Migration south

This post, our 600th, marks a shift for this blog and in our lifes. After 6 years of living together, the team has split up geographically. Claudia has migrated south, to pursue a career in the field of epigenetics. She will do this as a postdoc at the Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology for Natural Scientists, University Medical School Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel. She starts today and I have just returned to Stockholm, after having spent a great weekend in Kiel.

Needless to say, my expectations weren't high about a town that was basically a pile of stones and rubble at the end of the war and that is now an important commercial sea trade center in the Baltic region. However, as it turned out I had to review my prejudices. Kiel was sunny, full of green parks and generally a nice place to walk around in.

There is even a very nice beer garden in a lovely park. Apparently there is only one decent beer garden in Kiel, but that one is very good. We enjoyed fresh asparagus, good beer and nice scenery there.

Birding wise Kiel was surprisingly rewarding. We will get back to you on that subject now that Claudia will do her blogging from there, but there was a lot of warblers and general bird life going on all over the place.

Moorhens were breeding downtown in the large pond called Kiel See. The fledgelings were already out and about and we saw them on several occasions.



Bird of the day: Common Moorhen - Rörhöna - Teichhuhn - Gallinule poule-d'eau - Gallinula chloropus