Barnacle Geese in the countryside

After visiting Holnis, the northernmost point along the German Baltic Sea, I visited the northernmost point of the entire German mainland, which is situated within the wetlands of the Rickelsbüller Koog, opposite the island of Sylt and bordering Denmark.

The Rickelsbüller Koog is characterized by wetlands behind the dyke protecting the flat countryside of northern Germany from the North Sea. Each spring and autumn, the area is visited by thousands of migratory birds who rest on the meadows as well as feed on the mud flats exposed during low tide. It’s a birder’s paradise and also a pretty unique landscape.

road towards the Rickelsbüller Koog

path towards a birding hide

view across the wetlands

flat countryside of northwestern Germany

Barnacle Geese

Pied Avocet

a lone wader

view from the dyke into the Wadden Sea

view from the dyke into the Wadden Sea

thousands of birds on the mud flats

thousands of birds on the mud flats

birders checking out the wetlands of the Rickelsbüller Koog

Rickelsbüller Koog

Greylag Geese

European Golden Plovers

European Golden Plovers

European Golden Plovers

Northern Lapwing

As in other birding spots along the North Sea, it is best to come to the Rickelsbüller Koog during high tide, when the birds leave the mud flats and come closer to the shore or rest behind the dyke and are therefore easier to see.