Day 1
TO GENEVA AND THE VAL D’HERENSOur holiday begins with a flight from London to Geneva. We drive east along the Rhône valley to Sion, then swing south to enter the glorious ‘chocolate-box’ landscape of the Val d’Herens. Along the way, we should see our first Black Kites beside the banks of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), and Goshawk is also possible. Late afternoon arrival at our quaint little hotel in the beautiful Val d’Herens, which will be our base throughout the holiday. Night at Evolene.
Days 2 - 7
THE VAL D’HERENS, RHONE VALLEY & GORNERGRATTWaking to the crisp mountain air and ‘gravel-gargling’ song of Black Redstarts from the rooftops, our daily plan will depend a little on the weather - which, incidentally, is usually at its best in Switzerland in June. Much of our time will be spent exploring the woods and mountains of the Val d’Herens itself (which is both a Parc Regional and a Biosphere Reserve), with its heady mix of stunning scenery, alpine scents and sounds, and its alluring montane birds.
Serins gabble away like speeded-up Corn Buntings, and Dippers and Grey Wagtails haunt the river at Evolene. We also have chances of finding the outsize Black Woodpecker here - though despite their size and far-carrying cries, they can prove surprisingly elusive. This lovely valley is also home to Crag Martin, hot-tempered Fieldfares, Rock Bunting and Red-backed Shrike. We should encounter a few Ring Ouzels too, here of the ‘frosted’ central European race, alpestris. Golden Eagles sweep the skies and as we scan for them, we’ll watch and listen for parties of fast-flying Alpine Swifts. Of special interest in this corner of Switzerland, we may be fortunate to encounter the puzzling ‘Italian’ Sparrow (variously treated as a hybrid between Spanish and House Sparrows, or as a subspecies of Spanish Sparrow), though it appears this little bird has now all but disappeared from its former haunts.
Taking a walk above the tree-line to the high alpine meadows and the Tsidjoure Nouve glacier, Water Pipits and ‘Alpine’ Willow Tits sing, and we may hear the ‘creaking door’ call of perfectly-camouflaged Ptarmigan. The rarely-seen Rock Partridge also occurs and though we should indeed be very fortunate to find one, we have been lucky to enjoy fantastic views here!
Arolla is best known as a climbing centre. Quiet in early summer, for the visiting birdwatcher dappled Nutcrackers screech from the tops of pines that are the haunt of Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Firecrest and Crested and Willow Tits. In June, we have occasionally found Eurasian Griffon and Citril Finch here too, along with the superb Rock Thrush. The upper slopes are the haunt of Alpine Chamois and Alpine Ibex, and this area also offers a good chance of finding the crimson-winged Wallcreeper - no mean feat in a landscape so vast! And with a splendid array of alpine butterflies on offer, too - among them such delights as Mazarine and Amanda’s Blues, Alpine and Pearly Heaths, Spotted and Knapweed Fritillaries, Almond-eyed and Swiss Brassy Ringlets, Moorland Clouded Yellow and Red-underwing Skipper - this is a place destined to linger long in the memory.
On one of our days, after a relatively short drive east to Zermatt, we plan to take the mountain railway high up to the Gornergratt. Set at around 3000m, if visibility is good, stunning views across the glacier towards the Matterhorn will tempt our eyes away from the schools of playful Alpine Choughs - close enough to stroke last time! - which jostle for visitors’ left-over food. While plump Alpine Marmots and endearing Snowfinches sometimes join in too, the less demonstrative Alpine Accentors are much more easily overlooked as they shuffle quietly about. Later, investigation of the lower slopes may reveal Red-backed Shrike, Northern Wheatear and Ortolan Bunting to round off another exciting day.
Offering a whole new suite of birds, a visit to the floor of the Rhône Valley can be equally rewarding, with Wallcreepers to look for at a special site and, remarkably, even Blue Rock Thrush at some towering cliffs. Nightingales, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers provide plenty of background sound as we listen for the tell-tale voices of other valley dwellers such as Quail, Marsh Warbler, Whinchat and Golden Oriole. Overhead, we could see Peregrine or perhaps a dashing Hobby, while Common and Honey Buzzards are quick to take advantage of thermals as the day begins to warm and small parties of ‘sub-Alpine’ Swifts cruise the valleysides. Nights in Evolene.
Day 8
RETURN TO GENEVA, FLY LONDONBidding a reluctant farewell to the Val d’Herens after breakfast this morning, we head back west along the Rhône valley. If travel time permits (and usually it does), we will enjoy a short stop at Les Grangettes, where the river flows into the eastern end of Lac Leman. Regular nowadays in summer, Common Eider is a most surprising bird to find on the lake! An array of other wetland birds is likely, with Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Red-crested Pochard and Yellow-legged Gull among species we have found in the past.
We then continue on to Geneva and board our afternoon flight to London, where the tour concludes.
