Report from 28 to 30 July 2022

After months of drought, it finally rained. Not much, but enough to make the meadows a little greener. The Golden Orioles have been much in evidence. They sing, call, fly around, flock together, fight, and chase one another. All of this restlessness is a prelude to the migration that will soon take them back to Africa. Only one pair of Common Terns is still around, tending to a late-fledging juvenile, which is now perfectly able to fly. The others are probably out at sea by now, heading to their wintering grounds in the Atlantic. The only migrants in evidence were a Red-backed Shrike and the first of the Garganeys that I expect will be more numerous in August. The Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum is one of the commonest dragonflies at La Cassinazza. As such, it is one of those species we take for granted, and had never before featured in our photo reports.