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Germany Germany Ramsar wetland

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster'

253 bird species recorded; the most in May.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec209at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Vollersander · CC BY-SA 4.0

This month here

124 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Great tit
Great titParus majorResidentPeterRohrbeck · CC BY-SA 4.0
Greater White-fronted Goose
Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifronsWinter visitorFrank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian MagpiePica picaResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
European Robin
European RobinErithacus rubeculaResidentCharles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Nuthatch
Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaeaWinter visitorChme82 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Wood Pigeon
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbusResidentTristan Ferne from UK · CC BY 2.0
Carrion Crow
Carrion CrowCorvus coroneResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Eurasian Blue Tit
Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleusResidentSławek Staszczuk · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaResidentKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Marsh Tit
Marsh TitPoecile palustrisWinter visitorStephan Sprinz · CC BY 4.0
Northern Pintail
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorJ.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Grey Heron
Grey HeronArdea cinereaResidentVassilios Vescoukis · CC BY-SA 4.0
Western Jackdaw
Western JackdawColoeus monedulaResidentDarkone · CC BY-SA 2.5
Eurasian Teal
Eurasian TealAnas creccaResidentKoshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India · CC BY 2.0
Common Buzzard
Common BuzzardButeo buteoResidentcaroline legg · CC BY 2.0
Canada Goose
Canada GooseBranta canadensisResidentPierre5018 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian Wren
Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytesResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Eurasian Chaffinch
Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsResidentGilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0
Greylag Goose
Greylag GooseAnser anserResidentImran Shah from Islamabad, Pakistan · CC BY-SA 2.0
Great Cormorant
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos majorResidentПлешков Алексей · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mallard
MallardAnas platyrhynchosResidentTetiana.iefimenko · CC BY 4.0
Common Shelduck
Common ShelduckTadorna tadornaResidentAiwok · CC BY-SA 3.0
House Sparrow
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

253 species, counted.

86out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 253Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 141Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 8ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 72,905Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 19Raptors
  • 5Owls
  • 37Waders
  • 17Gulls & seabirds
  • 46Ducks & geese
  • 15Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 3Storks & cranes
  • 87Songbirds
  • 24Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 253 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors19 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
  • Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
  • Eurasian GoshawkAccipiter gentilis
  • White-tailed EagleHaliaeetus albicilla
  • Black KiteMilvus migrans
  • Rough-legged BuzzardButeo lagopus
  • Short-toed eagleCircaetus gallicus
  • MerlinFalco columbarius
  • Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
  • Red-footed FalconFalco vespertinusVU
  • Pallid HarrierCircus macrourusNT
Owls5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
  • Tawny OwlStrix aluco
  • Long-eared OwlAsio otus
  • Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
Waders37 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
  • Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
  • Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
  • Little ringed ploverCharadrius dubius
  • Little StintCalidris minuta
  • Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
  • Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
  • Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
  • Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
  • Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
  • Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
  • Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
  • Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
  • Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
  • SanderlingCalidris alba
  • Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
  • Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
  • Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
  • Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
  • European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
  • Long-billed dowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceusNT
  • Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
  • Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
  • Grey (Red) PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius
  • Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
Gulls & seabirds17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • European Herring GullLarus argentatus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Pontic gullLarus cachinnans
  • Black TernChlidonias niger
  • Common GullLarus canus
  • Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
  • Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
  • Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus
  • Common TernSterna hirundo
  • Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
  • Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
  • Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
  • Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
  • Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
Ducks & geese46 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Mute SwanCygnus olor
  • Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
  • Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
  • Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferruginea
  • Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • GarganeySpatula querquedula
  • Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
  • Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
  • Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsis
  • Bar-headed GooseAnser indicus
  • Red-crested pochardNetta rufina
  • GoosanderMergus merganser
  • Black swanCygnus atratus
  • Ferruginous DuckAythya nyrocaNT
  • Tundra Bean GooseAnser serrirostris
  • Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
  • SmewMergellus albellus
  • Cape ShelduckTadorna cana
  • Ringed TealCallonetta leucophrys
  • Wood DuckAix sponsa
  • Taiga Bean GooseAnser fabalis
  • Lesser white-fronted gooseAnser erythropusVU
  • Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
  • Green-winged tealAnas carolinensis
  • Mandarin DuckAix galericulata
  • Yellow-billed TealAnas flavirostris
  • Snow gooseAnser caerulescens
  • Greater ScaupAythya marila
  • Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
  • Brent GooseBranta bernicla
  • Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
  • Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus
  • Cairina moschataCairina moschata
  • White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
  • Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
  • White-cheeked PintailAnas bahamensis
  • Emperor GooseAnser canagicus
  • Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
Herons, ibises & grebes15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
  • Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
  • Eurasian BitternBotaurus stellaris
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
  • Little BitternIxobrychus minutus
  • Purple heronArdea purpurea
  • African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
Storks & cranes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
  • Common CraneGrus grus
  • Black storkCiconia nigra
Songbirds87 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Great titParus major
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Western JackdawColoeus monedula
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • DunnockPrunella modularis
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • BluethroatLuscinia svecica
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
  • YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • Short-toed treecreeperCerthia brachydactyla
  • Marsh TitPoecile palustris
  • Bearded ReedlingPanurus biarmicus
  • Marsh warblerAcrocephalus palustris
  • Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
  • Garden WarblerSylvia borin
  • BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
  • Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • RookCorvus frugilegus
  • Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
  • Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
  • Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • Lanius excubitorLanius excubitor
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • FieldfareTurdus pilaris
  • Willow TitPoecile montanus
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • Coal TitPeriparus ater
  • Savi's WarblerLocustella luscinioides
  • HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
  • GoldcrestRegulus regulus
  • European Crested TitLophophanes cristatus
  • Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
  • Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
  • Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
  • Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • BramblingFringilla montifringilla
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Eurasian Penduline TitRemiz pendulinus
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
  • Icterine warblerHippolais icterina
  • Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
  • Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
  • Eurasian River WarblerLocustella fluviatilis
  • Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
  • European SerinSerinus serinus
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • WoodlarkLullula arborea
  • Dusky warblerPhylloscopus fuscatus
  • Barred WarblerSylvia nisoria
  • Aquatic WarblerAcrocephalus paludicolaVU
  • Ring OuzelTurdus torquatus
  • Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
Other birds24 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • CootFulica atra
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • European Water RailRallus aquaticus
  • Stock DoveColumba oenas
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • Black WoodpeckerDryocopus martius
  • Spotted CrakePorzana porzana
  • Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minor
  • Middle Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocoptes medius
  • Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
  • Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
  • European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
  • Porzana parvaPorzana parva
  • Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
  • CockatielNymphicus hollandicus
  • Red JunglefowlGallus gallus

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in May.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan1244°/-1°76 mm
  2. Feb1225°/-1°58 mm
  3. Mar1629°/1°54 mm
  4. Apr19015°/4°41 mm
  5. May20918°/8°61 mm
  6. Jun16422°/12°63 mm
  7. Jul17324°/14°75 mm
  8. Aug18323°/13°77 mm
  9. Sep18620°/10°59 mm
  10. Oct15514°/6°63 mm
  11. Nov1269°/3°69 mm
  12. Dec1165°/0°75 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster'.

Special protection area in the EU defined by the birds directive in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster' is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Germany.

It is also a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive.

253 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 72,905 open records.

The most recorded are the Greylag Goose, the Mallard and the Gadwall.

89 species come for the summer, 51 for the winter and 1 only pass through.

8 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard, Curlew Sandpiper and Grey Plover.

The most species are recorded in May.

Gänse in den Rieselfeldern 02
Vollersander · CC BY-SA 4.0

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster' seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 15bird hides within 6 km
  • 3observation towers within 6 km
  • 13marked trails within 4 kmX5 Vreden - Dissen, X4 Anholt - Halle (Westf), X24 Münster - Bad Bentheim and 10 more
  • 1visitor centres within 6 kmBiologische Station Rieselfelder
  • 5viewpoints within 5 km
  • 57car parks within 3 km
  • 7restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 13campsites within 10 kmHaus Coerde, Fuestrup Camp Marina, Campingplatz Wersewinkel and 10 more
  • 101places to stay within 10 kmHof Wesselmann, Kaltefleiter, Hof zur Linde and 98 more

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster'.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas22 mountains within 25 km
Vorbergshügel99 m · 6.7 kmRöste Berg94 m · 8.3 kmBerg Fidel75 m · 12 kmWesterberg189 m · 21 kmBuchenberg111 m · 22 kmKleeberg178 m · 23 kmLengericher Berg168 m · 23 kmKlotenberg158 m · 24 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 km
Aasee0.4 km² · 10 km
Darkskyas1 dark-sky places within 30 km
Alte SternwarteBortle 5 · 7.5 km
Riveryasthe river nearby
Münstersche Aa43 kmGellen-Bach11 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The place, as people saw it.

Bartmeise in den Rieselfeldern Münster
Muensterorni · CC BY 4.0
Bartmeise Rieselfelder Münster
Muensterorni · CC BY 4.0
Bartmeise sammelt Samen, FHH Rieselfelder Münster
Dieter Wermbter · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other places nearby.

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Rieselfelder Münster'

Germany

  • 86Birdyas Score
  • 253Species
  • 141Migrants
  • 8Threatened

Vogelschutzgebiet 'Unterer Niederrhein'

Germany · 82 km

  • 86Birdyas Score
  • 211Species
  • 99Migrants
  • 9Threatened

See the guide

Dümmer

Germany · 71 km

  • 81Birdyas Score
  • 228Species
  • 145Migrants
  • 7Threatened

See the guide

VSG 'Heubachniederung, Lavesumer Bruch und Borkenberge'

Germany · 38 km

  • 68Birdyas Score
  • 177Species
  • 93Migrants
  • 3Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q2152351) · CC0
Birds72,905 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Lakeyas, Darkskyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.