Species guidesTichodroma muraria
Wallcreeper photography in Switzerland
Ask visiting bird photographers which single species they most want from the Alps and the wallcreeper is usually the answer. It is a small grey bird that lives on vertical rock, and when it opens its wings it flashes crimson and a row of white spots, flickering across the face like a butterfly.
- Species
- Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria
- Best season
- November to March
- Habitat
- Cliffs, gorges and dam walls
- Lens
- 500mm or longer
In summer it breeds on high cliffs and gorges and is very hard to reach. In winter it comes down, and that is when we go looking.
The bird
Wallcreepers feed on insects and spiders picked from cracks in the rock. They work a face methodically, climbing in short hops and fluttering across gaps, then drop to the bottom and start again. The rounded, broad wings and constant flicking are unmistakable once seen.
In breeding plumage the male has a black throat. In winter both sexes are pale-throated and the crimson in the wing is the thing to look for.
When and where
From late autumn, wallcreepers leave the high cliffs for lower rock: gorges, quarries, dam walls, lakeside crags and occasionally large stone buildings. A bird will often hold the same winter site for months, which makes a return visit worthwhile.
November to March is the season. The light is low and side-on, and the bird spends more time on open faces where it can be followed.
How to photograph them
Distance is the problem: the bird is the size of a sparrow and the rock face is enormous. Bring the longest lens you own and expect to crop. A tripod or a monopod helps during long waits.
The wing flick is the picture. Use 1/2000 s or faster, continuous autofocus on a small zone, and expose for the mid-grey rock. Watch the bird’s rhythm; it tends to open its wings at the same moment each hop.
Without disturbing them
We watch from the base or from across a gorge, never from the face itself, and we never use playback. A winter wallcreeper needs every hour of feeding; a bird that keeps moving away from you is being pushed off its food.
Photograph wallcreepers with a guide
Tell us when you would like to come and who is coming. We reply with what is realistic for those dates, a draft plan and exact pricing.
