Diemelsee

Reservoirs are part of the Sauerland. However, Diemelsee is the only one of the Sauerland-Seen in a Sauerland-Wanderdorf. This doesn't mean that you can't hike at the other lakes, but rather that Diemelsee is a particularly good place to hike. This is not only due to two Sauerland-Seelenorte located on the lake: the magnificent viewpoint on the St. Muffert and the dam itself. But the latest beaver-themed trails also speak for themselves: Bibo's explorer trail for children and the beaver-themed trail in the Diemelsee Mountain Bike Trail Park for sporty nature fans.

Beaver sand clocks

The second largest rodent in the world has conquered Diemelsee for itself. Where there are no lidos, boat hire, campsites or lakeside promenades, the beaver has made itself at home - a wonderful example of how tourism can coexist with nature and species conservation.

The Diemelsee-Staumauer dam is a Sauerland-Seelenorte. Directly in front of it are the lidos, the boat hire companies and, a little further upstream, several campsites. The nature reserves are furthest away from the wall. The shallower the water of the Diemelsee, the more exciting it is for nature. Waterfowl - both native and migratory - paddle relaxed between trees standing in the water. Real swamp forests have formed here. When the water level is high, the trees are completely submerged. If the level of the Diemelsee drops slightly in summer, a marshy landscape appears. The animals like both. Hikers have to stay on the dry paths, which is an advantage for both sides.

On the morning we try out Bibo's explorer trail on the edge of the Diemelsee nature reserve for the first time, my hiking companions have to have a large portion of patience in their rucksacks. Feathered models are constantly posing and pushing to be captured on the sensor. There are cormorants and coots, ducks and a wide variety of geese - gray geese as well as geese from the Nile and Canada. Herons wait patiently for fish to swim straight into their open beaks. Of course, I have to wait for the right light for each animal. Time and again the sun peeks through the clouds. Then you have to wait for the right moment - preferably with wings outstretched. You learn a lot about the behavior of water birds while observing them. In the end, it is perhaps not so much about the finished photo, but rather about the many impressions gathered on the way to it.

Piles of branches lie in the shallow water between the trees in the forest. They have not been left there by careless forest workers. They are all the work of beavers that have been reintroduced. Only one rodent in the world is larger than it: the South American capybara - a giant guinea pig, so to speak, with a live weight of up to 75 kilograms. In exceptional cases, the beaver can reach 45 kilograms and a total length of up to 1.2 meters, including its flat tail.

When I see the first log, almost as thick as my arm, which has clearly been felled by a beaver, I am thrilled to find such fresh traces of an animal that had long disappeared from the region. Of course I have to take a detailed photo series of it. When do you ever get so close to such striking, fresh animal tracks? It's a good thing that one of the new information boards is set up right next to it, providing information about the beavers and their fellow inhabitants of the quarry forest. At least it won't be quite so boring for the rest of the group.

Little did we know what was waiting for us: meter-thick hourglasses. There's no other way to describe the thick Weide trees, which the beavers have spent nights of hard work giving a new shape. The old willow trees once lined the inner end of the Hagen-Bicke bay, a side bay of the Diemel arm. Now they are freshly carved works of art in XXL format. Nowhere else have I been able to experience so impressively what beavers can achieve with their teeth alone. However, the artists themselves remain hidden at first.

You can at least admire a stuffed specimen at the Diemelsee Tourist Information Office in Heringhausen. The animal looks big and powerful. However, the huge gnawing teeth are really quite curious. Their color is an intense orange. Here we get talking to Klaus Hamel from the Diemelsee municipality's tourism department. He tells us about other plans to bring the natural beauty of Diemelsee to life: "The western end of the Itterarm is also a paradise for bird photographers," he enthuses. "Hopefully we will soon be able to set up a hide for photographers there." That would of course attract photographers from all over the Sauerland. Feathered models are guaranteed. With the necessary patience and calm, you could also get the star of the lake in front of your lens. One thing is important in all these photo opportunities: the animals are at home in the nature reserve and the photographers are only tolerated guests. The privacy of the residents must be respected and it is essential to stay on the paths so that the coexistence of protected nature and tourism continues to work so well. But if you can leave the noise and hustle and bustle behind, you will be able to spend some great hours in nature here.

Klaus-Peter Kappe