Autumn migration over Alpine passes

Thrushes, finches, pipits, larks, woodpigeons. Pre-Alps & Alps, Italy.

Best time: 1 Oct – 31 Oct (October). Where: Passo del Brocon, Trentino, Passo di Spino, Gargnano (Brescia) (Italy). Time of day: Thrush flight calls in the dark from about 2 h before sunrise.

• You can go on your own
• Free
• Binoculars helpful
• Sound 4/5

Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.

When is the best time?

Peak: 1 Oct – 31 Oct. October

Active from 10 Sep to 15 Nov (September to November) in a typical year.

Time of day

Thrush flight calls in the dark from about 2 h before sunrise; the visible stream through the pass from first light to about 10:00, fading as the wind rises.

• Pre-dawn flight calls: 2 h before sunrise → sunrise
• Visible migration: sunrise → 10:00

What will you hear?

Streams of flight calls funnelling through mountain passes at first light; thrush 'tseeps' in the dark.

Binoculars?

Binoculars helpful. Flocks pass low through the pass at first light; binoculars help count thrushes and finches.

Where to go

• Passo del Brocon, Trentino — Ringing station and migration research. Map
• Passo di Spino, Gargnano (Brescia) — Long-running ringing site above Lake Garda. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Passo del Brocon: public pass road (SP 79) between Castello Tesino and Canal San Bovo, park at the pass; keep clear of the ringing station's nets. Passo di Spino: forest track from Gargnano/Navazzo, ringing site — visitors welcome outside the net lanes.

Cost: Free.

Field-recording notes

Traditional hunting from 'capanni' and 'roccoli' operates in some pre-Alpine areas — expect gunshots and (illegally) decoy playback outside protected areas. The passes are cold and windy before dawn.

Sources

• ornitho.it

Similar spectacles

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More: all spectacles in Italy · bird migration hotspots · Italy in October