Report from 24 to 16 April

The weather stayed quite unsettled. When conditions are chilly and cloudy, flocks of Barn Swallows and House Martins skim the surface of standing waters in search of what few insects they can find; a few Sand Martins are with them much of the time. The Common Swifts always stay up high, and are often mere dots in the sky. As I was watching them, a Red-footed Falcon crossed my field of view.In the gloom and cold, the year’s first Bee-eaters seemed very much out of context. The insects they feed on were nowhere to be seen. The Reed Warblers are back, and as their name suggests, are singing from the reedbed. The Wood Warblers were also conspicuous by their songs. It is surprising how they seemingly arrived overnight. Many individuals were singing in spite of there being none the previous day. Also of note was a colour-ringed Spoonbill. The colour of the ring and its code indicated that it hatched and was ringed in Italy in 2022. A Black Tern and a White-winged Black Tern spent two days together on the lake, both equally disliked by the local Common Terns. While the Black Tern is a regular visitor to La Cassinazza, the second is a real rarity, with only one previous record.

With its agile and erratic flight, it proved impossible to photograph until it perched on the mud, and while the aestherics of the photo suffered somewhat, its presence was duly documented. For the non-birders reading this, the two species are quite similar, except that the Black Tern is entirely black, while the White-winged Black Tern, well…