Snow Finch near Zurich? (1 Viewer)

My son is working in Zurich and I'll be able to stay with him during the next couple of months. Does anyone have a reliable Winter/Spring location for Snow Finch nearby, accessible by public transport? Many thanks, Roger

The next places are the Säntis and the Pilatus.
Säntis is a mountain in the east of Switzerland. You can reach the Schwägalp in a bit more than 2hrs by public transport (train and bus) from where a cablecar takes you up. Infos here: http://www.saentisbahn.ch/. Snow Finches are regulary seen around the top.

Pilatus is near Lucerne. You can reach Alpnachstad in under 2hrs from Zürich by train (changing in Lucerne). From there another train takes you up to the top of the Pilatus. Infos here: http://www.pilatus.ch/. Snow Finches are found on the top.

On both places Alpine Accentor is possible too. On Säntis, Ibex is regularly seen and the forests around Schwägalp hold many interesting alpine species (including owls and grouses, although they are hard to find).

For public transport visit the SBB homepage.

Greetings from Switzerland
André

Many thanks for the info André! I must admit that I have made the trip to Pilatus in the past but seen very little other than Alpine Choughs and hoards of people. Where do you find the finches?
Many thanks, Roger

Another good site is (if you don't mind a little bit of a trip) the Schilthorn. There were quite a few of them up there and passing through Murren on the way there you could also see Citril Finches and Alpine Accentors. There's also a pair of Lammergeier up there if you have a little luck.
Not only that, the rotating restaurant is quite nice and it's not that fantastically expensive once you're up there (as well as being the set for On Her Majesty's Secret Service - one of the best Bond films).

The Snow Finches were feeding in Mürren village when I was there a couple of weeks ago. There were none on the Schilthorn (but what a place to visit and not expensive by Swiss standards).

They were also at First (above Grindlewald) and Männlichen (from Grindlewald or Wengen) but Mürren would probably be the easiest and cheapest. Mürren was also the only place with Alpine Accentors. There were no Citril Finches anywhere we went. Full report here:
http://thenaturalstone.blogspot.com/2010/02/jungfrau-region-switzerland.html

Citril Finches are still in southern France and will come back in about one or two weeks. Only a few stay in Switzerland in winter, most of them in the Wallis.
The Snowfinches in Mürren village are wintering there, later in the year they will be later up.

Roger: I've seen Snowfinches every time on Säntis. I have been only once to Pilatus and we saw them flying in quite a distance.
PM me if you're here and you would like to go out birding with a local

André