A large, oak-dominated forest reserve in the southern Rhineland, designated to protect one of Germany's most important Middle Spotted Woodpecker populations.
Kottenforst-Waldville
Kottenforst-Waldville is a European Special Protection Area (SPA) in the southern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, lying within the city of Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis. Designated in 2004 under the EU Birds Directive and administered by the Regierungspräsidium Köln, it covers roughly 36 square kilometers across five separate sub-areas on the near-flat main terrace of the Rhine, south of Bonn.
The protection area represents one of the largest coherent forest complexes in the natural region of the Cologne Rhine lowlands and is of statewide significance for its population of the Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Its character is defined by extensive oak-hornbeam forests with old-growth stands, small summer-dry woodland pools locally known as "Maare", near-natural spring brooks, steep narrow valleys, alder floodplain forests, and spring-fed mires.
The site is described as an "extensive forest area with large oak-hornbeam forests, near-natural old-growth stands, small mostly summer-dry woodland pools (so-called 'Maare'), near-natural spring brooks, very steep narrow valleys, alder floodplain forests, and spring mires". The bird protection designation is built around the conservation of breeding bird species such as Grey-headed, Middle Spotted and Black Woodpecker, Nightingale, Golden Oriole, Red Kite, Black Stork and Honey Buzzard, as well as winter visitors including the Common Kingfisher.
