Birds are real popular figures. For many people, observing the feathered world is part of the perfect nature experience. It is all the more surprising that hardly any vacation region lifts this potential and takes up bird watching in the tourist offer structure.
The tourism association Seenland Oder-Spree together with the LEADER region Märkische Seen now takes on a pioneering role and develops together with stakeholders from tourism, research and nature conservation offers that focus on the bird life of the region and make it for guests as well as locals to experience.
The Oder-Spree Lake District offers impressive nature experiences in every season. In winter, thousands of waterfowl settle on the numerous lakes; in spring, singing can be heard from almost every copse; in summer, the parent birds can be observed with their young; and in autumn, the cranes impress.
In the seven designated observation areas: at the Altfriedländer ponds, in Märkische Schweiz, near Mönchwinkel on the Spree, as well as at Scharmützelsee and Storkower See, at the Groß Schauener Seenkette, in the Reicherskreuzer Heide and the Ziltendorfer Niederungen there are numerous birds to hear and see. In some cases, an infrastructure is already in place there. From lookout towers or footbridges the observer has free view with the help of a binocular on the feathered journeymen.
In addition to the typical activities such as cycling, hiking or canoeing, bird watching should in future also provide an incentive to travel to Brandenburg's largest and most water-rich travel region and bring added value to the Oder-Spree Lake District.
"Creating a sustainable nature experience and further expanding slow tourism are the most important building blocks of the tourist offer in the Oder-Spree lake district. Since it is worthwhile to integrate bird watching and exploit the potentials touristically. Of course, always in compliance with the species and nature conservation." So Ellen Russig, managing director of the tourism association lakeland Oder-Spree.
The BIRDRACE, which took place throughout Germany on May 6, in which almost 900 teams with nearly 2,500 Birdracern participated, also gave the prelude in the lakeland Oder-Spree. In a next step, signs with a QR code will be placed at the designated observation hotspots. This will lead to the platform www.ornitho.de, where amateur ornithologists can enter their observations to get an overview of the ornithological events in Germany.
Over the next few months, further potential will be analyzed, ideas developed and implemented.
More info
Numerous information on the various observation areas, bird species and seasonal highlights can be found on the website of the tourism association Seenland Oder-Spree: www.seenland-oderspree.de/seenland-erleben/birdwatching
There is also a podcast in which avifaunists Kai Pagenkopf and Hermann Mattes talk about their passion for bird watching.