Alpine species in Upper Valais (1 Viewer)

[kilianwasmer]

Alpine species in the Upper Valais

Hi there.

Together with my girlfriend I am going to do some (non-birding) hiking in the Upper Valais (Saas Valley, Zermatt,..) with a side trip (I can't resist) to the Cassonsgrat for watching Dotterels during the first week of September.

Now I am still looking for sites in this area for watching typical Alpine species, especially:

Ptarmigan
Alpine Accentor
Rock Thrush
Chough
Snow Finch
(Western) Bonelli's Warbler (Already too late?)

I know, at least some of them aren't easy.. In "Where to watch birds in Switzerland" I could only find some tips for the Riederalp region and in another thread the "Gornergrat" has been mentioned.

Best wishes

Kilian

 

[wintibird]

Hi Kilian

Ptarmigan, Alpine Accentor, Chough and Snowfinch will be easy on Cassonsgrat. All occur on Gornergrat as well, Ptarmigan maybe harder to find there. Just make sure to be on the first train.
In general, Alpine Accentor, Chough (as long as you don't want to see Red-billed) and Snowfinch are to find everywhere above about 2200m. Also Ptarmigan is widespread, although sometimes hard to find. Try to look out for their calls.
Bonelli's Warbler is easy at Leuk (check the Opus article Leukerfeld), but very hard to find at this time of year.
Rock Thrush can be found around Zermatt too, but I don't know any reliable site there. The burnt forest near Leuk is a very good place for them.

Greetings from Switzerland
André