Winter birding around St Moritz? (1 Viewer)

[jerry12953]

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Venice by train later in the winter using the Bernina Express for either the outward or return journeys. I thought of stopping off for a couple of days in the Pontresina/St Moritz area to do a little walking/birding. I understand that the area is around 6000 ft a.s.l. What would be my chances of seeing any interesting birds there ? I was wondering about accentor/snowfinch/wallcreeper around villages and /or ski stations, and owls in the forests.

Many thanks!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I've never been there but I suspect you could easily find alpine birds in the right areas e.g. Alpine Chough, Snowfinch, Nutcracker, maybe Alpine Accentor, Wallcreeper and Citril Finch. Owls are probably likely to be more of a challenge. There will probably be interesting woodpeckers e.g. Black and Three-toed in the forests, though they might also take some looking for. I suspect that it's not the best general area for Alpine birding, so if birding is your main focus, it may work better to stop in another area. I had a nice time birding Pilatus near Lucerne in October last year. That was pretty easy to do. I also saw Penduline Tit and Ferruginous Duck in Lucerne.

 

[jerry12953]

I've never been there but I suspect you could easily find alpine birds in the right areas e.g. Alpine Chough, Snowfinch, Nutcracker, maybe Alpine Accentor, Wallcreeper and Citril Finch. Owls are probably likely to be more of a challenge. There will probably be interesting woodpeckers e.g. Black and Three-toed in the forests, though they might also take some looking for. I suspect that it's not the best general area for Alpine birding, so if birding is your main focus, it may work better to stop in another area. I had a nice time birding Pilatus near Lucerne in October last year. That was pretty easy to do. I also saw Penduline Tit and Ferruginous Duck in Lucerne.

Thanks. I could maybe add woodpeckers to my wants list........

 

[jurek]

The area has lots of wildlife, but it disappears in winter, as there can be 1m or more of snow. You can walk for hours in the forest without seeing a single bird. And St. Moritz, naturally, has a reputation that anybody can tell you where to get a $500 bottle of champagne, but not a black woodpecker. Few birdwatchers go there.

The best bet could be emailing the Swiss National Park a bit to the north and ask for advice on either places or somebody who guides in the area, who can advise you.

 

[jerry12953]

Thanks. I did wonder if birding at 6000ft asl in mid-winter might be a bit optimistic!