Thursday, 2 January 2025

Liechtenstein

  For New Years I found myself at something of a loose end, so Laura and I decided to make a short road trip from her parents house to the small country of Liechtenstein, just four hours drive away. It was a country I was unlikely to visit for any other reason than the novelty, but there were still a couple of interesting birds that would be new for me and other species I see more infrequently since I live in the UK. The weather was excellent throughout our stay, with a strong hawfrost on our first day and beautiful snowy scenes higher up in the mountains.

  We spent our first afternoon and only full day in the mountains near the village of Malbun. There was thick snow on the ground, and quite a lot of downhill skiers on the slopes, and cross-country skiers on the footpaths. Overall birdlife was obviously limited, but I still managed my easiest target of the visit with Alpine Chough. They were not rare and quite confiding, but maddeningly I had brought my camera but no battery and with it being New Years there was nothing I was able to do about it but try to phonescope them through my binoculars, with which I had varying success.

  Otherwise the snowy mountains did not have many birds around. There were occasional mixed tit flocks containing Coal Tit and Crested Tit, but little else. On a small stream we walked past we had nice views of a White-throated Dipper, which is obviously the continental Black-bellied subspecies. And deep in the pine forests we had excellent views of a male Crossbill.

  For our final day, we explored the lowlands hiking through various areas of forest to see what we might find. It was nice to find species I see infrequently in the UK common, like Firecrest and Marsh Tit, with species that it is not possible to see in the UK also on the agenda, with Black Woodpecker and Short-toed Treecreeper.

  As we were leaving we checked out a couple of small lakes at the south end of the country where there were a few wetland birds on eBird. Here there was a nice flock of 14 Eurasian Teal on the half-frozen water, but the real surprise came with a flock of at least seven Brambling moving between the trees on the edges of the lake. Although not a rare bird, it was a surprise to find them for sure.

  And with that we headed back, driving back to France in the rain and darkness after three very enjoyable days in one of Europe’s smallest countries. 

-Alpine Chough
-Red Crossbill
-Firecrest
-Brambling
-European Red Squirrel
-Liechtenstein Castle
-Liechtenstein Scenary

Species List:
Liechtenstein: Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Alpine Chough, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Crested Tit, Marsh Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Common Firecrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, White-throated Dipper, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, White Wagtail, Eurasian Chaffinch, Brambling. Eurasian Bullfinch, Red Crossbill, European Goldfinch,

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