Birding near CERN (Geneva) (1 Viewer)

Hello, everybody!

I'm birdwatcher from Russia. From the end of September to the end of December I'll work in CERN (near Geneva). So I'm interested in places for birding in this area. Where and what birds I can find? Maybe somebody has such experience.

Mainly are interesting places accessible by bike and also by public transport.

Thanks for advance.

I cannot help you further, but it will be helpful to subscribe at http://ornitho.ch/
You can see the latest sightings in Geneva by going to "The past 15 days" and then clicking GE. You can narrow down to the more interisting birds by clicking on "unusual", "rare" etc. You must be subscribed to see a map.

I agree with Xenospiza, ornitho.ch is a very useful website to use. It has a lot of information, it is regularly updated and is very accurate.

What kind of birding are you looking for? Do you have any target species you would like to find?

It's quite easy to get public transport into the mountains from Geneva and depending how much time you have, you can make some interesting train journeys around the lake into the Valais and Vaud cantons and travel up to one of the ski stations where you can find some interesting birds just by walking through the woods and along the network of trails (woodpeckers, finches, tits, raptors, warblers, thrushes, depending on timing).

Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) is OK for ducks and grebes, and places such as Geneve Plage are easy to get to, and can be worth an hour, but often the better birds are on the smaller lakes and ponds.

If you can cross into France, it might be worth heading to Thonon les Bains for the Delta de la Dranse, which is a network of rivers, woodland and pools that can turn up interesting migrants but is always worth exploring.

I have no target species. Of course, more rare is a specie, more interesting it is. The most interesting a species which cannot be find in Siberia

I'll have an access to French territory - I'll live there (in St. Genis). So information about birding on French territory is also interesting.

How works public transport on weekends at Switzerland and France?

shtol said:

How works public transport on weekends at Switzerland and France?

Click to expand...

In Switzerland public transport works fantastically well even at weekends. See www.sbb.ch for train, boat and bus timetables.
I don't know about the French system but anywhere near Geneva will have regular and reliable connections to the city.

As for birding there I can't really help as I live about three hours away. I'd suggest looking for the local Pro Natura group online as they organise nature related excursions. Usually though these outings are most frequent in spring and summer. Still it's worth a shot

Or try this group which regularly organises outings across French-speaking Switzerland. As far as I know you would need to become a member.
http://www.nosoiseaux.ch/index.php?m_id=23

shtol said:

Hello, everybody!

I'm birdwatcher from Russia. From the end of September to the end of December I'll work in CERN (near Geneva). So I'm interested in places for birding in this area. Where and what birds I can find? Maybe somebody has such experience.

Mainly are interesting places accessible by bike and also by public transport.

Thanks for advance.

Click to expand...

Hi,

I am a birder living in Geneva and I am sure that I can show you some of the local birding spots around Geneva and in France. I have sent you a PM.

Regards,

Mike

I can make one suggestion near to St Genis, but it is not exactly a typical birding location! I often stay at the Novotel in Ferney Voltaire before travelling home, and if I have an hour spare I take a walk along a tree-lined track which heads south from Rue de Meyrin, crosses the D35 main road and into woodland on the Swiss-French border next to the airport!

It is possibly not so special if you are a local, but for me, as a British birder, it has given me some "rare" species (nightingale, pied flycatcher, short-toed treecreeper, yellow wagtail, black redstart, garden warbler) and several other species that are always nice to see, such as nuthatch, redpoll, blackcap, great spotted and green woodpecker.

Even if it is not so special, it would be easy to go to from St Genis by bicycle, and only needs one hour of spare time in an evening to explore!

You mean this woodland (right near CERN)?

No, I mean this one just south of Ferney Voltaire, and the line of trees that runs north towards the town centre (East of the map label Pré de la Corne). It is probably nothing special for the area, and I'm sure any similar woodland would give you similar species, but it is very near to the airport hotel I usually stay at, so I often walk the same route, and always find something that - for me as a British birder - is interesting.

Hello everybody!

I'm at CERN from September, 28 and every weekend usually go for birding near Saint-Genis or watch birds in Geneva. Some photos from here I've put at my blog (it is on Russian but photos are international). There are also photos from Botanic Garden.

Mos of observations are uploaded at Russian database of birds observations (has English mode).

Here is a list of species which I met here until now:

Eurasian Nuthatch ( Sitta europaea )
Great Spotted Woodpecker ( Dendrocopos major )
Great Tit ( Parus major )
Blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla )
European Goldfinch ( Carduelis carduelis )
Common Kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus )
Mistle Thrush ( Turdus viscivorus )
Rock Pigeon ( Columba livia )
Eurasian Moorhen ( Gallinula chloropus )
Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps cristatus )
Common Raven ( Corvus corax )
Herring Gull ( Larus argentatus )
Willow Tit ( Poecille montanus )
Long-tailed Tit ( Aegithalos caudatus )
Eurasian Bullfinch ( Pyrrhula pyrrhula )
White Wagtail ( Motacilla alba )
House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus )
Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula )
Chaffinch ( Fringilla coelebs )
Common Magpie ( Pica pica )
Eurasian Sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus )
Common Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis )
Red-crested Pochard ( Netta rufina )
Common Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris )
Coal Tit ( Periparus ater )
Eurasian Treecreeper ( Certhia familiaris )
Black-headed Gull ( Chroicocephalus ridibundus )
Common Wood-pigeon ( Columba palumbus )
Eurasian Jay ( Garrulus glandarius )
Common Merganser ( Mergus merganser )
Goldcrest ( Regulus regulus )
Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos )
Great Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax carbo )
Common Coot ( Fulica atra )
European Robin ( Erithacus rubecula )
Black Redstart ( Phoenicurus ochruros )
Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea )
Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor )
Common Buzzard ( Buteo buteo )
Carrion Crow ( Corvus corone )
Eurasian Blue Tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus )