Birdwatching on the Oder near Neuzelle

Start / Finish: Neuzelle Monastery
Length / Duration: 8 kilometers, 2 hours
Nature of the trail / route: mainly paved paths
Route: Neuzelle Monastery, monastery garden, Portgraben, Oderwiesen, Oder, Waschhausweg, Portgraben, monastery garden, Neuzelle Monastery

Route description

The approximately 7.5 km hike from Neuzelle into the lowlands to the Oder dyke starts at the beautiful Cistercian monastery in Neuzelle. From the monastery square, the trail leads through the monastery garden to the wash house path, which you follow through the lowland landscape to the Oder dyke. During the breeding season, you can hear numerous meadow birds mating and singing. The lapwing is the most notable of the songbirds, while the corn warbler, corn bunting, stonechat, meadow pipit and grey wagtail breed in the wet meadows.

In the cold season, large flocks of geese can be found in the fields and wet meadows, mostly greylag geese, white-fronted geese and bean geese. If you look carefully, you will occasionally spot whooper swans among the mute swans. The attentive observer may notice a great grey shrike here and there, which, unlike all its relatives, stays with us throughout the winter and increases in number due to guests from the north. Hen harriers are also regular winter visitors.

During the migration periods, numerous bird species can be found in the lowlands and along the Oder. Wood sandpipers and wood sandpipers, ruff, greenshank and snipe visit the lowlands in rapidly changing numbers. Whinchats have also moved on; they have all disappeared from the region as breeding birds.

The Oder embankment provides a wonderful view of the areas of the river close to the banks, where the numerous groynes create still water areas. Depending on the water level, you have a good chance of observing many water birds such as goosander and goldeneye. The common sandpiper has already bred here. White-tailed eagles, marsh harriers, black kites and ospreys hunt here between May and August.

Wrynecks, nightingales and tree pipits breed in the wooded area by the dam, as do middle spotted woodpeckers. The wryneck feeds mainly on grass ants, which it finds in abundance along the Oder embankment.

To continue the circular route, leave the Oderdamm again in the direction of Waschhausweg and turn right to the northwest immediately on the landward side of the dyke. The path leads along the dyke for about 400 m, then turn left and walk west through the lowlands. After another 300 m, take the path branching off to the left, which leads back to the Waschhausweg and Neuzelle.

The Landhaushotel Prinz Albrecht, right next to the monastery pond, is the perfect place to stop for refreshments. Alternatively, you can stop off at the nearby Klosterklause or stock up on home-brewed beer at the monastery brewery.