Report from 17 to 20 June

The half dozen Teal and several Garganey that re-appeared in recent days are best considered summer visitors, meaning birds that should be nesting somewhere else but failed to either complete their migration or find a mate: in other words, a sorry bunch of losers. Truth be told, the Garganey could potentially be breeding here, but these individuals seem merely to have chosen La Cassinazza as a safe haven to complete their moult, as a hundred or so Mallards are also doing.

The heronry has expanded and now takes up the entire island. I had compared it to a crowded apartment building, but now it brings to mind a city divided by class and neighbourhood. On the outskirts are the slums, where the Sacred Ibis crowd on top of one another among dried branches and dead shrubs. There is then a large residential area, which hosts the Cattle Egrets and Pygmy Cormorants, with some breathing room and a little greenery. The Night Herons and Little Egrets have their own posh enclaves on the taller trees, hidden from sight and surrounded by lush vegetation.

For several weeks now the Starlings have been forming an evening roost in the reedbed. There are only a few hundred birds using it so far, with small flocks bombing directly into the reeds, without bothering with acrobatics.

This year, there are at least four and as many as six breeding pairs of Little Grebe at La Cassinazza, an excellent comeback compared to the recent past.