Weekend trip with my dad, mainly to see ageing Rockers 'Uriah Heep' - we also managed to squeeze a little birding into the schedule also!

9th
We arrived at Basel Airport mid morning and after picking up luggage and hire car we headed west following the river Rhein to Klingnauer Stausee Reservoir near Koblen. Here we had very good views of Short-toed Treecreeper and saw a number of common species. 2 immature Shelducks were with Mute Swans and a Red Kite circled the hydroelectric dam for a while. We headed back to Pratteln on the edge of Basel where our hotel was. The evening was spent at the nearby Z7 club where we saw the ageing rock band Uriah Heep on their ‘Acoustically Driven’ tour. This was the main reason for the trip as my dad is big fan. They were supported by the Nits from the Netherlands who were also pretty good.

10th
Today we headed south to Burgdorf, north-east of Bern. We found the cliffs we had been told about and shortly after found a WALLCREEPER! At first I only saw it briefly as it dived into a crack about 2/3 of the way up the main cliff face. It soon came out again and we were able to watch it for almost an hour as it fed and moved around the cliff. What a bird!! Also in the area were 50+ Brambling and 2 Willow tit calling regularly from trees by the river. From here we headed across to the north end of Lake Neuchâtel. Here we walked along the river to a tower giving a view out across the lake and a few islands. Red-crested Pochards were common with several large rafts, each numbering hundreds. 7 adult Whooper Swans were present as were quite a few Greylag Geese, a female Red-Breasted Merganser was with Goosanders near the river mouth and Goldeneye were common. Nearby we found 26 Great White Egrets all feeding in the same field! 

11th
As our return flight wasn’t until late evening we headed back south towards the Alps. On the way we stopped off at the Reuss Delta at Flülen. We parked up near the allotments where 2+ Water Pipit fed in a field with Mippits. An Adult Common Gull was near the marina with Black-heads and several drake Eider were present. As we continued south the roads got emptier and the snow got deeper until we reached Andermatt at 1444m above sea level. We walked down the main street but the place was like a ghost town and we didn’t see another person until about 1 o’clock when everywhere opened after lunch. We saw a flock of Alpine chough move through, some of which showed well on the roofs of houses opposite the car park. Also around the town there were Great and Coal Tits, Collared Dove and several Mallards on the river. Nearby c50 Alpine Chough flew over Wassen + a Raven. As we headed back north the light was fading a bit much for anymore birding but we did see a Little Egret roosting with Gt Whites by a lake near Sursee.

Late Evening flight back to LDN Luton.

Total of 68 Species!! For a complete list click here!

Summary

Out of Focus pic of Uriah Heep!

WALLCREEPER record shot - Burgdorf

Me - Andermatt

ALPINE CHOUGH - Andermatt

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