After a message on Ornitho.de I decided to visit the sewage farms in the north of Muenster. A Green-winged Teal, a close relative of our European Teal (Anas carolinensis) was said to stay for a few days already in Muenster. The duck was in the area of an old abandoned sewage farm. The species has been seen since at least the 16th of March on the pond named E1. From the Rhine -Ruhr region, the sewage farm is easy to reach and the sewage ponds – the Rieselfelder Muenster – are famous to reveal rarities especially in the spring season. The area is a real birding hotspot. First, there was nothing to see but the sheer numbers of ducks. Gadwalls (Anas strepera), Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), 1 Garganey (Anas querquedula), Common Pochards (Aythya ferina), Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) and lots of Common Teal (Anas crecca) all were present. The highlights of the observations from the Hide at the entrance to the pond was an (Icelandic) Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa islandica), feeding in the water in the middle of “normal” Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa limosa) in the eastern corner of the pond. An impressive experience was the successful hunt of a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) on a young Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus).
It was not until the afternoon when the Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis) finally was discovered in a flock of Common Teals. This North American vagrant could be seen on the eastern edge of E1 not far from a hide, which is located to the next patch of the reserve (the area “14”). A little later the duck showed itself latching onto a vegetated island. Later, it showed up in the middle of a shallow zone of the pond with some mud flats where it was busy foraging with about 10 Common Teals.
The Green-winged Teal did not come closer. Thus the photographer could only shoot a photo of proof.
This observation is not the first sighting in North Rhine-Westphalia or in the sewage farm of Muenster. According to field observer – familiar with the area – this is already the third observation in the area. The first evidence for Germany for this species was performed on the 7th May 1994 in a polder east of Oldenburg in Lower Saxony.
Up-to-date Information about current sightings you can find under www.ornitho.de (search for the bird name) or under www.naturgucker.de
To cope with the growing demand for top shots of the rarer species of the Palearctic Bird-Lens is keen to enrich the range of pictures of birds you can find in the western Palearctic. The image you find in the blog is only a first impression, what you will find in the gallery in the “Pictures Shop” very soon. Just give me a message, if I could serve you with an image needed before the new pictures are online.
Other successful shootings you can see under: www.bird-lens.com in the pictures shop.