Birding the Bavarian Alps.

Birding the Bavarian Alps.
‘Wallcreeper and other top birds in the Garmisch Partenkirchen area’.
5 – 19 July 2008.
This summer I planned a holiday in the Bavarian Alps with my family. I did not go for a long
list of species, but aimed for some special birds. And although many birders seem to ignore
Germany, there are highly sought after (alpine) birds to be found in this beautiful country. We
stayed at Guesthouse Boarlehof in lively Garmisch Partenkirchen, which is an ideal base for
exploring the woods and mountains in this bird rich area, since comfortable cable-cars
provide you with easy access to the highest tops and its high-altitude specialities.
The town itself has three valley stations. The one at Osterfelderkopf takes you to Alpspitz,
Kreuzeck and Hochalm (the Wallcreeper spot). There is a base station at St. Anton in
Partenkirchen which brings you to the alpine meadows at Wank (a reliable spot for Ring
Ouzel and Citril Finch), and there is the Eckbauerbahn near the Olympia Sky stadium, which I
do not know much about.
Another cable railway is at Eibsee. Shortly after leaving Garmisch, heading for Austria, take a
turn off to the left signposted to ‘Eibsee’. After 5.5 kilometres you will find the Zugspitzbahn,
which will take you to Germany’s highest peak, just before the road ends at Eibsee, where
there’s a parking.
Although the Eibsee site can be crowded, it has most of the goodies birders are looking for.
Eibsee is a good site, but slightly further afield other mixed mountain forests around
Garmisch Partenkirchen, that offer close to natural conditions, also present ideal habitat for
difficult grouse and woodpecker species. The older mixed woods in the Garmisch area still
host both Three-toed and White-backed Woodpecker, when rich in structure and dead trees.
Mixed woods with plenty of undergrowth might still produce Hazel Grouse.

All these sites I visited in the area by car are within half an hour of Garmisch Partenkirchen.
Mittenwald, which would also be a good base to bird from, is only about 20 kilometres from
Garmisch. This is where you can find the valley station of the cable railway to the alpine birds
of the ‘westliche Karwendelspitze’. A ‘Tal und Bergfahrt’ (up and down) costs €26 and it
takes about ten minutes to reach Ptarmigan and other alpine birds at the top. The mountain
woods at nearby Ferienalm and Dammkarr Hut are also good sites for target species.
My highlights in the Garmisch Partenkirchen area included Golden Eagle, Black Grouse,
Pygmy Owl, Grey headed Woodpecker, Alpine Accentor, Dipper, Bonelli’s Warbler,
Nutcracker, Alpine Chough, Snow and Citril Finch.
The best birds however, were ‘lifers’, Hazel Grouse and Three-toed Woodpecker, and a
confiding Wallcreeper family, so my holiday was a nice and successful one, although on four
days (July 7th, 13th, 14th and 17th) heavy downpours prevented me from going anywhere. I
did all right in a rainy fortnight, you should do even better when making this trip in (early)
spring.
At the end of the day I missed Capercaille (no reliable sites any more, so notoriously hard to
find in the Garmisch Partenkirchen area) and Ptarmigan. The ‘westliche Karwendelspitze’
was said to be a very reliable site for Ptarmigan. “Just go up by cable railway from
Mittenwald, step out of the cabin into the restaurant and simply look down onto the scree
visible from the terrace...”
Unfortunately on both of my visits the ‘Grat’ had been turned into a noisy building site, where
people tried to finish an Information Centre (with a viewing platform for Ptarmigan!), which
should be opened on July 31 st . Consequently, no Ptarmigan showed on my visits, and other
birders I met missed them too.
Itinerary
July 5 th. .
We left Goutum at 7.30 and arrived in Garmisch Partenkirchen at 18.30. The first decent bird
I saw viewing the high mountains from the balcony of our apartment was a distant Golden
Eagle. A great start to a fortnight of searching for alpine species.
July 6 th .
Today we explored Garmisch Partenkirchen, did some shopping and made a little walk in the
woods near Eibsee. Green Woodpecker and Raven were the best birds.
July 7 th .
A rainy day, with only a dry spell in the evening, which was when I visited the bridge at
Eibsee for the first time and tried for Three-toed Woodpecker. Sadly, no interesting
woodpeckers were located.
July 8th.
An early morning visit at Eibsee produced Great Spotted, four Grey-headed and several
Black, but no White-backed ( that is said to occur here too) and (worse) no Three-toed
Woodpecker. I searched the area near the bridge at Untersee and I walked the track to
Rosskopf looking for Three-toed. Maybe Hazel Gouse still lives here too. The Rosskopf area
(for directions see Pygmy Owl in the bird list) produced a Pygmy Owl calling loudly, while
making its way through this part of the forest.

In the afternoon we walked in the woods near Graswang. No Wallcreepers (they are
sometimes seen on the ‘Falkenwand’), but many orchids in the damp meadows and a soaring
Honey Buzzard near Oberau.
In the grey evening of that same day I went back to Eibsee with my five-year old son. Against
all odds I again started looking for my target bird. Tom was looking for fish under the bridge
before he asked me to show him the Pygmy Owl I saw this morning, for he had brought his
own binoculars. We decided to take the track to Rosskopf, but after a few minutes the woods
grew really dark and Tom wanted to go back. After we had turned and the bridge came into
sight once again, Tom pointed to a bird on a tree trunk only a metre from the ground. I know
what he was getting at; I had seen the bird too. It was a female Three-toed Woodpecker,
only five metres away from us, silently drumming and slowly climbing up a fir tree! I was
really excited and Tom realized he had seen something really special. He was happy to have
helped me finding this great bird and told me he had seen it really well through his own bins.
It started raining soon after, while walking back to our car, but we didn’t care.
July 9th. We went to the Alpzoo in Innsbruck, Austria today. My wife and two sons of two
and five had a great day, and so did I. Unexpected representatives of the alpine (avi)fauna
could be admired here, such as Bald Ibis, Corncrake, Rock Partridge and Wallcreeper! Even a
drumming Black Woodpecker was present in a big cage.
July 10th. At 6.45 I drove to Mittenwald, where I started my birding day on the steep tarmac
track to the Dammkarr Hut (for directions see Hazel Grouse in the bird list). Where the tarmac
track turns into a dirt track I heard a Bonelli’s Warbler. Eurasian Tree-creepers were
common here. The tarmac part of the track is said to be good for Three-toed Woodpecker and
Hazel Grouse. The first remained elusive, but Hazel Grouse to my surprise were there.
The cable-car service is run from 8.30 to 17.00, so at 8.15 I thought it was time to get me a
ticket to the top. In less than 10 minutes I was on the Karwendelspitze, stepping out of the
cable car into the restaurant. I looked down from the restaurant terrace onto the scree, but
couldn’t find any Ptarmigan. This had most probably something to do with the noisy building
activities at the site. They are building a new Alpine Information Centre with a viewing
platform for Ptarmigan, that has to be ready on the 31 st July…
It was a sunny day, and I enjoyed some snow, some Alpine Accentors and confiding Alpine
Choughs, but I couldn’t find any Ptarmigan, Wallcreeper or Snow Finch.
July 11 th . Another visit to the ‘westliche Karwendelspitze’, this time with Tom. Again too
much noise and no Ptarmigan. Alpine Accentors, Yellow-billed Choughs and a Snow
Finch were the best birds. However, it was a rewarding visit as I obtained information about a
Wallcreeper site at Kreuzeck. I got it from a group of German birders who were trailing a
guide, who happened to find a singing Wallcreeper feeding young twelve days ago.
I really wanted to spend the afternoon at this site, since it probably was the last dry afternoon
for days to come, but I promised my family to go swimming. So naturally, that is what I did…
July 12 th . It was said to rain all day, but when I looked out of my window at eight in the
morning the sky was blue. Tom was already awake and he wanted to join me on a trip to the
Kreuzeck Wallcreepers. We went up in a small cabin at 8.40 and arrived ten minutes later at
Kreuzeck, where cowbells filled the air and golden sunlight was shining through low clouds,
it was absolutely beautiful. After a short walk we arrived at the spot where the Wallcreepers
were singing. I taped the song on my cell phone and adored the beautiful Wallcreepers flying

not only like, but also with butterflies up and down the rocks. When the clouds grew thicker
we went down again to Garmisch Partenkirchen.
With Wallcreeper Tom bagged his second star bird within a week. A good way to start your
birding career.
July 13 and 14 th . These days can be summed up in just one four-letter word: rain.
July 15 th . Today was Wallcreeper day. I took the first cable car up to Kreuzeck and shared
the cabin with two German birders. Just out of the ‘Bahn’ I was happy to point out two
Golden Eagles to them, right in front of us. One adult and a second calendar eagle where
circling with their golden heads shining in the morning sun. We walked on and close to the
Wallcreeper site we found a ten days old chick lying on the path with a broken neck, but still
alive. We had to end the life of this unfortunate young Black Grouse.
My German birding friends climbed into a small cave well hidden from, but close to the path.
From here we could see the Wallcreepers visiting their nest.
I soon realized that two young had fledged; they were right in front of us, being fed by their
parents. The female birds fed the young that were still in the nest, the male took care of the
two fledglings. It was an incredible sight watching these giant butterfly birds flapping to and
from the valley onto the wall in front of us. Sometimes the birds were singing.
In the afternoon we went to Neuschwanstein Castle with many tourists and a some Hawfinch.
July 16 th . Today I revisited the Hazel Grouse site along the path to Dammkarr Hut. This time
no grouse were found; European Tree-creeper and Bulfinch were the best birds. Around
eight I again drove to the ticket office at Mittenwald to get me up the Karwendel. Here, other
birders told me that cable car was out of service, because they were bringing down the
building equipment from the Information Centre at the top. They were heading for another
Wallcreeper site at the Karwendelspitze (to the cliffs to the right after walking out of the long
tunnel from the restaurant). So, definitely no Ptarmigan this holiday, and I went for a visit at
the Wank instead. Two Bonelli’s Warblers were singing at the parking of the Wank valley
station in Partenkirchen. The ride up was beautiful with clear blue skies and a magnificent
view at the top. The top station at Wank is a reliable site for Ring Ouzel and Citril Finch,
and both were seen with ease during my visit.
July 17 th . Today we went shopping in Innsbruck, Austria. On the way we had some Tufted
Ducks on a pond near Mittenwald and a Crag Martin over our car at Zirl. On the way back
on this rainy day I observed a Peregrine Falcon flying over the B2 just before Garmisch.
July 18 th . It rained when I woke up, so no walk to Ferienalm and no Capercaille (which can
still be seen there with a considerable amount of luck according to local birders, along with
Hazel Grouse and White-backed and Three-toed Woodpecker).

In the afternoon Louise packed our bags and we went to the ‘Falkenwand’ near Graswang,
where we saw a Dipper along a stream nearby. It soon after started raining again.
July 19 th . We drove Via, Ulm, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Köln back to the Netherlands and saw
a few Black and Red Kites flying over the Autobahn in the Frankfurt area. We arrived in
Goutum at 7 pm.
Bird info
These birds were common throughout the region and are to be found easily:
Common Buzzard, Comon Kestrel, Common Swift, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker,
Skylark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Water Pipit, White and Grey Wagtail, Wren, Robin,
Black Redstart, Song and Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher,
Pied Flycatcher, Great, Blue, Marsh, Willow, Coal and Crested Tit, European Treecreeper,
Nuthatch, Eurasian Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Bullfinch,
Hawfinch and Serin (common?), Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet.
List of noteable species, lifers in red:
Golden Eagle, aquila chrysaetos; one distant bird seen from the balcony of our apartment on
the day we arrived, and a beautiful adult and a second year up close at Kreuzeck on the 15 th .
European Honey Buzzard, pernis apivorus; one soaring near Oberammergau.
Black Kite, milvus migrans; three somewhere between Stuttgart and Wiesbaden over the
‘Autobahn’ on our way back to the Netherlands.
Red Kite, milvus milvus; one near Köln en route to Garmisch and two near Wiesbaden on our
way home on July 19 th .
Black Grouse, tetrao tetrix; a probably about ten days old chick with a broken neck was
found on the path very close to the Wallcreeper spot somewhere between Kreuzeck and
Hochalm. We had to end its short life.
Hazel Grouse, bonasa bonasia; one, possibly two birds, flying up from the forest floor along
the tarmac road to Dammkarr Hut. To find this spot take the track from the parking near
Mittenwald early in the morning. If you come from the North: it is the last parking before you
pass under the cables of the cable railway to the Karwendelspitze. Walk the tarmac track to
Dammkarr Hut for a few hundred meters. Where there is a roadside bench on the left take a
track into the woods on your right and explore these woods with dense undergrowth from
there.
Pygmy Owl, glaucidium passerinum; when trying to locate Three-toed Woodpeckers at
Eibsee (August 26 th ) I located a calling bird in the Rosskopf area. Park at Eibsee and walk the
track anticlockwise. After only a few hundred metres you will reach a bridge Do not cross the
bridge, but take a minor path to the right, which means you will have the Untersee on your
left. Where the track ends in a gravel road to the left, the owl was calling loudly. This should
also be a good area for Three-toed Woodpecker. For a detailed map of the area, see Vögel
beobachten in Süddeutschland, page 189.

Grey-headed Woodpecker, picus canus; a family party near the bridge at Eibsee. On one
occasion four noisy birds were seen together on one dead tree. One of the birds was singing.
Black Woodpecker, dryocopus martius; fairly common in the woods around Garmisch,
Eibsee and Mittenwald.
Three-toed Woodpecker, picoides tridactylus; a silent adult female was found at Eibsee on
July 8 th less than a hundred metres from the bridge over Untersee along the minor path that
leads to Rosskopf (see Pygmy Owl and page 189 in ‘Vögel beobachten in Süd Deutschland’).
Crag Martin, ptyonoprogne rupestris; one seen in bad weather over Zirl (Austria), where
there should be a large colony of this species.
Dipper, cinclus cinclus; seen along a stream near the ’Falkenwand’ between Graswang and
Oberammergau.
Alpine Accentor, prunella collaris; two birds, sometimes singing, near the restaurant on the
‘westliche Karwendelspitze’.
Ring Ouzel, turdus torquatus; a few at Wank, some singing. The top of Wank is the best
place in the Garmisch Partenkirchen area to see them. This site is also very good for Citril
Finch.
Bonelli’s Warbler, phylloscopus bonelli; singing at the right side of the tarmac track to
Dammkarhutte and two singing at the parking of the Wank valley station in Partenkirchen.
Wallcreeper, tichodroma muraria; I located a pair of Wallcreepers between Kreuzeck and
Hochalm on July 12th. The birds were easily found, because they were frequently singing that
first morning ( I taped the song with my cell phone). The birds were climbing and flying up
and down to their young in a nest somewhere in a small cave, and showed really well between
Kreuzeck and Hochalm. Take the cable-car to Kreuzeck and walk on the gravel road to
Hochalm. After about 500 metres cliffs appear on your right. This is where the birds were
feeding their young. Three wet days later I revisited the site to make pictures. Two German
birders I met in the cable-car cabin went up to do the same, and they took me to a spot where
the Wallcreeper family could be observed and photographed really well.

Nutcracker, nucifraga caryocatactes; noisy birds that are widespread in the area, but still
hard to see. In late summer and early autumn Nutcrackers will usually allow better views.
Yellow-billed Chough, pyrrhocorax graculus; these birds eat out of your hand on the
westliche Karwendelspitze. Take the cable car down in Mittenwald, simply go to the top and
wait for the birds near the restaurant. Snow Finch and Alpine Accentor are usually present
too, but this year numbers of most alpine species were surprisingly low. Choughs could also
be seen flying around a few more of the highest tops in the area.
Snow Finch, montifringilla nivalis; one bird calling and flying along the rocks near the
restaurant on the westliche Karwendelspitze was all I could manage. A group of eager
German birders found none.
Citril Finch, serinus citrinella; a handful fly by Citril Finches drew my attention near the
Wank top station. When you are familiar with their flight calls they are easy to find here.
Crossbill, loxia curvirostra; several birds at Wank, and a bird calling while flying over our
balcony in Garmisch Partenkirchen.
Literature and other reference material used:
Moning, Wagner; Vögel beobachten in Süddeutschland (page 182 – 193) ; ISBN 9-83440-
104453.
http://www.birdinggermany.de/deutschland.htm
Contact:
Jaap Westra
De Tilbarten 61
9084 CC Goutum
The Netherlands
jh.westra@sevenwolden.nl