Spotted Woodpeckers, several species of finches and titmice, kites, nuthatches, treecreepers, occasional Hen Harriers, cormorants (Kreuznach only), sawbills (Kreuznach only), Gray Herons, and numerous others. I've only been in Ansbach since the end of January 2008, and already I've discovered a wood containing at least one pair of Black Woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius), one of my favorite birds in Europe, and not that frequently seen. I am American, but can speak enough German to get by. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| W | Nezadal | Erlangen, Bavaria | Anytime | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L | Lambert | Kemnath, Bavaria | Anytime | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I live in Kemnath, about 2.5 hours north of Munich and 25 minutes from Weiden. Since I have only been in Germany since July 2008, there are quite a few birds here that are new to me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A | Hagenmaier | Munich, Bavaria | Weekend | German/English Spanish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| E | Witting | Freising/Munich, Bavaria | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I'm a 42 year old man living in the north of Munich and spending most of the weekend watching birds at the spots mentioned next.
Inside the city of Munich the park at "Schloss Nymphenburg" can be quite productive. Interesting spots around Munich are the "Ismaninger Speichersee" which is about 20km northeast from Munich and good for Terns, Ducks, Gulls, Falcons and sometimes Waders. In the south of Munich there are two big lakes. The "Starnberger See" is especially in winter a good spot for loons, ducks, gulls and all kind of waterbirds. The "Ammersee" is interesting during the whole year and can produce an interesting mix of waders, ducks, gulls, terns, herons or raptors. You find interesting woods as well as reeds and moss-sides there. Little more south from Munich the "Murnauer Moos" is a very interesting moos-area about 60km from Munich. In late spring and early summer it is good for e.g. Corncrake, Montagues Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Hobby, Stonechat, Scarlet Rosefinch and others. When there is enough time it is also always a good idea in late spring or summer to visit serveral spots in the alps. I often go birdwatching around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. From Freising the most interesting spots are the "Ismaninger Speichersee" again and the "Echigner Stausee" about 30km east of Freising. It's a lake with large reeds and good for all kind of waterbirds and somtimes waders. In summer you will have a chance to wacht breeding Night Heron there too. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| N | Model | Ingolstadt, Bavaria | Anytime | German/English Spanish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| T | Hafen | Munich, Bavaria | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was born in 1965 and started birding as a teenager. Apart from birding, I am interested in nature photography, hiking, kayaking and computer stuff (as long as a Mac is involved). I like to travel and love especially the North. My favourite spots are Canada (B.C., Yukon), Alaska and Scandinavia. You can find some pictures from these places on my website www.natur-fotografieren.de. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Gabriel | Munich, Bavaria | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wetland about 30 km away. Some alpine bird areas 80 - 120 km away (and plants). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A | Nepali | Munich, Bavaria | Weekend | Nepali/German English/Hindi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi all birder! I am Abinash Nepali from Himalaya, Nepal and living here since 2001 parmanently. I,ve keen interest for birding in Bavarian alps and if someone like to join me to observe the alpine species, let me know. I would be very glad to help finding birds in Munich. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Zarzycki | Penzberg, Bavaria | Weekend | Polish/English German | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi, I am 33 and have quite good knowledge about birds, but limited about the places since I have lived here for 2 years. I am generally interested in birdwatching with no strong favourites - good in plovers and raptors. I can provide the information and guidance to any guesting birder. The best places for searching birds in Munich are in my opinion English Garden for the wood fauna and Speichersee Ismaning for the sea birds. The most interesting places for birders nearby Penzberg are: 1. Starnbergersee, the great lake for wintering ducks and loons, only 30 minutes from Munich by public transport 2. Ammersee good place for migration time of plovers and raptors as well as for migratory and wintering ducks. It is located about 30-60 minutes from Munich, 3. Kochelsee and neighbouring meadows (60 min by train from Munich) may offer variety of different groups because of diverse landscape: with open fields, mountains and water, 4. Bavarian Alps (60 min. by train) available mostly in summer, easy to reach by cable train even for not exercised people. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Conlin | Berlin | Anytime | English/German French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| S | Bode | Berlin | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| F | Mueller | Frankfurt, Hessen | Anytime | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| W | Merkle | Frankfurt, Hessen | Weekend | German/English French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hessen has a lot of nice birding place near the Nidda the Nied Wald, the green zone around Frankfurt and the city forest of Frankfurt. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Schleuning | North Hessen | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| H | Roland | Reichelsheim/Frankfurt, Hessen | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Usedom | Ostseebad Boltenhagen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I live in this area since 7 years. As a birder it is a wonderfull area to watch migrating birds and we have the most popular area of migrating cranes a 2 hour drive away. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| R | Wynands | Hannover, Niedersachsen | Weekend | German/English French/Italian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Within an hour's driving distance in and around Hannover, a number of different habitats with their respective bird faunas can be found. Natural and artificial freshwater lakes and marshes, deciduous and pine forests, mixed grasslands, dry and moist heathland. Elevation range: 50...400 m above sea level. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| G | Rotzoll | Hannover, Niedersachsen | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In the vicinity of Hannover there are several good birding areas that can be reached within 1 hour. To mention two of the best: "Steinhuder Meer" and "Meissendorfer Teiche", both wetland areas with well structured surroundings. For shorebird enthusiasts, even a visit to the coast (ca. 2 hour drive) is possible. Many other smaller sites closer to Hannover can be good as well. If I am in town I can offer to go birdwatching with visiting birders anytime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Gruber | Hildesheim/Hannover, Niedersachsen | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| U | Mohr | Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia | Weekend | German/English Swedish/some French/Spanish /Slovene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | Beninde | Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westfalia | Weekend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Beckmann | Duisburg on Rhine, North Rhine-Westphalia | Anytime | German/English some Dutch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I am a non-professional birder, actively birding in the Natura-2000 sanctuaries on the Rhine and on the Ruhr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A | Nadirk | Münster, North Rhine-Westfalia | Anytime | German/English Dutch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | Kriegs | Münster, Nord Rhein-Westfalen | Weekend | German/English little French/Russian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Münster is in the middle of an agricultural area. North of the city there is a large reserve for water birds. Waders roost during migration and many ducks are present throughout the year. Breeding birds include Little Owl and Bluethroat. Some recent observations can be found on our website: www.msorni.de | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | Azzopardi | Odenthal, North Rhine-Westphalia | Weekend | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I am doing research on 2 reserves in Germany for a univeristy project. Anyone from Germany visiting these locations please report observations. The site is in English and operational, but still need some enhancements. Please feel free to visit http://www.eurobirding.net/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| W | Steiger | Zülpich (Kreis Euskirchen), North Rhine-Westphalia | Weekend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| B | Belknap | Bad Kreuznach, Rheinland-Pfalz | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I work in Ansbach, and am here on weekdays, and even some weekends. Otherwise, I go to Bad Kreuznach for the weekend. Both places offer birding in typical German/northern European woodland, maquis, field, and meadow. I have seen rarities around Bad Kreuznach, including a Hoopoe, and once, a few years ago in January, a Snowy Owl! Common birds in both Ansbach and Bad Kreuznach are Great Spotted Woodpeckers, several species of finches and titmice, kites, nuthatches, treecreepers, occasional Hen Harriers, cormorants (Kreuznach only), sawbills (Kreuznach only), Gray Herons, and numerous others. I am American, but can speak enough German to get by. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| E | Gloede-Solbach | Betzdorf, Rheinland-Pfalz | Weekend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Shirley | Bitburg, Rheinland-Pfalz | Weekend | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| F | Clayton | Landstuhl, Rheinland-Pfalz | Anytime | English/Danish French/Spanish German | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mature woods, overgrown fields, and marshy areas: black woodpecker, grasshopper warbler etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| C | Lange | Bremen, Saxony | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| O | Nuessen | Bremen, Lower Saxony | Weekend | German/English Spanish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Schuck | Goettingen, Lower Saxony | Anytime | German/Spanish English/some French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| D | Orn | Dresden, Sachsen | Weekend | German/English French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The lakes to the north of Dresden together with the hills to the south make for good and varied birding and hiking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| M | Neumann | Wiefelstede, Lower Saxony | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| T | Herfurth | Luebeck/Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein | Anytime | German/English French | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you plan to visit the North of Germany (for example Hamburg, Luebeck, Kiel or Rostock) you should write to me or give me a ring. I would really like to show you around and help you finding the species you would like to see. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| C | Engelhardt | Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Luebeck is situated close to the Baltic Sea shore and the Eastern Holstein Lake Area. Both hold a great variety of natural landscapes and birdlife. For more information, see my website www.look-for-birds.de | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Professional Guides If you contact a professional Birdingpal guide you must be prepared to pay a fee for guiding services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Initial | Last Name | Area | Available | Language | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| R | Nessing | Berlin/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/Brandenburg | Anytime | German/English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolf Nessing, born 1959, grew up in a then rural area near Berlin between tortoises, lizards and snakes of his father, Rolf Nessing senior, and his mother’s domestic animals. In 1973, at the early age of 14 and strongly influenced by his contact with living nature, he became a volunteer conservation helper in the field of nature protection. His main areas of interest were ornithology, entomology, herpetology and botany. From 1984 to 1992 he was professionally active at several nature protection stations in the federal state of Brandenburg and made a major contribution to the development of these facilities and the environmental education conducted there. Rolf Nessing has been a voluntary bird ringing assistant in the field of scientific ringing since 1974. From 2000 onwards he has held a ringing licence from the Hiddensee Ringing Centre and has been in involved internationally in ringing in the following countries: 1997 Biological Station Rybachy (formerly Rossitten) near Kaliningrad/Russia; 2000 Israel and Palestine; 2001 the island of Comino off Malta; 2003 Titreyen Göl near Manavgat/Turkey; 2005 Fuentes de Nava, Spain. His naturalist activities have also taken him to Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway), the Balkans (Bulgaria, Romania), Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland, Armenia, Georgia), the Mediterranean, Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) and Australia. Rolf Nessing has been a freelance environmental educationalist, trainer and environmental lecturer since 1992. Rolf possesses first class field ornithological knowledge of the bird life of the Western Palaearctic, especially their songs and calls. He has published more than 30 articles in professional ornithological, herpetological and entomological journals. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Local Information
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| Name | Description
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| Birder friendly lodging | Germany |
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| Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | Germany |
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| Local weather | Yahoo |
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| Electronic maps | |
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| Field guides recommended by Birdingpals | Germany |
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| Find lowest prices for field guides, books, maps etc. | BookFinder4U |
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| Bird check list | Printable |
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| Tim Herfurth's guide | Northern Germany |
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| Read a Birdingpal's Trip Report | Germany |
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| Naturschutzbund Deutschland | Club |
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| Ornithologische Gesellschaft Baden-Württemberg | Club |
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| Arbeitsgemeinschaft Berlin-Brandenburgischer Ornithologen, Brandenburg | Club |
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| Hessische Gesellschaft für Ornithologie und Naturschutz | Club |
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| Nordrhein-Westfälische Ornithologengesellschaft | Club |
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| Arbeitskreis Göttinger Ornithologen, Lower Saxony | Club |
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| Ornithologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft Helgoland, Lower Saxony | Club |
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| Avifaunistische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lüchow-Dannenberg, Lower Saxony | Club |
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| Verein Sächsischer Ornithologen, Lower Saxony | Club |
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| Schleswig-Holstein Ornithological Society | Club |
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| Verein Thüringer Ornithologen | Club |
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| Bavarian Birds | RBR |
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| Birding Germany | Sites |
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| Müritz | Parks |
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| Vogelruf | Sites |
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| MSOrni | Münster |
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| Club300.de | Latest sights |
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| Birding Hotspots around the world | Sites |
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| Rolf Nessing's | Sites |
Last update 02/01/2012