My partner and I visited the Austrian Tyrol (an Alpine region) for a week's walking and relaxation (there is more of the latter than the former as I get older) near the end of September. The weather and scenery were fantastic, the hotel was excellent and the walking was good, but what about the wildlife? Well, this part of Austria is not renowned for its wildlife but I was hoping for something special - a Golden Eagle or a Snow Finch perhaps? The outcome was predictably more prosaic - here are limited highlights.
Birds
I explored the local village on five early morning walks. This was 'pine country', so it was no surprise that Coal Tits were the commonest species. Great Tits and Blue Tits were also common and a few Crested Tits (quite common and widespread in Europe) were seen or (more often) heard. Long-tailed Tits were heard on one occasion. Chaffinches and Goldfinches were common and a couple of Bullfinches (a female and a juvenile) were recorded on every walk. One notable difference with the UK was that Black Redstarts were very common, often being seen and heard singing from rooftops in the village. Flocks of Common Crossbills were seen on the edges of the village, where Nuthatches, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers were occasionally recorded. A few Starlings flew over and Blackbirds were resident. Swallows and Crag Martins, presumably passing through on migration, were seen on the first couple of days but not thereafter.
Female Bullfinch, Austria, 23 September
Black Redstart, Austria, 25 September
A Kestrel was seen on a couple of occasions and a Buzzard was heard, but no other raptors were recorded. Local ponds yielded only Mallard and Coot. On one day we took a funicular railway high into the mountains above the town of Seefeld. It was here that I saw my only Alpine speciality in the form of several Alpine Choughs, which were snaffling chips and other food items discarded by people at the Alpine restaurant - not an unusual sight in this part of the world - these birds are the Alpine equivalent of our Herring Gulls! At the end of the week I had recorded and identified 38 bird species, whilst a couple more 'got away'.
Alpine Chough (not a Blackbird!), near Seefeld in Austria, 27 September
Invertebrates
As in the UK, late September is not the best time for seeing invertebrates with most species' flight seasons having finished. Large and Small Whites were the dominant butterfly species seen, with a few Painted Ladies and Clouded Yellows recorded, presumably on southwards passage. The ubiquitous Common Blue was also seen, alongside a few Red Admirals and a single Comma. The only non-familiar (for me) butterflies seen (although they do occur in the UK) were Grayling and Scotch Argus.
Grayling Butterfly, near Seefeld, Austria, 23 September
Dragonfly sightings had a familiar feel to them, with Migrant and Southern Hawkers, Common Darters and Willow Emerald Damselflies all recorded. A lake in the Imperial Gardens in Innsbruck was rich in these and possibly more species. The image (below) appears to show two male darters in tandem, but it is not clear which species they belong to - a mystery still to be solved.
Two Darter Dragonflies, Innsbruck, 25 September
Hummingbird Hoverflies were, as in the UK, quite common here. Some pretty grasshoppers, including ones that 'flew' for short distances, revealing red 'wings', were seen. One or two unidentified large, flying insects were noted but otherwise there was little of interest.
Mammals
Only two wild mammal species were seen on the holiday. A single black squirrel (presumably a melanistic form of Red Squirrel) was observed close to our village, but possibly the star of the show was a single Chamois, seen from the balcony of our hotel room, feeding in the grounds of the hotel! Despite the assurances of the holiday company, Marmots were neither seen nor heard at any stage of the holiday!
Chamois, as seen from our Hotel Balcony, 23 September
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