Dover to Berlin

We left home around 7am Monday morning. An electrical problem meant that we had to go via Meriden the home of Coast2Coast campers but thanks to Geoff and Kevin the problem was soon fixed and we headed off for Dover hoping that the camper was now fully ready.

I'd booked a 4pm crossing to Dunkirk but we were early and DFDS offered us an earlier crossing to Calais. It was very windy and the sea looked quite rough some we took the Calais crossing which is also significantly shorter. Not many birds on the crossing, just Gannets and a few Kittiwakes but as we came in to the shelter at Calais there were around 100 Common Terns which were my first of the year. This bird has the all black bill of winter plumage but has already got the fully capped appearance of summer. lly capped appearance of summer.

Common Tern with all dark bill

It's a long drive to Berlin, over 600 miles and there wasn't much bird life to perk up the journey but we saw a superb pale headed Common Buzzard near Antwerp along with several Egyptian Geese and a single Whimbrel, which like us, was heading North.

Common Buzzard - pale phase

We stopped over near Mardorf on the shores of the Steinhudder Meer but it was raining and other than hundreds of Swallows hawking over the Meer, single Common Sandpiper and several Greylag Geese there wasn't much to see. The only mammals were Rabbit and Roe Deer.

Roe Deer

Before we set off this morning I had another look round and saw several Pied Flycatcher including this brown male that was singing by a nest box. I sometimes think the males at home with browner wing coverts are first year birds but this one looked entirely like a female. Will have to check the literature later.

Pied Flycatcher - male

The only woodpeckers in the woods were Green and Great Spotted but I'm hoping for additional species in Poland which is one of the best places in Europe for the woodpecker family.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

As we headed towards Berlin we started to see more Red Kites and the temperature rose to 18 Centigrade as the rain finally let up.
We are having a day in Berlin tomorrow before crossing in to Poland.
We are having a day in Berlin tomorrow before crossing in to Poland.