It's a little sensation: on its first winter trip, a turnstone landed on Lake Starnberg - and stayed there much longer than expected.
The coastal bird, which is actually considered to be extinct in Germany, felt particularly at home on steamers and with sailors.
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Screeching seagulls circle over the steamer "Starnberg". While the tourists crowd to the railing, a rare guest at Lake Starnberg uses the opportunity for his appearance. The white belly stands out against the orange legs. The plumage shimmers on the back, chest and head in innumerable shades of brown. The pointed beak pecks for crumbs, unimpressed by the hustle and bustle on deck. In its natural environment it turns stones and shells with its beak. A peculiarity that gives the rare visitor its name: Turnstone.
In Germany, the wading bird is considered to be extinct according to the Red List of breeding birds. Dr. Andrea Gehrold, ornithologist and area supervisor at the district group of the State Association for Bird Protection, explains at the request of the Starnberger Merkur that the bird is usually spotted at the lake at most once a year. But this year there were two birds of the species. A small record.
The animals usually pass Lake Starnberg in late summer and autumn on their way south, where they overwinter. "Usually they only stay a few days to eat up fat reserves to hibernate," explains Dr. Gehrold. The first of the two visitors also adhered to this rule. He was spotted in early August and disappeared a few days later. Unlike his successor, who spent almost two weeks at the lake from mid-August. The experts quickly identified it as a young bird making its first hibernation trip.
Several observers report of the trusting Turnstone, who went on tour with sailors unimpressed and who attracted the attention of many steamer passengers with his presence. He was even nicknamed "Felix" by the ship's staff. The young bird seemed to like it so much at Lake Starnberg that he didn't want to leave.
Gehrold describes this behavior as unusual, but also refers to the age of the bird.
"Young birds are still gaining experience and often wander around the area," she explains.
In addition, they are often more trusting, as they have not yet had any negative or even no experiences with people.
This is partly due to the deserted rocky coasts of arctic areas such as Greenland, Russia and Scandinavia.
They are among the typical breeding areas of the coastal bird.
Nadja Saied
