A few weeks ago, I went on a hike with my brother and girlfriend in the Alps near Bayrischzell, in southern Bavaria. Being out in the sun and breathing in the clear winter air was invigorating after too many dark and wet days were spent largely indoors. Birds tend to be few and far in between in this area, especially in winter, but I did take my camera just in case and went home with several good sightings and few acceptable photos (bear with me).
The lack of bird diversity was made up by an influx, or so it seemed, of Eurasian Magpies. These birds were everywhere before we ascended the mountain properly, and were quite happily balancing on fences and foraging in the roadside fields. The sun revealed the irridescent sheen in their plumage to the greatest extent imaginable however, so they proved to be lovely distractions before we entered the spruce forest.
On the top of the mountain it was all about corvids again, but this time Common Ravens that used the air currents to engage in barrel rolls and loopings. When seeing such behaviour, it really seems like the only explanation could be that they are doing it for enjoyment. There are however several reasons for play in animals including ravens (e.g. see this study), and I am by no means an expert on this topic. Regardless of whether the ravens had fun, we definitely did as we watched them. One raven also produced the strangest clicking sound that I’ve only ever heard from a Pied Crow in South Africa.
With the light fading on the way down – tragic given that it wasn’t even 4pm yet – we chanced across a small group of Eurasian Siskins. These birds are often quite shy but now, perhaps because of the cold, they were pretty approachable. Especially given that now everything around us could be placed on a scale transitioning from grey to brown, these birds added a welcome splash of colour.
Arriving back in the valley at dusk, the cherry on top was a ball-shaped White-throated Dipper that was getting ready to roost for the night. I already mentioned this bird in my last post on birds in Munich, but as I have a soft spot for dippers I thought there’d be space for one more photo (do scroll past quickly if you’re allergic to high-ISO, badly lit photos though).
It was great to get out and enjoy the mountains in the winter. As I was only in Munich for a weekend and do not have access to such beautiful scenery anymore however, I will gladly use this as an excuse to go back to posting about the birds that can be found among the lush foliage in tropical Sri Lanka in my next posts.
Leave a Comment