Author: Violetta

In the space of a couple of days, migration well and truly took off. The waders started the show: new arrivals this week included Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, and Spotted Redshank. Of the species already present, there are a handful of Little Ringed Plovers, several dozen Common Snipe and Lapwings, no more than fifty Ruff, and at least eighty Green Sandpipers. The last-named species is usually rather solitary, and such a high count is remarkable. With the clear, settled weather and their hurry to continue their journey, most of these birds only stop at La Cassinazza briefly, sometimes for a few hours only. The impoundments also hosted several other seasonal firsts: Garganey, Wigeon, a pair of Spoonbills, Spotted Crake and Little Grebe. Chiffchaffs continue to be much in evidence, there was a small influx of Water Pipits, and we enjoyed the spring’s first Willow Warbler, Common Redstart and Barn Swallow. Last but certainly not least, we found a new species for La Cassinazza: a Marsh Tit. Much like the Nuthatches that arrived last year, this species must have found an ecological corridor between here and the woodlands of the Ticino River Park, undoubtedly the source of both these species.
And the Goshawk is still around: I watched it in awe as it flew overhead with a Teal in its talons.

Firecrests are also on the move. They were around early in winter, but disappeared for two months as the weather turned colder. We are now seeing it once again with some regularity, although always in ones and twos.

Birdwatchers listen to birds just as much as they watch them. Today, we immediately realized what was missing: the chattering of the Siskins, which was almost constant until last week, is now rare. Most have left, and only a few small flocks remain. The Robins have picked up the slack and are singing with gusto, a sign that they too will soon migrate towards their breeding grounds. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the sedentary Nuthatch is singing because it wants to stay and establish a breeding territory. Another loud call has been attracting our attention over the last ten days, from deep within a wooded area. We had our suspicions, but they were confirmed today when we saw a shape moving through the trees, calling all the way: a Goshawk. This is usually a silent species, and this behaviour is only exhibited near the nest on its territory at the beginning of the breeding season. A nesting pair of Goshawks would be truly exceptional, but at this point we can deem it likely.

New arrivals this week included several Pintail and the season’s first Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, and Dunlin. I also checked the White Stork nests in our area: only two of the historic four are occupied, the one at Cascina Cadenazza and the one on the church steeple at Baselica, where the pair seems to be incubating. Sadly, the nest at La Cassinazza, which had drawn some early interest from the storks, appears to be empty.

Pollen and nectar are very nutritious food sources. The pollen of the Pussy Willow(Salix capraea) is concentrated in large grains on their catkins. It is very easy to reach, and as such is a veritable manna for many of our early spring songbird. For this Blue Tit, it was an irresistible attraction.

The days straddling February and March typically see the season’s first Little Ringed Plovers arriving at La Cassinazza; and here they were, right on schedule, kicking off the shorebird migration. The season’s first Greenshank followed just one day later.

The migration became spectacular with the passage of several Crane flocks on two consecutive days. Once again, they were heading due east.

The time has come for the Gadwall to leave, but the Shovelers are still all here.

Among passerines, the spotlight is on the Chiffchaff, which evidently arrived in numbers. Its rythmic, repetitive song – “chiff chaff, chiff chaff”, reflected in its English, German (Zilpzalp) and Dutch names – has been the soundtrack to the week.

Yellow-legged Gulls are rather uncommon at La Cassinazza. Every year we see two adults, occasionally joined by an immature or two. We can’t be sure whether they are a mated pair and whether they are always the same individuals. If they were, they would be pretty old at almost twenty. Quite some years ago they attempted to nest and even laid eggs, but breeding ultimately failed.

Departures have been the most evident aspect of spring migration thus far. Most of the Mallards and Teal have left; their exodus makes it easier to find the thirty or so Shovelers and dozen Gadwalls that remain. Reed Bunting numbers have also fallen sharply; of those that are still here, the males are so filled with hormones that they have started to sing, in spite of being very far from their breeding grounds. The daily fluctuations in Lapwing numbers are more likely to reflect local wanderings rather than actual migration. The Woodcock I recently saw was probably a wintering bird and not a migrant. In fact, all of the three or four sightings over the last few months probably refer to the same individual, since it is always in the same patch of woodland. The only new arrival was welcomed with great enthusiasm: the local White Stork, which immediately took an interest in the nest near the main house. Last year, after the couple had taken possession of the nest, a few days of heavy human activity just below the nest had disturbed them and driven them elsewhere. Hopefully, this year they will stay.

The Greylag Goose is one of La Cassinazza’s avian guests that I never mention. In fact, they are not quite wild, as they have been the subject of several releases from captivity in previous years; as such, all of the individuals we see here are of domestic origin. But they do look the part of wild birds: they fly perfectly well – sometimes dispersing long distances and disappearing for quite some time – and the oldest birds have started to breed. And in spite of their risky wanderings, they managed to survive the hunting season unscathed: congratulations!

After the wild swings of last week, the weather is back to being cold, as is appropriate for the season. With the exception of the peregrinations of the local Lapwing flock, the return of the cold put any other bird movements on hold: the numbers of Shoveler and Gadwall – respectively about 20 and 10 – are exactly as they were back in January. While the cold is keeping birds in place, the longer days are starting to spark their reproductive instincts. The Mallards are already mating in their usual rough and unsubtle manner – it is surprising that the hens don’t drown! Male Blackbirds are looking for mates and are singing pre-dawn, while it is still dark. Even a tiny Goldcrest was busy courting a female, puffing its chest out and singing loudly, its orange crest fully erect. But the female seemed indifferent. I could have photographed them, but I was too captivated by the spectacle.

The Siskins remain the most abundant of the small songbirds, followed by the Long-tailed Tits. The breeding season is almost here for them as well, and we can now see birds traveling in pairs, having abandoned the flocks they stayed with all winter.

The temperature excursion was very noticeable these last few days: frost in the mornings, but by the afternoon butterflies were on the wing – Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) as usual – and honeybees were collecting nectar from hazel blooms, the only flowers available in January. Great Tits are singing enthusiastically, and so are the Starlings, although the latter mostly produce tuneless screeching. Many birds can sense the coming spring and are starting to move: compared to a couple of weeks ago, at least half the waterfowl have left. We are not seeing any Kingfishers, either, but for a different reason, I think. At this point in the winter, it better to play it safe and avoid the possibility of the water freezing over. Ultimately this did not happen, but it was a wise choice nonetheless .
Many regular songbirds were also missing. The Goldcrests are still around, but the Firecrests have disappeared. There do not seem to be any Bramblings in the small flocks of Chaffinches that have stayed put. The Siskins, on the other hand, still abound. They are not very showy, and on top of that, they are often silent. They gather in flocks up high in the trees, especially their favourites, the alders.

The deep cold of winter was with us all day last Saturday, on the day of the International Waterbird Census – and on that day only. The frozen water did not impact waterfowl numbers, as they merely shifted to the deeper impoundments were open water remained. It did drive away the Lapwings, however; we saw no more than twenty. As soon as temperatures crept back above freezing, they returned in the same high numbers – at least two hundred – that we counted prior to the census. Perhaps those who coordinate the IWC might want to keep this in mind. As a flock of Mallards flew by, a duck with white wings drew our attention and immediately generated a range of hypotheses about its identification. But we soon had to resign ourselves: it too was a Mallard, probably of domestic origin, or perhaps a partially leucistic individual. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are singing and drumming: the breeding season is just around the corner. This species is expanding at La Cassinazza: I heard at least five singing males just on my morning walk.

We usually know our local Wrens as restless creatures, darting mouse-like near the ground, never sitting still, and always alert and with their tails up. But they do relax every once in a while. Here we are seeing one engage in “comfort behaviour” as it preens its plumage with its bill. In this view, it is hard to even recognize as a Wren!