Report January 01-08 2022

A new birdwatching year is upon us. The first three species of 2022 were Teal, Mallard, and Tree Sparrow, in that order. The Little Owl was  the fourth, and narrowly missed the podium. Of the three woodpecker species that reside at La Cassinazza, the first to be recorded was also the scarcest – the Little Spotted Woodpecker. A large flock of Woodpigeons in the rice stubble contained a single Stock Dove, at least as far as I could tell. The Firecrest has already made it onto the 2022 year list, but oddly its commoner cousin the Goldcrest is still missing, in spite of much searching. There were several Great Bittern sightings.  Three Kings’ Day saw the return of hundreds of Lapwings to La Cassinazza, after they had been absent or nearly so during the month of December.
On the same day, a flock of over 30 Cranes flew above the property, in a perfect V, with their slow and powerful flight.