Report from 27 to 30 December 2024

As the year draws to an end, Bramblings have become common, with many flying out in the early morning from the reeds and willows where they spent the night.

On the other hand, the Fieldfares are gone after eating all of the available food: they left the hawthorn bushes completely bereft of berries.

Two typical wintering species are missing, at least so far: the Great Bittern and the Hawfinch. The latter is somewhat irruptive, and we expect them to go missing during years when there are no influxes, but I cannot explain the absence of bitterns: they have always wintered here, usually with multiple individuals.

The Peregrine Falcon is also missing this year, but there is an explanation. A pair of Goshawks has become resident and I don’t think there any lost love between the two species.

A total of 152 species were recorded this year at La Cassinazza, a very good total in line with the average from previous years.

This is a Coal Tit winter. It is not always so. This is a species of forests, and when the beech mast and spruce cone crops are good, the wealth of available food boosts its breeding success. This happens about every four or five year. After such a season many more Coal Tits are on the move that usual, and good numbers reach the Po Plain. The last such event was in winter 2019-20. At La Cassinazza, Coal Tits are drawn to maple trees and their large seeds.