Report 07-13 March 2022

Winter came back with a vengeance this week: morning temperatures dropped below zero, with ice on the impoundments and frost on the ground. In spite of the cold, the Blackbirds were singing their heads off in the pre-dawn darkness, as they would on a warm spring morning. For several months now, the network of canals that brings water to La Cassinazza has been drained for maintenance work, and it hasn’t rained for weeks. In spite of all our efforts, the water level is dropping in many impoundments, and they are drying up. During migration, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the mudflats are irresistible to waders. In recent days we saw as many as 150 Common Snipe, with about 80 Lapwings, nearly as many Green Sandpipers, about 30 Ruff, and small numbers of Black-winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Black-tailed Godwits, Common Redshanks, Spotted Redshanks, and a single Greenshank. We weren’t lacking for variety. In addition to the above, we had numerous new arrivals for the year, including Great Crested Grebe, Garganey, Black Stork, Hoopoe, and Spotted Crake, one of which was ridiculously approachable.On a recent icy morning, a Red Fox was hunting in a frosty meadow.