Pomarine Jaegers (Stercorarius pomarinus) are high-arctic gulls, which spend most of the non-breeding season offshore in the Atlantic. Thus, a Pomarine Jaeger is a very unusual sighting in Germany, especially for inland states like Brandenburg. End of September a Pomarine Jaeger was seen on the Gülper See.
The Gülper See (lake) in the Havelaue west of Rhinow is always worth a visit. However, it was a small sensation when a Pomarine Jaeger was observed on September 26th and 27th, 2019 – and thus before the storm depression Mortimer. The immature Pomarine Jaeger of the dark morphe was first observed resting on the water. In the further course the bird was photographed very nicely in flight and on the meadow opposite the lakeshore. More often it was parasitic to Caspian Gulls (Larus cachinnans). Whether it was very successful, remained open. Later, she was at least with a large perch ashore, which the Jaeger “bit by bit” cranked.
The next day the Pomarine Jaeger was last seen and photographed swimming on the lake. A short time later the bird was observed in a vigorous battle with a Caspian Gull on the water surface. This chance takes advantage of a young White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and knocked out the Pomarine Jaeger out of the fight. Then the eagle carried the Jaeger to the shore to crimp her. He was challenged by the spoils when an adult white-tailed eagle finally came and ate the remnants of the Pomarine Jaeger.
Since Saturday, October 5, 2019, there is an additional observation of a – probably immature – Pomarine Jaeger for the Grimnitzsee near Joachimsthal in the district of Barnim. This lake is about 100 km as the crow flies from Gülper See on the lower Havel and about 150 km or 2 hours by car.
The bird can sometimes be observed very well from the nature observation station. Sometimes the Pomarine Jaeger hides behind reeds on the shore and is difficult or impossible to spot. Here the young Pomarine Jaeger tried to parasitize Caspian Gulls, as well. A White-tailed Eagle tried to catch her in vain.
These are noteworthy reports, which are very unusual especially for inland countries, and has been distributed via ornitho.de.
Gülper See is a lake of more than 660 hectares located in the middle of the Lower Havel lowland. It is about a 1.5 meter deep lake, which was created as a result of the last ice age. The lake is an important resting place for cranes, ducks, geese, seagulls, terns and waders. In the evening there is a spectacular fly-in of Taiga Bean-Geese (Anser fabalis) and Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons). The number of geese can regularly exceed 100,000 birds. In front of the tower is a small peninsula, where many waterfowl gather for resting.
For birdwatchers and photographers, an observation tower and two covered observation posts are important. These are located on the southern shore of Lake Gülper, on the small asphalt road between Prietzen and Gülpe. The observation stands are in the immediate vicinity of the road. The observation tower can be reached via a short walk through the forest. The lake can be reached in about one and a half hours by car from Berlin.
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. Trips to common and to remote places to capture images not only of rare birds of western Palearctic were very successful. The nice image of the blog is only a first impression, what you will find in the gallery in the “Picture Shop” very soon. Just give bird-lens.com a message, if bird-lens.com could serve you with an image needed before the new pictures are online.