Uster for birding switzerland (1 Viewer)

Hello
I am staying in Uster , which is 20 min from Zurich any good birding places to visit around the Uster area, would be a great help to me if any one can give me any information on this and what type of birds or wildlife I would hopefully see this time of year, I am there from the 24th July 2014 for 2 weeks, thanks Trev

Hi Trev,
there are some smaller but good wetlands not far from Uster, like:
- Neeracherried
- Kaltenbrunner Riet
- Rapperswil Jona

You'll find info on those sites in the Opus: http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Switzerland

These wetlands are especially good during migration, but mid July is probably the most boring time of the year there. Very close to Uster are the lakes Pfäffikersee and Greifensee, which should also have some of the usual water birds.

If you're interested in mountain birds, an interesting area not far would be Obertoggenburg, e.g. around Wildhaus or Alt St. Johann. Just go hiking up the mountains and be early.

Best, Florian

Very close to Uster you can find the Greifensee. The southern end, the Rälliker Ried is a nice place to go birding. There is a small watchtower where the road from Uster to Rällikon crosses the Aa river. This is a good place for Little Bittern. You can also walk out on the left (southern ) side of the Aa to the lake. There is a colony of Cormorants and on the water you should see various ducks (Mallarad, Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe) and some gulls (Black-headed and Yellow-legged) and Terns (mainly Common but Black is also possible). From the watchtower some waders may also be possible, at this time of year mainly Green, Common and Wood Sandpiper. Common Kingfisher is also seen regularly there. White Storks breed in Riedikon and at Silberweide, a nature center, and are often seen at Rälliker Ried. Look out for Crakes which should start to turn up at this time of year.
There are some Jackdaws breeding at the castle in Uster, listen for their typical calls.

I'm living pretty close to Uster (Winterthur). If you're interested in a day out (or a day out in the mountains) just pm me, I'm around.

André