good switzerland birdwatching spots in november? (1 Viewer)

[raysee_crow]

hello! i just joined the site, so sorry if this is the wrong place to put this haha.

i'm trying to choose somewhere to go for my birthday (november 12), especially europe, and right now i'm looking at switzerland.

i can't find anything good from just googling or using ebird maps, so i was wondering if anyone had any good spots?

i would say i'm open on pretty much anywhere in the country, since i haven't fully planned my destination.

also, not sure if i should include this, but i would be going with my father, baby brother, and maybe my aunt.

on this trip i'd like to prioritize birdwatching and scenery (and for most of the time would like to avoid big cities due to sensory issues and dislike of crowded areas... although i do not know much about cities, especially ones outside of florida, since i've always lived in suburbs)

i know november isn't a great month to birdwatch in general, but i would love to do something bird related for my birthday ^^.

i'm also open to suggestions other countries in europe to birdwatch in, although i am mostly thinking about switzerland right now.

and also, we speak spanish and english, so i was wondering if people in switzerland speak english? what language are the signs and etc in?

thanks so much!!!

 

[dalat]

Hi, some thoughts

• November is the worst month of the year to visit Europe, especially north of the Alps. Expect grey, drizzle, cold and more grey. If you can pick another month, do it. Best (for birding) would be April, May or June (in June mountain birding can be done as the snow is gone, then) or late August and September
• Cities in Switzerland are rather small towns, not very busy or crowded, and quite beautiful mostly.
• Easy to get around with English, signs are in the local language though
• For local birders, most interesting birding in November is probably the water birds arriving to winter on the larger lakes. Lakes of Geneva, Constance or Neuchatel are good options. You also will find commoner birds around the lakes

 

[raysee_crow]

Hi, some thoughts

• November is the worst month of the year to visit Europe, especially north of the Alps. Expect grey, drizzle, cold and more grey. If you can pick another month, do it. Best (for birding) would be April, May or June (in June mountain birding can be done as the snow is gone, then) or late August and September
• Cities in Switzerland are rather small towns, not very busy or crowded, and quite beautiful mostly.
• Easy to get around with English, signs are in the local language though
• For local birders, most interesting birding in November is probably the water birds arriving to winter on the larger lakes. Lakes of Geneva, Constance or Neuchatel are good options. You also will find commoner birds around the lakes

okay, i'll consider this. thanks for your thoughts!

 

[jurek]

Like Dalat said, November is not the best time to visit northern Europe.

However, you can have good birding on one of lakes. Around Lausanne, Yverdon, Fanel or Klingnauer Stausee will have variety of waterbirds. If you pick a day with good weather it will be a very satisfying birding day. You will be probably based in one of the cities, so pick the place closest to you.

Mountains will likely have snow and mountain birds will become difficult and unpredictable. Although e.g. in Swiss National Park you can count on seeing a Lammergeier and Golden Eagle.

 

[raysee_crow]

Like Dalat said, November is not the best time to visit northern Europe.

However, you can have good birding on one of lakes. Around Lausanne, Yverdon, Fanel or Klingnauer Stausee will have variety of waterbirds. If you pick a day with good weather it will be a very satisfying birding day. You will be probably based in one of the cities, so pick the place closest to you.

Mountains will likely have snow and mountain birds will become difficult and unpredictable. Although e.g. in Swiss National Park you can count on seeing a Lammergeier and Golden Eagle.

thank you for your input! i will consider this.
if i went in, say, september, like dalat suggested, what would be some good places to go to?

 

[dalat]

The same places as mentioned above are good in September, when migration is in full swing. In addition you can go to the mountains (still no snow in Sept and often good weather) to see some mountain birds, and nice scenery obviously.

You could, for example pick the area of Bern/ Neuchatel, you have Fanel, perhaps the best lake side birding in Switzerland, and you can go to the mountains near Bern. Bern is a nice town as well.

You could get the same combo in other areas as well, e.g. Lausanne, or Eastern Switzerland.

 

[raysee_crow]

The same places as mentioned above are good in September, when migration is in full swing. In addition you can go to the mountains (still no snow in Sept and often good weather) to see some mountain birds, and nice scenery obviously.

You could, for example pick the area of Bern/ Neuchatel, you have Fanel, perhaps the best lake side birding in Switzerland, and you can go to the mountains near Bern. Bern is a nice town as well.

You could get the same combo in other areas as well, e.g. Lausanne, or Eastern Switzerland.

okay! thank you very much for your help, dalat and jurek.