Читать книгу Shorter Walks in the Dolomites. 50 varied day walks in the mountains онлайн

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A more recent example of reintroduction is that of brown bears, which had also previously been victim of hunting. However, the dwindling nucleus in the Adamello-Brenta park has been slowly and successfully boosted by bears from Slovenia and the latest head count is 24.

Alpine marmot

Birdwatchers will enjoy the delightful small songbirds in the conifer woods, while sizeable birds of prey such as kites, buzzards and golden eagles may be spotted above the tree line. One special feathered treat is the showy high-altitude wall creeper. Fluttering over extraordinarily sheer rock faces in its hunt for insects, it flashes its plumage (black with red panels and white dots) and attracts attention with its shrill piping whistle. There is also the ptarmigan, a type of high-mountain grouse that nests on grassy slopes and makes sounds a bit like a pig snorting. In winter, with a perfect white plumage camouflage, it can patter over snow surfaces without sinking thanks to fine hairs on its claws, akin to snowshoes. However, the queen of local birdlife is undoubtedly the spectacular capercaillie, a cumbersome dark-coloured ground bird (similar to black grouse) that inhabits conifer woods. A rare sight for the lucky few, your best bet to see one is in autumn, when they scout for laden bilberry shrubs. An excellent guidebook is Birds of Britain and Europe by Bertel Bruun (Hamlyn: London, 1992).