Hi
after my report on my trip to the Alps (Saastal) in June, I thought I'd do an update on my subsequent trip to Switzerland.
First off, I enjoyed Geneva, Brienz and Berne thoroughly and would recomend them to anyone. Beautiful places, helpful people, very clean and tidy and orderly and great weather. It wasnt strictly a birding holiday so that had to be fitted in along the way. My wife was very tolerant. And I managed to pick up a few birding / animal books on the area, including a large, specifically Swiss one (in French, but I can manage). As an aside, we used the railways a lot and by comparison to the UK they are bliss - they put us to shame.
Anyway, to birds, or a selection thereof :-
Coots. ln Lac Leman by Geneva, there were more coots than you could shake a stick at, especially around the two man-made peninsulas that effectively form the harbour of Geneva. The eastern one in particular allows great viewing opportunites. Which leads me onto . . . .
Goosanders. A mother with about 6 young came ashore onto the breakwater by the waterjet and allowed great viewing as they preened themselves in the sun. I got good video footage of them and some stills.
Swifts, swallows and house martins. These abounded and swifts are a particular favourite, swirling around and above the streets and in and out of courtyards.
Great Crested Grebes. A new one for me, so a great find. Watching them hunt around the bay at Geneva was good, some nice footage, but the parent with the chick on its back was a good one too. Saw them in Brienzersee also.
A band of Alpine Choughs came and went, noisily, on top of the Brienz Rothorn, which was nice. I did see a smallish brown/grey bird high up on the way up, say around 6000 feet in an alp, but didnt get enough time to establish an id - eg alpine accentor.
Perhaps the sitings of the holiday (new for me) were nutcrackers at Brienz and Meiringen. In particular, being able to watch one from the bedroom balcony at Brienze was really good. One seemed to have a nest in fir trees near the Reichenbach falls.
Highlights in Berne were more black redstarts and a spotted flycatcher, I am pretty sure. The best though was another new siting for me, being a nuthatch at the Gurten. The glade we were in held numerous different birds, inlcuding a treecreeper, but I didnt have time to establish which type it was. Chaffinches too.
I am pretty certain I saw Kites circling above both Geneva and Brienz and I think they were red kites. I am still checking this out though - any comments on information about Kites in these areas would be appreciated. I will try to post on id query soon with the details I have.
all the best
andy hunter
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the read, it's always interesting to see what else in the way of Birds is around a country not too far away, though there are obviously many of 'ours' there too. A liked the sound of viewing the Nutcrackers from the bedroom balcony, wonderful.
I can't help with the Accentor, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Kites were Black ones rather than Red.
Thanks Andy,
Sue. PS. Why not put any photos you have on the Gallery, it would be good to see them.
Hi Sue
I will try to take time to put something on the gallery. The shots aren't the best, the video footage is slightly clearer. I am still at a basic stage with technology - I guess I just need to get into the swing of it. I will try to get the video (and others) onto youtube and post a link.
cheers for the feedback.
andyhunter