A Brit abroad

Montreux day 1: botanising and butterflying

Last weekend a good weather forecast seemed like a good excuse to return to the Alps, so I decided to do a couple of the walks described in the 'Where to watch birds in Switzerland' guide. The birding at both sites was pleasant if underwhelming; however the multitude of wildflowers, butterflies and stunning scenery more than compensated for this. Our first walk started from Leuk train station, following the River Rhone before a fairly steep ascent to Feschelbach gorge and down again. Just outside of the station I spotted the first of many Hummingbird Hawkmoths gathering nectar - always a pleasure to see.

Butterflies down at this level included Black-veined White...

... and my lifer Glanville Fritillary.

This insect with dragonfly-like wings and long antennae was pretty common, though I have no idea even what family it belongs to. ID, anyone? (It's an Ascalaphid - Libelloides coccajus - thanks Dean!)

The Cruella DeVil-style coats of these goats was distinctive.

Birds heard on this section of the walk included Bonelli's Warbler (Pouillot de Bonelli), Golden Oriole (Loriot d'Europe), Rock Bunting (Bruant fou) and Nightingale (Rossignol philomele). My first of year Honey Buzzard was a treat as well.

The ascent up to the gorge added Adonis Blue....

... and this impressive large green beetle sp to the insect list (This is a Rose Chafer or Goldsmith Beetle, Cetonia aurata - thanks to Anne-Caroline for the ID).

The view wasn't bad either!

My ulterior motive for walking to Feschelbach gorge was to look for Wallcreeper, which can apparently give marvellous views here, but not today! A Swiss birder/photographer on site reckoned it was more regular in winter here, so maybe I'll plan a return visit.... amazing views of Crag Martin (Hirondelle de rochers) was some compensation though.

Up on the plateau, the display of wildflowers was amazing...

... and included this Burnt Orchid.

Heading down through a small wooded area yielded my lifer Wood Whites....

... and an incongruous-looking satellite station.

A couple of fly-by Hoopoes (Huppe fasciee) and a heard-only Ortolan Bunting (Bruant ortolan) were the avian highlights. We passed through an attractive village

and made it back in good time to see the sun set over Lake Geneva from Montreux.

Posted by rjhall at June 8, 2006 10:39 PM