Report 13-19 February

Over the last week, Siskin numbers have gradually been falling off. Theirs was a veritable migration wave: I was seeing them everywhere, not just in the countryside, but also in city parks, private gardens, and even median strips.  The Starlings are back at La Cassinazza after an absence of several weeks. Every year, in the heart of winter, they leave in search of milder conditions. On top of the church steeple, a pair of White Storks is back on its old nest. The other pairs that breed locally should be back soon. As new birds arrive, others leave: the numbers of Teal and Mallards have begun to drop. Apart from this, there was not much evidence of migration. This week did give us a couple of interesting sightings, though: a Woodcock crouching in a patch of woods and a Golden Plover circling over the wetlands.
Blue Tits are always common here, but their numbers can vary substantially from one winter to the next. This year was nothing special, with a minor influx in the last few weeks, at the same time as the Siskins were passing through.