Newly fledged Kestrel

Dear Readers, I have never seen as many interesting animals and plants in Obergurgl as I have this past week – it has been such a pleasure. Two kestrels nest under the eaves of the hotel, and this morning one of the fledglings (there are two) was flapping about on the balcony. I.opened the curtains a crack to see what was going on, and the kestrel took one horrified look and flew off to the roof of the hotel opposite.

There have been adult kestrels here for as long as I’ve been coming to the hotel, so since at least 2004. However, I’ve never been here at fledging time before. The two babies wait patiently for their mother to bring them some food, from behind some bird-prevention spikes, which are clearly not working, and were originally put up before the current owners took over the hotel. However, as kestrels are protected here in Austria, they can’t now disturb the birds and remove them.

Young kestrels on the nest.

Still, they will soon be off and learning to fend for themselves. It’s wonderful to see the adults quartering the grassy areas all around the village, and looking for mice. Interestingly, they seem to prefer to sit on the top of a tree rather than hover. If I can get a photo of an adult, I’ll share it with you.

In other news, the meadow was cut yesterday, and I heard a strange call early in the evening – it was a Ring Ouzel, picking up beakfuls of freshly-exposed worms and feeding them to its fledglings.

I thought I’d share a picture of the breakfast room here at the Hotel Olympia – in addition to having kestrels for entertainment, I really like that it’s retained that Tirolean ‘vibe’ without all the heavy wood that makes some hotels here feel so dark and heavy. I love the upholstery, and the curtains (and the view, of course)

Anyhow, after our long walk yesterday, and with the risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms this afternoon, we took ourselves off to Solden to do a little bit of shopping and do a bit of easy walking. And look what I found! Only two more Vivaporous Lizards. Actually there were three, but one scooted away. They look pretty pregnant to me. Could there soon be the patter of tiny lizard claws?

Anyhow, we decided to pop up the Giggijoch Lift – this was, for a long time, the poor cousin to the Gaislachkoglbahn, but it has had a serious makeover. Gone are the old-fashioned gondolas, where anyone over 5 ft 10 inches risked braining themselves every time they went in and out. It’s all very high-tech now. And the views from the top are breath-taking.

What was even more breath-taking (for me at least) was the sight of a pair of Alpine Choughs chuckling and tumbling over the lift station before disappearing over the mountains. This time, they were close enough for me to definitively identify them, and it really lifted my heart. These birds should have been here all along, it’s ideal habitat for them, but to have seen them twice makes me very happy. Fingers crossed by the end of the holiday I’ll be able to get a photo for you all. But just in case I don’t, here’s a short video of a flock of choughs in the Swiss Alps. I love the whoop at the start – that’s just what I did when I saw them yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Fa0eB3SV_qw

Incidentally, if you’re ever in Solden, the restaurant at the Giggijoch lift was offering homemade lemonade with a bit of grapefruit in it and some summer berries, and a tiramisu brownie. You’ve heard it here first!