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Description
Duing winter Düffel and Salmorth are real birding hotspots (season from late October to mid March). In the other seasons the area is less interesting. You can explore a lot of the Düffel area by car and watch resting and feeding geese from your car to avoid disruption. If you want to explore on foot, you can park your car either in Düffelward at the old ferry crossing (closed now) or on Schenkenschanz. If you walk "inland" from Schenkenschanz, the road can be muddy in winter. Key winter guests are: tundrahanhi, tundrametsähanhi, valkoposkihanhi, merihanhi, kanadanhanhi. Look at the flocks closely and you might detect lyhytnokkahanhi or punakaulahanhi. In the old Rhine river bed you find isokoskelo, haapana, tavi and other waterfowl in the winter. The open fields are hunted by hiirihaukka , tuulihaukka and muuttohaukka all year round. In winter you may find sinisuohaukka and with even more luck piekana. In the summer isohaarahaukka , haarahaukka and ruskosuohaukka are seen regularly. It is highly recommended to be there an hour before sunrise or the hour from sunset to see thousands of geese depart from or return to their sleeping places in the several quarry lakes and old Rhine River arms of the area. Best to watch is from the Dyke at Düffelward or from Schenkenschanz.
Details
Access
For Schenkenschanz follow Rheinstraße from Griethausen and then take Martin-Schenk-Straße to Schenkenschanz. Go slowly and watch out for large flocks of geese left and right of the road (very good place to watch from the car). Parking in Düffelward is right at the old ferry crossing, which has been discontinued. The tour from Düffelward is easy on fixed roads (mainly field access roads) and on the dyke. On Schenkenschanz it is a dirt road that can (will) be muddy in winter.