Photographing Rare Birds In The Eifel National Park

Searching a nice place for a photo trip? Have a look at the Eifel National Park (Germany) and its array of rare bird species.

Charming landscapes

The Eifel National Park is a 11,000 hectares protected area located in the west part of Germany, close to the Belgian border. The wood-covered Kermeter mountain range gives the area its charming scenery, but the park doesn’t just consist of woods. In fact, the Dreiborner plateau and its meadows and gorges are one of the reasons why the park is so special.

Through its valleys flow many watercourses. On the banks of these rivers, you can take pictures of wagtails and white-throated dippers. The water streams meet into two large reservoirs lakes: the Urft and the Rur dams. Their steep shores add even more magic to the Eifel Park’s landscape.

Observation places and bird species

In the Kermeter, on the north of the Urft, the beech forests offer great viewpoints. From the parking lot "Wilder Kermeter", a barrier-free nature trail leads through the forest and into further hiking trails. Here you can observe mainly blackbirds, but also doves and other cave-breeders.

At the two dams, the range of bird species is widened. There are numerous picturesque hiking trails and viewpoints, such as the Hirschley on the Rur. The regular feathered guests are the great crested grebe, canada goose, goose and herons.

The open lands of the Dreiborn highlands are the best places in the park to observe bird species. Eurasian skylarks, meadow pipits and yellowhammer are - so to say - part of the “standard program”. Among them can also be found more rare specimens such as the wheatear and the whinchat. Different species of shrike (great grey shrike, northern grey shrike, or northern shrike), but also specimen of melodious warbler hide in the bush. In springtime and autumn, the Dreiborn plateau is a great place to watch cranes.

Black stork fly over the area to get from their breeding places to their feeding areas and vice versa. There’s a birdwatching station in the northern part of the plateau. From there you have a good view of the Urft’s cormorant colony.

If you need some new binoculars for your birdwatching trip, Eschenbach currently have some great February deals on their optics. 

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