Wachtelkönig-Wiesen Untere Havelaue

About this spectacle

The Wachtelkönig-Wiesen Untere Havelaue is a flood-meadow landscape along the lower Havel River in Brandenburg, Germany, famed for its population of the secretive corncrake (Wachtelkönig, Crex crex). Visitors entering these expansive wet grasslands at dusk or dawn may be rewarded by the rasping, repetitive crex-crex call of the corncrake emanating from tall grass—one of Europe's most elusive bird sounds. The river floodplain hosts a mosaic of sedge meadows, oxbow lakes, and willow scrub that supports a rich assemblage of wetland birds including lapwing, black-tailed godwit, and marsh harrier. The landscape is flat and open, offering wide skies, reflective water channels, and a quietness broken only by birdsong. Spring and early summer bring breeding activity at its most intense, while autumn floods transform the meadows into glittering wetland. The site is managed as a nature reserve, and its unhurried, pastoral atmosphere rewards patient observers who are willing to stand still and listen.

When to go

Apr — Oct, peak May — Jul

Getting there

Nearest airport: BER. Nearest city: Brandenburg an der Havel.

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