Alpine Accentor

Prunella collaris
Look in large to see it in better detail; I didn't want to crop this any further in order to retain a sense of scale...

Grrr, I really wasn't going to blip a bird today, but this isn't yet photographed for Blipbigyear, and it is rather cute to boot...
In penitence, I have replaced a swan pictures (my most sentimental one...) on Blipfolio with the landscape (inc. people!) that I was going to blip before realising that this bird was un-bagged on the Blipbigyear big bird list. Here is the landscape: my mother is the closest skier (in red), looking v. tidy as ever. It is wonderful to ski down through the forest; some of the pine trees are immensely tall!

I originally thought that this little passerine bird was an Alpine citril finch, but on closer inspection (aided by the photograph), I have realised that it is actually an Alpine accentor (which belongs to the same genus, Prunella, as dunnocks). They are larger than the Alpine finch, and have a less finchy beak. Another birdy highlight was seeing a wild raven flying overhead while I skied on a favourite run ("Mercedes"): I've only seen captive ones before.

Today was another very variable day weather-wise: we've had snow and sun; skied above, below, in, and between clouds (as seen in my blipfolio picture); and everything in between. It has been wonderful: we covered a lot of ground and had a blast! Now there is a full-blown blizzard going on...

I will really try to blip a landscape tomorrow: the mountains are painfully beautiful, and I must prioritise them given how rarely I get to see and photograph them.