It’s hard to describe how exciting it can be to find a bird’s feather. Especially when it comes from a rare or colourful species. Last week, I was bivouacking on a ridge at about 2200 meters altitude. While the sun was setting on Mont Blanc, I decided to go for a little stroll along the ridge. There were no people around, only ibexes grazing in an alpine meadow. Suddenly I saw an enormous brown feather on the ground. It was characteristically marbled and about 35 centimeters (13.7 inches) long. It could have only come from one bird: a golden eagle. While picking it up, I spotted a second feather. It was much smaller, but it had the same kind of marbled pattern. It also – without a doubt – belonged to a golden eagle. Totally excited and not believing my luck, I picked up both feathers. Since there was nobody around to share my excitement with (except for the ibexes), I decided to take some pictures. While I stood on the ridge holding those two eagle feathers up in the air, while the sun was setting on the snow-covered peaks of Mont Blanc, I think I might have been the happiest person on our planet.
The stories feathers tell
Some people believe that finding a bird’s feather has a spiritual meaning to it. I don’t know anything about that, all I know is that it definitely was a magical moment finding those two eagle feathers. I quite often find feathers while hiking through the Alps and sometimes they have obvious patterns with dots or stripes, or a beautiful bright colour. If I have any doubts about which bird has lost it, I will search the internet to find out. However, a feather doesn’t only tell you exactly which bird it belongs to. It’s also possible to tell from which part of the bird’s body a feather came. For example, the big eagle feather that I found was a wing feather from the right wing. The smaller feather was a dorsal feather which used to be attached at that point where the right wing meets the back.
My top 6
The eagle feathers are by far the best feathers I have ever found, but over the years I came across some amazing ones in the Alps. Below you’ll find a list of my most favorite feathers. It’s not only a list of beautiful feathers, it also shows us how incredibly divers the birds in the Alps are.
1. Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), (pictured above)
Look at this tail feather of the biggest bird in the Alps. It’s massive!!! I didn’t find it in the wild, but I came across it while working on an article about the astonishing comeback of bearded vultures in our region.
2. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
The most brightly coloured feather you can find in the Alps comes from a jay.
3. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
This spotted feather is characteristic for a spotted woodpecker.
4. Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)
Another spotted feather, but this one belonged to a boreal owl.
5. Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes)
Just a single white spot on this feather of a spotted nutcracker.
6. Rock ptarmigans (Lagopus muta)
Rock ptarmigans have brown plumage in summer and white feathers in winter (which make them practically invisible in their high mountain environment). I found these feathers in autumn whilst the birds were molting into their white winter coat.
If you find a feather
I hope you’ll be lucky enough to find some incredible feathers while trekking through the Alps. But please note, it’s illegal to keep and possess feathers of protected species! Feel free to look at and enjoy them, but don’t keep them.
If you step into the natural world with Simone, her passion for all living things—wild flowers to lichen, birds to mammals—can’t help but rub off on you. She’s excited to meet you on your Tour du Mont Blanc and share the amazing natural wonders in the Alps.
- The Alps: A Biodiversity Treasure Trove - December 10, 2020
- Flora in the Alps – Spotlight on the Alpenrose - June 25, 2020
- Tour du Mont Blanc Hightlight: The Contamines-Montjoie Nature Reserve - May 21, 2020