Eurasian Bittern

Today I visited the Flachsee in Canton Aargau, one of my favorite birding destinations in Switzerland. It is an artificial lake on the Reuss river which is well known to birders and even has its own hide. Rarities that have been recorded here include Gull-billed Tern and Audouin's Gull and Black-winged Stilts have even attempted nesting here. I have seen Black-winged Stilts, both Godwits and Eurasian Spoonbills here in the past.

The Eurasian Bittern however is not strictly speaking a rarity, but an uncommon winter guest that has somehow eluded me until now. Due to its camouflaged plumage, which can look indistinguishable from the surrounding reeds, along with its solitary habits and its secretive behaviour it is not easy to find this species. Despite this, I managed to find one and this being my first encounter with this species I was overjoyed to be able to see this bird and even more happy to see it from a short distance and get some pretty good shots.

Eurasian Bittern - 13/11/1

Eurasian Bittern - 13/11/16

Eurasian Bittern - 13/11/16

Eurasian Bittern - 13/11/16

Birding in the Rhine Delta

The Rhine delta is probably the best place on Lake Constance to go birding. It is in Austria, in the province of Vorarlberg, though most of the lake's shoreline is in Switzerland and Germany. During the last week, a Red Phalarope has been reported from the delta. I went there two days ago with no luck. I finally successfully twitched the bird today and although I only got fairly distant views I was extremely happy when I found this rare bird.

 I walked into the small viewing platform at the delta, where birders were lying on the floor taking pictures of birds. Finally, when the phalarope turned up on a mudflat, I managed to get a few pictures, albeit blurry ones . Unfortunately, the phalarope left the mudflat after that and was out of sight at times, although I did get to witness its strange feeding habit, where it spins around in circles to lift food from the bottom, creating a small whirlpool. Although the phalarope was by far the rarest bird there, I also got to see Water Rails and Spotted Crakes up close.

Red Phalarope

Red Phalarope

Water Rail

Spotted Crake

Welcome to my Blog & About me

Welcome to my new blog about birds and birding. My name is Ben and I am an Austrian-American living in Switzerland, a great country for birding with many birding opportunities ranging from trekking in the mountains to taking boat trips on vast lakes. I created this blog because there is very little information about birding in Switzerland on the internet, although there is a great diversity of birds here. On this blog I will be writing about birding experiences in Switzerland and abroad, writing about birding tips and doing reviews that relate to birds and birding. Every summer and for about two weeks around Christmas the posts will be about birding in the U.S since I go there every year during these times to visit my family.

Happy birding!