Report from 12 to 13 December 2024

When I finally returned to La Cassinazza after dealing with a minor personal issue, I found myself immersed in thick fog.
Birdwatching was impossible, but it was even more frustrating to hear: “you should have been here yesterday, it was a gorgeous
sunny day”……
On my second day here, the fog lifted just enough for me to note that very little has changed since the last time I was here: we
are in the dead of winter and we can’t really expect any major news.
I had the most fun just watching wildlife in the garden. The persimmon tree is laden with fruit. Sweet and bright orange, they are
an irresistible treat for many species of birds: Blackcap, Great Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Ring-necked Parakeet and even
Moorhens. Not so the Eurasian Collared Doves, which perch quietly on the branches of the persimmon tree without so much as
a glance at their fruit: for some reason, they do not recognize them as fruit. Neither do the Coots, which swim side by side with
the Moorhens in the pond directly below the tree, but unlike the latter do not climb its branches and seem indifferent to its bright
fruit.
Obviously, this Blackbird photo dates back to last week when the sun was shining.