BIRDING BERLIN: The Tiergarten

For the last week I was in Berlin with my dad, for what was primarily a business trip. However, I was allowed to tag along and go birding.
On most days, we went walking in the Tiergarten in the early morning. The Tiergarten is a large, well-wooded park in central Berlin. It was easy to access as our hotel was right next to it.
A wide variety of birds were visible in the Tiergarten. Common throughout were birds such as mallards, house sparrows, starlings and hooded crows, nothing particularly special. However, well-wooded areas held several other species. Among these were Eurasian nuthatches, European robins, great spotted woodpeckers and common woodpigeons. We also heard a blackcap singing, but couldn't track it down. Mammals in the area included many beautiful red squirrels, along with several European rabbits and a few larger European hares.

A young greater spotted woodpecker inspects a piece of wood for insects

The large and beautiful wood pigeon is a common sight in the Tiergarten

The European robin is very different to the robins here in Australia

I have seen hooded crows before in Austria, but they are always enjoyable to spot

In the mornings red squirrels were common throughout the park

Near water, a host of different birds also made themselves visible. The commonest of these was the aforementioned mallard. Many birds could be seen making their way down the canals intersecting the park. Also common were grey herons, silently standing at the banks of the canals. On one walk we saw a pair of mute swans swimming in the centre of a canal. Seen but not photographed were Caspian gulls and great cormorants flying down the main canal. Small ponds and lakes in the centre of the park held coots, Eurasian moorhens and introduced Mandarin ducks. An area of grass near water was being grazed by several Canadian geese on one walk. Finally, in the non-bird section, I spotted an introduced red-eared slider (a type of turtle) resting on a log in a canal.

This young grey heron was standing majestically in the grounds of the Berlin Zoo

A small colony of introduced Canadian geese lives in central Berlin

The Mandarin duck is another introduced species found in central Berlin

The Eurasian moorhen is closely related to Australia's dusky moorhen

We got close views of this majestic mute swan

The red-eared slider has been introduced to waterways in much of the world

Though we failed to spot any of Berlin's notorious goshawk population, the Tiergarten was still amazing to visit and provided a host of nice birds.