Snowfinch on the Sorebois

15 January 2010

Finally I got them and I have a pic to prove it!
Thursday in the late afternoon I met Julien on his way to his room after skiing and he told me he saw snowfinches on the Sorebios. Apparently they were all over the sun terrace at the restaurant.
The top of the Sorebois is above the treeline and all the ski slopes are there. You have to go there by cable car and in summer you can walk up there, but it is a steep walk as it is the black piste in winter. The summer trail is more winding than the black piste.
Thursday evening we had our weekly raclette, which consits of having an aperitif and then eating molten swiss cheese. It’s so nice! Friday morning I got up early to help wash the dishes of the raclette and then those of breakfast and then I went up the Sorebois, I could not wait any longer.
When I got out of the cable car the first thing I saw was a Snowfinch, up close even!
It was searching for pieces of bread that was most probably thrown out for the birds. Snowfinch and Alpine accentors were the birds present.
It seems that they are more Snowfinches around this year or maybe I have never been here this time of the year, but I since I talked a lot about the Snowfinches, I got more reports about people seeing them when they go out walking. Mostly it is when they go up above the tree line. Before I go home I well visit the skiing slopes more often.
The Snowfinch I saw at the Sorebois must not be a healthy bird, because it was alone and it never flew far. I did approach it once too close and it flew off and then it was alright, but it is a bird you always see in swarms. I saw more than 20 fly away from the stream, Julien saw about 10 and Lillian saw 6 birds.
Anyway, the bird gave me the opportunity to photograph it up close.
Enjoy the pics!