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Weltkulturerbe and Important Bird Area Wachau

Lower Austria  >  Austria

The Wachau is a valley formed by the Danube in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich). It´s famous for the unique landscape and the white wine. Important Bird Area.

Added* by Wolfgang Kantner
Most recent update 8 July 2020

Description

The Danube valley in Austria between the cities of Melk and Krems in Lower Austria is called the Wachau. The Wachau valley is famous for its high-quality wines, but also a nice area for birding. Cirl Bunting, Rock Bunting, Wood Lark and European Bee-eater are just some of the species you can see there. Other nice birds are Golden Oriole, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Wryneck, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Red-backed Shrike. See the extended list below. For the complete list of breeding birds you can go to the website of the Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wachau (OAGW), which is the local Consortium which looks after the birds in the Wachau, see the link below. And if you are lucky you will see the beautiful European Green Lizard while you are birding.

Details

Access

You can visit the area with public transport from Vienna very easily. Especially in spring and summer try to avoid driving with your car, where possible, respect nature. Train, bicycle and bus have a good network to explore the Wachau. Don´t miss the famous white wines (Riesling, Grüner Veltliner among others) in different characteristic brands (Steinfeder, Federspiel, Smaragd). There is a very good variety of excellent Restaurants and Heurigen (local wine tavern).

Terrain and Habitat

Forest , Wetland , Agriculture , Scattered trees and bushes , Valley , River , City/village

Conditions

Flat , Hilly , Dry , Open landscape

Circular trail

Yes

Is a telescope useful?

No

Good birding season

All year round

Best time to visit

Spring

Route

Paved road

Difficulty walking trail

Easy

Accessible by

Foot , Wheelchair

Birdwatching hide / platform

No

Extra info

If you need further information visit the website of the OAGW: https://oagw.at. Don´t miss a Smaragd (Riesling or Grüner Veltliner are the best known), it´s the best white-wine-area of the world.

Links

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

Map

Top 5 birds

Other birds you can see here

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Comments & Tips

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