Wahner Heide, 28.04.2024

The Wahner Heide (Wahner Heath), straddling the Cologne-Bonn Airport, is a unique birding spot in the area around Bonn. One of the main drawcards for me was obviously the heath habitat, which hosts quite a different suite of birds to those generally found in the area. With spring being in full swing and birds singing everywhere, late April was the ideal time for my parents and me to pay this area a visit. The heath is quite extensive, so we only covered a tiny area in the South over the course of a morning, accessible from the Wiemers Loch car park here. West of this spot, the tracks provide excellent access to the heath (a former army training ground). Being a military area, note that some tracks are not open to the public, although this is not always clear.

One of the most characteristic species here is Wood Lark. We heard the song in many places and the species is also quite common, with several pairs appearing to occur in the area. The song is truly always one of the most charming sounds in the heath, and I was happy to eventually get some close-up views of one individual.

However, Tree Pipit was probably the most obvious species – their beautiful songs could be heard everywhere and at some points, I saw three or four birds performing their display flights at the same time. European Stonechats also stood out as they perched on exposed bushes throughout the heath. Widespread birds like Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Great and Blue Tits, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Chaffinch, Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel, and Barn Swallow were around as well.

I read that a Eurasian Wryneck had been reported here a week or so before, but did not expect to see it. We did however hear the call of the species and sure enough, we quickly spotted the individual on a distant bush. This species definitely counts as one of my favourites in Europe, and eventually I managed to get some closer views. A neat male Red-backed Shrike was also in the vicinity of the wryneck and was a pleasure to observe.

My parents saw a common european viper, a species that I’ve never seen, on a previous visit to the heath. This time, we were not lucky in that respect but had many sand lizards enjoying the sun, showing off their striking emerald green coloration.

Some pine stands to the south of the heath (here) held Black Woodpecker, Eurasian and Short-toed Treecreepers, Eurasian Firecrest, Eurasian Greenfinch, Eurasian Goldfinch, and a singing European Pied Flycatcher, the first time I’ve heard the song of this species.

There are large wooded areas to the north where a different suite of birds can be found, including Eurasian Woodcock and Grey-headed Woodpecker. Eurasian Nightjar is one of the biggest specials in the area and is supposedly found in some areas closer to the airport. However, it is supposed to be extremely rare. We only saw all the regular forest birds here, and it was already noon by the time we covered this area. However, I definitely intend to go birding here again as this outing was very rewarding and a lot more remains to be explored.