Autumn atmosphere in the Buchenwald Grumsin
If you think the Grumsin Beech Forest can only be enjoyed in summer, think again! This UNESCO World Natural Heritage site is a spectacle in every season, including November.
In November, the beech forest still showcases its golden-yellow, orange, and brown hues of autumn. The forest exudes a tranquil atmosphere, with only a few resident birds like the black woodpecker remaining. The ground is now carpeted with a thick layer of golden leaves, creating an almost magical ambiance.
Mystical November atmosphere
Typical November mist creates a mystical mood, with diffused light filtering through the bare trees. The golden and reddish leaves add a special glow, while dew and frost on leaves and branches in the early mornings provide mesmerising views, perfect for photography. The high humidity also encourages fungi to emerge from the ground and decaying wood, offering opportunities to observe or capture rare formations. As animal activity diminishes, a peaceful stillness settles over the forest.
Observing black woodpeckers and embracing the silence
While many birds migrate south for the winter, there’s still plenty to discover in the Grumsin Beech Forest. The black woodpecker, one of the largest native woodpecker species (up to 50 centimetres including tail, crow-sized), is a fascinating sight.
This impressive bird is not easy to spot. The black woodpecker only occurs where trees are allowed to grow old and where there are large contiguous forest areas. It thrives in the combination of old beech trees for breeding and dying or diseased spruce or pine trees as a food source, which it finds in the Grumsin Beech Forest. It feeds on the living ant colonies of red ant ants that live on the lower trunk of spruce trees. While it feeds on wood-dwelling ants from spring to autumn, it also breaks open anthills in late autumn and winter to get to its food. The Grumsin Beech Forest is home to numerous trees that the black woodpecker prefers for its cavity-nesting birds, such as 80- to 100-year-old beech trees.
By building cavities for its brood, the black woodpecker opens up the forest to many other cave-nesting birds, such as the stock dove, Eurasian jackdaw, boreal owl, wild bees, bats and goldeneye (which also occur in the Grumsin Beech Forest).
The diurnal black woodpecker is active once in the morning and then again in the afternoon, which is why it can be observed during a hike in the Grumsin Beech Forest.
It is easily recognisable by its black plumage with a completely red crown in males and a red neck patch in females, along with a bright yellow bill.
Even at this time of year, please follow the rulesof conduct in this UNESCO-protected area and do not leave the paths.
Recognising the black woodpecker by its calls
If you can’t see the black woodpecker, you can identify it by its distinctive call.
Even though the call is very intense during the breeding season, territory calls can be heard in late autumn that sound like “kwih” and are accompanied by drumming on trees. The drumming of black woodpeckers can be heard for several kilometres by other black woodpeckers and by humans. It not only serves to mark the territory, but also to strengthen the relationship and to establish contact.
Here you can find the song, call, drumming and flight calls of a black woodpecker.
But how can you distinguish the drumming of the woodpeckers? Compared to a great spotted woodpecker, for example, the black woodpecker drums much louder, slower and longer.
So keep your eyes and especially your ears open when you are out and about in the Grumsin Beech Forest in late autumn.
Enjoy your visit to the Grumsin Beech Forest!
For travel details, click here.
