Germany: Birds and Art in Berlin and Brandenburg - September 2026
Dates: September 19–28, 2026
Leader: Rick Wright
E-bird
Total Species: 78 birds
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Overall Summary
A genuine north German Nachsommer—the period of gorgeously spring-like days that sometimes sets in over the autumn equinox—gave us plenty of blue skies and warm temperatures as we explored some of the cultural and natural treasures of Brandenburg and Berlin.
Because many of the best autumn sites are in the western part of Brandenburg, we based ourselves this year in the delightful city of Potsdam, filled with palaces and (importantly) excellent restaurants within just steps of our elegant and comfortable hotel, itself a scant half-hour’s drive from central Berlin.
From Potsdam, we paid visits to the Great Bustards of Garlitz, the striking glass dome of Berlin’s historic Reichstag, the geese and Caspian Gulls of the Gülper See, the astonishing collections of the Prussian museums on the Museumsinsel in Berlin, the gathering of Common Cranes at Linum, the Brandenburg Gate, and the marvelous woodpeckers of Sanssouci—a veritable living encyclopedia of history, both glorious and somber, and the impressively wild and birdy habitats of this underbirded part of central Europe.
New additions to this year’s itinerary included a morning visit to the Jan Bouman Museum in Potsdam’s lovely Dutch Quarter, housed in one of the handsome brick residences constructed in the 1730s on the order of Friedrich Wilhelm II. Our schedule was a full one most days, but still with time between outings to put our feet up at the hotel, shop the quaint streets of central Potsdam or the swank boulevards of Berlin, or slip into the gardens of Frederick the Great’s Sanssouci for a little extra birding.
Nearly all of our localities combined birds and culture in sometimes surprising ways: the Black Redstarts singing from the rooflines of Prussian palaces, the feeding finches beneath the eighteenth-century windmill at the Gülper See, and the flocks of Blue and Great Tits on the peaceful grounds of the medieval monastery of Lehnin reminded us again and again that here truly is a landscape where the human and the natural have co-existed for many centuries—and still do.
It was a privilege to explore that landscape with you, and I am already looking forward to our next chance to take to the field together.
Day-by-Day Summary
September 19 – Departures for Berlin-Brandenburg airport.
September 20 – Private transfers to Potsdam, followed by introductory dinner.
September 21 – Breakfast in hotel. 8:15 am departure for birding Sanssouci gardens. Lunch in Potsdam. Walking tour of historic Potsdam and Alter Marktplatz. Dinner in Potsdam.
September 22 – Breakfast in hotel. 8:15 am departure for Strengsee 8:55–12:20 pm. Lunch in Lehnin. Walking tour of Kloster Lehnin. Dinner in Potsdam.
September 23 – Breakfast in hotel. 9:00 am departure for Berlin: Brandenburg Gate, Jewish memorial, Reichstag roof and dome. Lunch in Berlin. Optional visits to Museum für Naturkunde, Gemäldegalerie, or Kunstegewerbemuseum. Dinner in Potsdam.
September 24 – Breakfast in hotel. 8:00 am departure for Havelland and Gülper See. Lunch in Nauen. Break at hotel. Dinner in Potsdam.
September 25 – Breakfast in hotel. 8:30 am departure for Sanssouci. 11:30 am departure for Berlin: lunch on own, followed by combinations of Neues Museum, Altes Museum, Berliner Schloss, Gemäldegalerie, shopping, sightseeing. Dinner in Berlin. Visit Wall memorial on Potsdamer Platz. Dinner in Berlin.
September 26 – Breakfast in hotel. 9:35 departure for tour of palace of Sanssouci. Rest of morning free. Lunch in Potsdam. 2:00 pm departure for Pfaueninsel. Dinner in Potsdam.
September 27 – Breakfast in hotel. 9:15 departure for walking tour of Sts. Peter and Paul, Soviet cemetery, Bassinplatz. Jan Bouman House museum. Lunch in Potsdam. 1:30 pm departure for Linum Ponds and Kuhhorst crane-watching site. Dinner in Linum.
September 28 – Breakfast in hotel, followed by private transfers to Berlin Brandenburg airport.
Wildlife Seen:
Eurasian Red Squirrel
Roe Deer
Cabbage White
Red Admiral
Io Peacock
Small Copper
Painted Lady
Several species of odonates
Dung Beetle
European Firebug