: & ART IN & BRANDENBURG

SEPTEMBER 29–OCTOBER 8, 2019

A small part of the Great Bustard flock at Senzke. Photo Rick Wright

LEADER: RICK WRIGHT LIST COMPILED BY: RICK WRIGHT

VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM

GERMANY: BIRDS & ART IN BERLIN & BRANDENBURG September 29–October 8, 2019

By Rick Wright

A few of the many hundreds of Northern Lapwings caught up in a cold-weather push at Linum. Photo Rick Wright

ITINERARY:

September 29: en route to Berlin.

September 30: assemble 5:00 pm in hotel. , Roma and Sinti Memorial. Dinner Reichstag 7:20-9:40 pm. Reichstag dome 9:40-10:05. At hotel 10:35 pm. Breezy, light rain, 50s F, after a day of very strong winds and occasional rain.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 October 1: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Calm, 50 F, light rain. Optional walk 7:00-8:00. Departure 9:00 am . Tiergarten walk 9:00-11:55. Light rain, calm, mid-50s F. Lunch Giraffe 12:00-1:20 pm. Break in hotel. Departure for 2:00 pm. Nikolaikirche 3:00- 3:30 pm. Drinks in Nikolaiviertel. Mid-50s, rain stopping, calm, occasional sun. River, shopping, Nikolaiplatz. Dinner Altberliner Weissbierhaus 6:10-8:25 pm. At hotel 8:50 pm. The Brandenburg Gate, from the dome of the Reichstag. Photo Rick Wright High 40s F, clouds lifting, breeze rising.

October 2: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Light rain, breezy, high 40s F. Departure 8:05 am . Light rain followed by only very occasional sprinkles. Arrive Strengsee 9:25 am. Rain stopping, skies slowly clearing. Low 50s F. Leave Strengsee 11:45 am. Lunch Zille Stube 12:00 to 1:20 pm. Skies clearing, breeze decreasing. Kloster Lehnin, including cake and coffee, 1:30-4:20 pm. LIght sprinkles, then rainbows, dramatic clearing, and calm. At hotel 5:30 pm. Dinner and checklist in hotel 6:30-8:55 pm. Mostly clear, high 40s F, calm.

Eurasian Wigeon. Photo Rick Wright October 3: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Dim, chilly, light drizzle. Departure 8:35 am . Light sprinkles ending, breeze increasing. palace garden 8:55-11:20 am. High 40s to low 50s F, breezy, occasional very light mist. Coffee in Orangerie 11:20- 12:25. Lunch Mangiare Opera Italiana 12:30-2:00 pm. Wind increasing, air drying, clouds dispersing, temperature falling back to high 40s F. Berggruen, Bröhan, and Scharf- Gerstenberg 2:00 pm; some returned to hotel 4:40 pm, some remained in

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 museums until dinner. Dinner and checklist at Marjan Grill 6:30-8:15 pm. At hotel 8:20 pm. Mostly clear, light breezes, ca. 50 F.

October 4: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Departure 8:00 am. Rain, light winds, 45 F. Senzke. Rain ending, temperature rising to about 50 F. G ülper See 10:35 to 12:55 pm. Occasional breaks in clouds. Lunch Zur alten Stadtmauer, Rathenow, 1:30-3:00 pm. At hotel 5:00 pm. Rain. Dinner in hotel 6:00-8:10 pm. Cloudy, light breezes, low 40s F. Kloster Lehnin. Photo Rick Wright

October 5: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Rain, wind, low 40s F. Departure 9:30 am. Light rain, high winds, 40 F. Kaiser- Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche 9:35-11:00 am. Coffee at 11:20-11:55 am. Rain diminishing, high winds, 40 F. Kulturforum museums to 2:00 pm. Lunch at Kulturforum 2:00-3:15 pm. Kulturforum museums; some return to hotel. Some to services, with Bach cantata (BWV 161, “Komm, Du süße Todesstunde”), in Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche 6:00-7:00 pm. All dinner at Josty 7:25-9:35 pm. Clearing, light breeze, high 30s F. At hotel 10:00 pm.

October 6: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Departure 8:05 am. Sunny, calm, 35 F. Altfriedland ponds 9:45 am to 12:55 pm.

Sunny, calm, high 40s F. Lunch Klosterschänke 1:00-3:10 pm. At Goat, goatherd, and Gray Heron at hotel 4:40 pm. Dinner and checklist Brauhaus Lemke 6:30-8:30 Charlottenburg. Photo Rick Wright pm. At hotel 8:40 pm. Mostly cloudy, calm, mid-30s F.

October 7: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Departure 9:15 am. Bright sunshine, calm, mid-40s F. Museums of Island from 9:45 am; some also to German “Cathedral,” some to German Historical Museum. Lunch on our own. Depart hotel 2:10 pm. Mostly sunny, calm, low 50s F. Linum ponds 3:25-5:25 pm. At hotel 6:35. Depart hotel 7:10 pm. Dinner Einstein 7:40-9:35. At hotel 9:55 pm. Light overcast, low 50s F, calm.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 October 8: breakfast in hotel beginning 6:30 am. Tour ends.

Neues Museum. Photo Rick Wright How annoying to wake up in the middle of a tour to find the temperature plunging, the wind howling, and a drizzle pelting down. How annoying? Not overly, if it’s a birds and art tour based in one of the greatest cities in the world. We’d planned to start our Berlin morning with another walk through the 500-acre Tiergarten, where our first stroll had produced Eurasian Nuthatches, Short-toed , Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and a remarkably obliging — but the weather really was discouraging, even by birders’ standards. On a “normal” tour, those stormy skies would have put paid to our day, but we had the luxury of simply prolonging our lavish breakfast and hopping onto the train across the street for the 90-second ride to Berlin’s Zoo, whence it was a two-minute walk to one of the city’s most recognizable . Originally built in the 1890s to honor modern Germany’s first emperor, the old Kaiser- Wilhelm- Gedächtnis-Kirche stands today as a Common Buzzard. Photo Rick Wright ruin, a warning to the future and simultaneously a marker of reconciliation, even forgiveness. The beautifully somber modern church at its base would be even more moving that evening, when some of us attended a service featuring a J.S. Bach cantata.

A short ride took us from there to the Kulturforum, one of the The windows of the new Kaiser Wilhelm richest of Berlin’s many rich cultural sites. Stepping off the bus Church. Photo Rick Wright behind the gold-clad Philharmonic, we tried hard to choose

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 among the options ahead of us: the treasures of art and design in the Kunstgewerbemuseum? Centuries of painting masterpieces in the Gemäldegalerie? The famous drawings, etchings, and engravings of the Kupferstichkabinett? Happily, a single ticket offers entry to all three museums, and we spent the rest of the day in and out of each of them, with breaks for lunch and coffee and a singing (but invisible) Black Redstart outside. There’s not much that is more fun than birding with artists or looking at art with birders. We all bring a different experience to whatever the things we see, and the combination of the ornithological gaze and the artist’s critical eye can result in some novel observations. Few, I think, are the visitors who can debate the identity of the duck that provided the inspiration for a particular set of Flemish angel’s wings, or who can recognize the patterns on their leading edge. We ended our day nearby, at the , The Trinity (detail). Flemish, ca. 1420. once and now again one of the most bustling city Gemäldegalerie Berlin. Photo Rick Wright squares in all of , surrounded by elegant stores and hotels and first-rate restaurants. We ate well that night, as we did every night and noon and morning, and were thoroughly prepared for a day outside the next, mercifully much nicer, day. That windy Saturday, the first time we’d ever had to rearrange this tour’s schedule, neatly proved our itinerary’s flexibility. The rest of our time together went just according to plan, though, with visits to museums, historic buildings, and sadly evocative memorials providing a counterpoint, a background, or often enough a foreground to some truly exciting birding. We birded the Gülper See almost literally beneath the shadow of an eighteenth-century windmill, Bean and Graylag geese and Common Cranes rising from the shallows as White-tailed Eagles passed overhead. At Altfriedland, we watched a Black Redstart from the gable of a thirteenth-century Cistercian church while waterfowl and herons loafed on the ancient ponds. Hard as it may be to believe, our companionable group was probably the only table watching Common Chiffchaffs out the window as we waited for our lunch in the Cloister Tavern.

Altfriedland. Photo Rick Wright The site of another Cistercian monastery, Kloster Lehnin, was equally evocative. After a morning of waterfowl and stunning Great Gray Shrikes at the Strengsee just a few minutes away, we had lunch in a delightfully old-fashioned restaurant in town, then strolled the peaceful walks of the monastery. Now in use as a hospital, staffed by Lutheran deaconesses,

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 6 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 Lehnin preserves some of the loveliest red-brick Gothic buildings in the region, some dating to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Skies were blue for much of our wandering, but when sprinkles threatened, again, that afternoon, we took shelter in the café, enjoying coffee and cake in best German tradition as we looked out on the monastery’s orchard, herb garden, and incongruously beautiful medieval barn. In between these excursions into the Brandenburg countryside, we birded urban Berlin proper, exploring the woods and lawns of the Tiergarten and the always birdy parks surrounding the seventeenth-century palace of The church and cloister of Lehnin. Photo Rick Wright Charlottenburg. And always there was art nearby: the modern painting and sculpture of the Berggruen, the sometimes creepy (Piranesi!) works in the Scharf- Gerstenberg, and of course , the Golden , the Ishtar Gate, and all the other glories of the Pergamon and the . We didn’t want for more purely physical nourishment, either: food joined birds, art, and good conversation to fill our days and our evenings together. Whether it was Picasso’s “Crane” or the Common Cranes of Linum, all of us saw new things, learned new things, and above all made new friends in our short time together in Berlin. I hope you enjoyed our visit as much as I did, and I look forward to the next chance we get to explore another of my favorite landscapes, cultural and natural.

Common Crane. Photo Rick Wright Picasso, Crane. 1952. . Photo Rick Wright

BIRDS

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Graylag Goose, Anser anser : low hundreds at Strengsee October 2. Well more than a thousand at the Gülper See October 4, including at least two birds with yellow neck collars; the one legible collar began with the letter “P,” identifying the bander as Polish, but we have received no further details yet. The lake at Altfriedland October 6 had about 2000 birds on it. Usually the most abundant of migrant geese, this was far outnumbered by Bean Geese at Linum October 7.

A Graylag banded in Poland, at the Gülper See. Photo Rick Wright Tundra Bean Goose, Anser serrirostis : about 100 at Strengsee October 2. Hundreds were at the Gülper See October 4, with more than 1000 at Altfriedland two days later. This was the most conspicuous and most abundant goose species at Linum October 7, birds constantly in sight in the air and on the water. Long-billed birds at the Gülper See and at Altfriedland raised suspicions of the much less common Taiga Bean Goose, but none gave leisurely views. Greater White-fronted Goose, Anser albifrons : about a dozen at Strengsee October 2. Less than 100 at the Gülper See October 4, but twice that many at Altfriedland October 6. Especially common and conspicuous at Linum October 7, constantly in sight and hearing overhead. Mute Swan, Cygnus olor : five at Strengsee October 2. A of four at Charlottenburg October 3, where a foolhardy photographer approached these big, aggressive birds down to just a few terrifying feet. About 15 at Gülper See October 4 and a similar number at Linum October 7. At least twenty-five at Altfriedland October 6; this is a favored site for swans all . Common Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna : one at Strengsee October 2. , Spatula clypeata : ten at Gülper See October 4. A dozen at Altfriedland October 6, with only three at Linum the next day. These were notably low counts for the species in October. , Mareca strepera : increasing throughout its range. We saw about eight at the Gülper See October 4, a good 30 at Altfriedland two days later, and nearly that many again at Linum October 7. , Mareca penelope : impressive numbers at the Gülper See, 75 or more, October 4. About eight at Altfriedland October 6. At least two at Linum October 7 were hard to see among the geese.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 8 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 , Anas platyrhynchos : about 10 in Tiergarten October 1, including one very handsome chestnut-flanked of obvious domestic lineage. About fifteen at Strengsee October 2. A dozen or so at Charlottenburg October 3. Ten at Gülper See October 4. Eight at Altfriedland October 6. Half a dozen at Linum October 7. , Anas acuta : ten at Gülper See October 4. Common Teal, Anas crecca : about 250 at Strengsee October 2. Fifty at Gülper See October 4. Twenty at Altfriedland October 6. Oddly, only about 4 at Linum October 7 (more must have been lurking in ponds we could not see into). Mandarin Duck, Aix galericulata : a dozen in Tiergarten October 1. About five at Charlottenburg October 3. , Aythya ferina : a good two dozen at Altfriedland October 6. , Aythya fuligula : nine or ten at Charlottenburg October 3. Four at Gülper See October 4. Ten at Altfriedland two days later, and five or six at Linum October 7.

Tufted Duck. Photo Rick Wright , Bucephala clangula : one at Strengsee October 2. One or two at Altfriedland October 4.

Common Merganser, Mergus merganser : four at Strengsee October 2. Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus : two roadside birds October 4. Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis : four on the fish ponds at Altfriedland October 6. One at Linum October 7. Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus : a dozen at the Gülper See October 4, a tally overshadowed by the more than 35 at Altfriedland October 6. Eared Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis : one at Altfriedland October 6. Little Grebes. Photo Rick Wright , livia : common throughout. , Columba palumbus : very common throughout. Even on a rainy October 1, scores were passing over the Tiergarten. Flocks of ten to twenty at Charlottenburg October 3 were taking and seeds from the trees. Common in the countryside as we drove to the Gülper See, Altfriedland, and Linum; only on cold, damp, and windy October 5 did we miss seeing dozens of this attractive species.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 9 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 , Streptopelia decaocto : two in Rhinow October 4. Two at the edge of Linum October 7. Great Bustard, Otis tarda : a stunning flock of 44 near Senzke, the largest number we have ever seen on this tour and nearly 20% of the entire German population. Water , Rallus aquaticus : one heard at Altfriedland October 6. European Coot, Fulica atra : ten or more Common Wood Pigeon. Photo Rick Wright at Charlottenburg October 3. Common at Altfriedland October 6, but only about eight at Linum October 7.

Eurasian Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus : one immature in Tiergarten October 1. Common Crane, Grus grus : about ten at Strengsee October 2. A total of about 300 at and around the Gülper See October 4. About 80 over Altfriedland October 6. Outstandingly close views at Linum October 7, though the mass of the flock of several thousand there was at a distance and screened from view by trees. Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola : one at Gülper See October 4. Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus : a flock of 110 at Strengsee October 2. About 50 at Gülper See October 4. Two hundred or more overhead at Altfriedland October 6. At least 400 near Linum October 7, obviously part of a movement inspired by clearing skies and cooler temperatures. Dunlin, Calidris alpina : two at great distance at Strengsee October 2. A dozen at Gülper See October 4. Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus : three sneaky birds feeding at Strengsee October 2, then disappearing behind the reeds on the edge of the lake. Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus : about 90 at Strengsee October 2. A flock of about 60 passed overhead at Charlottenburg October 3. A small loafing flock at Gülper See October 4 totaled about 25 birds. At least 100 were at Altfriedland October 6. Common Gull, Larus canus : one at Strengsee October 2. A dozen at Gülper See October 4. Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis : an adult over the Spree October 1. A flyover immature gull at Charlottenburg October 3 was probably of this species, as were occasional flybys at our other wetland sites.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 10 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans : difficult to identify, especially in misty conditions at a distance, but there were four or five adults each at the Gülper See October 4 and Altfriedland October 6. Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo : two in Berlin October 1. About eight at Strengsee October 2. Seven overhead at Charlottenburg October 3. At least 150 at Gülper See October 4, and at least 200 at Altfriedland October 6. Constantly in view at Linum October 7. Gray Heron, Ardea cinerea : ten in Tiergarten October 1. Eight or ten at Strengsee October 2. At least three at Charlottenburg October 3. About ten at Gülper See October 4. One high over Potsdamer Platz October 5. Forty or more at Altfriedland October 6. Three at Linum October 7. Great Egret, Ardea alba : five at Strengsee October 2; similar numbers at Gülper See October 4 and Linum October 7. At least 40 at Altfriedland October 6, a favored site for this still rapidly increasing species in Germany. Red Kite, Milvus milvus : a total of six October 4, with outstandingly close views near Senzke. White-tailed Eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla : four at Strengsee October 2. Three or more at Gülper See October 4. At least two at Altfriedland October 6. Surely it was eagles that caused such anxiety in the goose flocks at Linum October 7, but we never glimpsed one on our walk there. Gray Heron. Photo Rick Wright

Common Buzzard, buteo : a remarkably tame adult in Tiergarten October 1. Three on the way to Strengsee October 2. One in the woods at Charlottenburg October 3. Six roadside birds October 4. Two at Altfriedland October 6. At least four roadside birds October 7. , nisus : one circling low at Charlottenburg October 3 had a dangling, presumably broken leg. Two in western Brandenburg October 4. Three in eastern Brandenburg October 6. White-tailed Eagle. Photo Rick Wright Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis : two sightings, probably of two different individuals, at Strengsee October 2. Four sightings, perhaps involving that many individuals, at Altfriedland October 6.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 11 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 , Dendrocopos major : great looks at male in Tiergarten October 1. A female busily hammering at Kloster Lehnin October 2. Two at Gülper See October 4. Three at Altfriedland October 6. Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis : a roadside bird on the edge of Altfriedland October 6 was unfortunately seen only by the leader, and had flown on by the time we were able to reverse and return to the derelict orchard where it had been perched. Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus : one hovering across the Strengsee October 2. One roadside bird October 7. We usually see slightly better numbers of this species. Great Gray Shrike, Lanius excubitor : excellent views of two birds hunting the reeds at Strengsee October 2, hovering and perching on fragile stems in front of the blind. Eurasian , Pica pica : one at Strengsee October 2. One over Charlottenburg October 3. Three on the way to Gülper See October 4. Six around Altfriedland October 6. Two roadside birs October 7. Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius : one in Tiergarten October 1. Eight or more at Charlottenburg October 3, giving excellent views perched and in flight. About 20 at Gülper See October 4, with similar Great Gray Shrike. Photo Rick Wright numbers overhead at Altfriedland two days later. Fifteen flew over at Linum October 7. Eurasian Jackdaw, monedula : one roadside bird October 4. This species is generally quite uncommon in autumn around Berlin. Carrion Crow, Corvus corone : one with Hooded Crows near Strengsee October 2. Two near Gülper See October 4.

Hooded Crow, Corvus cornix : common throughout, including on the streets of Berlin. Common Raven, Corvus corax : one acrobatic bird over the Strengsee October 2, rolling and stooping in the breeze. An excellent total of at least 15 between Senzke and the Gülper See October 4. Three at Altfriedland October 6. Two at Linum October 7. Bearded Reedling, Panurus biarmicus : two at Altfriedland October 6. The female was seen only briefly and in flight, but the spectacular male climbed a reed stalk quite close to us for excellent views of what is perhaps Europe’s most beautiful .

Bank Swallow, Riparia riparia : about ten at Altfriedland October 6.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 12 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica : at least twenty at Strengsee October 2. Thirty or more at Gülper See October 4. Twenty at Altfriedland October 6. About fifteen at Linum October 7. Marsh / Willow , Poecile palustris / montanus : a silent bird at Strengsee October 2 was probably a . A fast-flying individual at Linum October 7 might have been either of these species. , caeruleus : fairly common and conspicuous throughout, though outnumbered everywhere by Great Tits. , major : common and very conspicuous throughout. Singing heard several times, including at Kulturforum October 5. , Sitta europaea : three or four seen well in Tiergarten October 1. One heard at Kloster Lehnin October 2. Three at Charlottenburg October 3, one feeding on the ground with Common Chaffinches. Short-toed , Certhia brachydactyla : about three heard and one or two seen in Tiergarten October 1. Eurasian , Troglodytes troglodytes : one seen briefly and one or two others heard in Tiergarten October 1. One seen fleetingly at Charlottenburg October 3. , Regulus ignicapilla : a male seen by leader in Tiergarten October 1. , Phylloscopus collybita : two or three at Strengsee October 2. One at Gülper See October 4. Several heard, and at least two seen well, at Altfriedland October 6. This is usually a much commoner October bird than our experience would suggest.

Eurasian Blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla : two seen well in Tiergarten October 1. Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros : an invisible singer at Kulturforum October 5. Three roadside birds in an old orchard near Altfriedland October 6 were followed by excellent views of a bird hunting the roof of the church there. , Erithacus rubecula : two at water of Roma and Sinti Memorial September 30. Five or six in Tiergarten October 1. One at Strengsee October 2. At least three at Charlottenburg October 3. One at Gülper See October 4.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 13 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 Song , Turdus philomelos : one seen by some in Tiergarten October 1. Two flybys at Strengsee October 2. Two flybys at Charlottenburg October 3. One at Altfriedland October 6. Eurasian Blackbird, Turdus merula : eight or ten in TIergarten October 1. About four around Strengsee October 2. A dozen or more at Charlottenburg October 3. Two at Gülper See October 4. Three flybys at Altfriedland October 6. European Robin. Photo Rick Wright , Turdus pilaris : one over the Strengsee October 2. Redwing, Turdus iliacus : three overhead at Charlottenburg October 3. European , Sturnus vulgaris : three going to roost on the Spree October 1. Four near Strengsee October 2. Two or three at Charlottenburg October 3. A total of about 500 October 4. Two hundred or so roadside birds October 6. At least 400, including a flock of half that on the edge of Linum, October 7. White Wagtail, Motacilla alba : two on top of the blind at Strengsee October 2. Fifteen or more feeding on the shore of the Gülper See October 4. Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs : a single flock of some 30 birds feeding on the trail in the Tiergarten October 1. One hundred or more overhead at Charlottenburg October 3, with a flock of about 15 feeding on the path. A male at Altfriedland October 6.

European Greenfinch, Chloris chloris : one at Strengsee October 2. Eurasian Siskin, Spinus spinus : at least forty feeding in at Strengsee October 2. Ten or more in alders and birches at Altfriedland October 6. European Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis : two with siskins at Altfriedland October 6.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 14 Germany: Birds & Art in Berlin & Brandenburg, 2019 Reed , Emberiza schoeniclus : about eight at Strengsee October 2, difficult to see as they dodged the hunting shrikes. The eight or ten at Linum October 7 were significantly more obliging, landing on the path to feed in front of us. : Passer domesticus : fifteen or more in Tiergarten October 1. A total of about 10 in villages near Strengsee October 2. A dozen at Charlottenburg October 3. About 20 at Altfriedland October 6. Four at Linum October 7.

Mazzolino's Christ Child with goldfinch, in Berlin's Gemäldegalerie. Photo Rick Wright

Eurasian Tree Sparrow: Passer montanus : a flock of 10 or more around the blind at Strengsee October 2, including at least one bird hoping to find something edible in the nearby insect house. Three at Altfriedland October 6.

MAMMALS sp.: three or four hunting over the Roma and Sinti House Sparrow. Photo Rick Wright Memorial the evening of September 30.

European , Oryctolagus cuniculus : several in Tiergarten October 1. Eurasian , Sciurus vulgaris : two in Tiergarten October 1. One at Charlottenburg October 3. , Capreolus capreolus : three at Strengsee October 2.

AMPHIBIANS

Frog sp.: one on wet grass at Linum.

BUTTERFLIES Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta : one photographed at Altfriedland.

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