Report from 20 to 24 December 2022

After a brief cold spell, the temperatures quickly rose again. We are at the end of December and there are still many Little Egrets about. Several decades ago, when I first started birdwatching, this was a summer visitor that we never saw in winter. In recent years, however, they are wintering in ever-higher numbers. Indeed, one just has to look at how lush and green the meadows are even now to realize that something has changed. The Lapwings finally arrived in numbers, albeit for one day only, with a flock of five hundred or more. As always, they were very skittish and flushed frequently – they were quite a sight! The Christmas checklist was enhanced by a Pochard and a Great Grey Shrike; while the former is uncommon but by no means a rarity, the latter had not been seen here for almost six years.

The weather was grey and foggy all week, with no chances for photography. In such cases, I pick out a photo from my archives. This week, I have chosen the Tree Sparrow, inspired by having run into a large, noisy flock in the farm fields. Once this would have been an everyday sight; now, it might be a signal that the species is finally recovering after its population had crashed. Hopefully the same will happen with the Italian Sparrows, once a permanent presence around the farmhouses, and now entirely gone from the area.

Merry Christmas from La Cassinazza.