Author: Violetta

The male Goshawk loudly claims his territory from near the nest that was used last year. When on the hunt, all the other birds – from the
small Common Snipe all the way up to the Grey Heron – take to the sky and flee. The female is much more reserved, and I rarely run
into her, but it is always a thrill: she is impressively large.
It looks like Mallards will remain relatively scarce this year, at least compared to previous years. There are only a tenth or so of the
numbers during the best winters, and they are easily outnumbered by Teal.
Two Wood Sandpipers continue to linger. They seem set to try to spend the winter here, which would be a most unusual occurrence.
The Wild Boars are not always a welcome guest. They roam pretty much anywhere, including in the wetlands and reedbeds, and
undoubtedly disturb the waterbirds. The swine flu epidemic has been in the news quite a bit this year. It is supposedly fatal for this
species, and was expected to decimate their numbers, but this does not seem to have happened. Perhaps Wild Boars do not read
newspapers.

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.

New arrivals in recent days include Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, and Penduline Tit. About 20 Wigeon and a dozen each Gadwall and
Shoveler are adding variety to the waterfowl, while Mallard numbers remain drastically lower than they were in past years.
I have recently received the results of the census of nesting White Storks in Lombardy. A total of 165 nests were counted regionwide,
with 256 juveniles fledged, for a fledging rate of 1.5 juveniles per nest. At La Cassinazza and its immediate surroundings three pairs of
storks have regularly nested for many years now; this year, our three nests fledged seven juveniles, an average of 2.3 per nest,
significantly higher than the regional average. It is likely that this high rate of breeding success reflects the experience of our local pairs.
The temperatures have rapidly gotten colder, dropping to near freezing at night. Some creatures were caught unprepared.

The natural rhythms of migration dictate local bird numbers: Reed Warblers have gotten rather thin on the ground, only a handful of Pied
Flycatchers are left, while Purple and Squacco Herons are altogether gone. On the other hand, Willow Warblers and Robins are present
in force. Like every year around this time, the number of Mallards increased ten-fold in a matter of days. Teal are also more numerous,
but only marginally so. A Goshawk is hunting them ruthlessly: they fly off in a panic at its arrival, and it repeats the operation as many
times as necessary to finally catch one. Everything then goes quiet – until the next day, that is.
It is interesting to note how the Mallards are far less intimidated by this fierce predator. In all likelihood, they know they are too big and
heavy for a male Goshawk.
Common Snipe numbers appear to swing wildly: some days they seem everywhere, and other days they are all but invisible. Perhaps
they are only well-concealed in the tall grass.

The most interesting discovery this week was the caterpillar of an African Death’s-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos); I had never before recorded this large and now rather rare moth at La Cassinazza. The adults are spectacular, with the macabredeath’s-head pattern that gives them their name, while the caterpillars are spectacularly large. In spring, these moths migrate northwards from Africa to Europe, where they breed in the summer. Their pupae, however, struggle to survive during cold winters, and so our latitudes are re-colonized each year by individuals from further south.
Birdwise, the only news concerned the arrival of the fall’s first Robins and a new, late push of Pied Flycatchers.

I did have one reason to be very satisfied. Last year I built and put up a nest box for Tawny Owls. And now a Tawny Owl has
taken possession of it, and might have done so for some time, since I rarely check in on it. Here it is in today’s photo as it dozes
off on the front porch, with a slightly annoyed look due to the arrival of an unwelcome visitor.