Into The Wild

Greetings from snowy Rome

2012-02-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

The threatened path

2011-12-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

In most cases relevant concentrations of migrating raptors are observed close to a natural barrier. But there are places where there are even more barriers. This is the case of Georgia (former Soviet Union) where the white peaks of Caucasus are reflected in the Black Sea. The effect of these two barriers produces an incredible concentration of migrants passing in a narrow slope close to the coastline. Almost one million of raptors and storks migrate through Batumi in the south west of the country. In the early morning it's easy to watch trees with tens of perched raptors, while during the day, as the hours pass, the number of raptors flying toward south increases. In some days the stream of raptors is endless. It would be nice if the story of migration in Batumi was all that. But unfortunately it is not. The other side of the coin is represented by human threats to the bird flight. Tens of hawkcathers set up their nets, agitate linked shrikes, leading sparrowhawks to fall into the trap. They use sparrowhawks to hunt quails and this is partially legal but some of those men capture also Goshawks and Levant Sparrowhawks, and sometimes several individuals a day. This is a traditional hunting activity and there is also something worse, although if it seems impossible. Hundreds of poachers use to shoot raptors close to their houses or along the ridges. They often shoot everything, storks, bee-eaters, eagles. One of them claimed to have killed 18 eagles in one day and another day 40 Honey Buzzards. They often collect just the raptors fallen close to their feet and abandoned the ones at some distance from them. Some of the poachers eat the killed raptors leaving wings, tails, heads on the ground as sign and evidence of their awful activity... How many raptors are shooted every autumn in south-west Georgia? Thousands for sure. Nobody knows what may be the consequences of this detrimental situation for the population of raptors migrating along the eastern coast of Black Sea. A good team of ornithologists and birders are monitoring both migration and poaching, although it is not told how and when this massacre will stop.

(for further informations see this website: www.batumiraptorcount.org).

First signs of autumn

2011-09-13T22:33:00.001-07:00

On the highest reliefs of the Appennines of southern Italy, the first signs of the upcoming autumn are already visible. Clouds and fogs cover the beech woods and migrating raptors fly silently above it.

Greetings from the Alps

2011-09-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

Here following some shots from Alta Badia in late summer. Despite the huge number of people it is not impossible to meet some patches of wildlife and, obviously, an impressive landscape.

A spring well spent!

2011-05-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

As the spring passed on, after many days I'm putting up a post with a lot of pictures. This spring, as usual, I was on the field studying raptor migration. In early spring I went to the Strait of Gibraltar together with Fundacion Migres, and it was great. The most amazing thing was to observe exhausting Short-toed Snake Eagles and Griffon Vultures approaching the coast of Spain from the sea with the open bill!

During the second part of the spring I made observations on the water-crossing behaviour of Honey Buzzards at the island of Panarea (Eolian islands), north of Sicily. During the peak day 3550 individuals passed over this small island, really an impressive sight.

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Strait of Gibraltar - March 2011

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Panarea island - May 2011

Flying over Bosphorus

2011-03-03T03:24:00.000-08:00

The spring migration has started and I'm going to begin a new exiting fieldwork in one of the most important bottleneck in Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar. I have still my eyes and mind full of the images of thousands of wonderful raptors I watched migrating through the Bosphorus last autumn. Here below a bunch of pictures of those birds.

The Dardanelles

2011-01-29T04:10:00.000-08:00

The Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey is a fascinating place. Very dry landscape in the northern part and more green in the south. Few asphalted roads, traditional agriculture, pasture lands and some nice wetlands where several birds are allowed to live and migrate. The Eastern Imperial Eagle often go aroung hunting European Sousliks while from the beach it's easy to catch the sight of dolphins and, if you are lucky, also the Mediterranean Monk Seal.
A piece of Mediterranean not yet compromise. Hope it will resist.

Big rocks around the bush of Greece

2010-10-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Located just in the center of the greek mainland, Meteora is an impressive and very famouse place. Most of people go there for a one-day trip to visit the old monasteries. But if you go behind the main valley, if you walk along the small dirty roads you can meet a great wildlife. In the oak's forests and in the bush it is possible to meet many different species of animals.
In few hot days of August I observed the following raptors:

1 Egyptian vulture, adult

1 Bonelli's eagle, juvenile
1 Lesser kestrel, adult
1 Peregrine falcon, adult
Many Short-toed Snake Eagles, Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and Common buzzards.

Cimpe Kalesi

2010-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

I live here. I live among the ruins of this old byzantine fortress. When the Ottomans conquered this castle, the first on European soil, Greeks left me here. In this way I'm going on watching the two seas, Dardanelles Strait and Saros Bay.

Italian Stream Frogs

2010-08-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

After many years I went back walking along a small stream in the middle of the waterless hills of Southern Italy. The name of this torrent is Gallizzi River (Calabrian Appennines). I was very happy to meet again a lot of Italian Stream Frogs since in other places the amphibian populations are declining.

Starting a new fieldwork

2010-07-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Following the results of the research I made in Greece (both at Mount Olympus and Antikythira) and following raptors flyways, next August I'm going to start a new fieldwork in Turkey. As usual in effort with other people from MEDRAPTORS.

Fragments of an island

2010-06-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

After a long time some new pictures made on May at the island of Ustica.

Wind of change

2010-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here at Mount Olympus spring is slowly coming, snow is melting. And migrating birds are arriving...

Sicilian landscape

2010-03-07T15:25:00.001-08:00

In January I carried out a fieldwork in order to study wintering raptors in Sicily. For this reason I have been all around the island, taking some pictures of the beatiful and unexpected landscape. In particular inland there are both few people and trees. Weather was not so cold and sometimes flowers covered the green hills in front of the sea.

Falcon’s bath

2010-01-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy spending some days waiting in a hide, specially when the waiting is successful. Last time it happened in October when I took pictures of Eleonora’s falcons. During the second half of October falcons were at the end of their breeding season and many juveniles, just fledged, used to go around the island looking for some migrating passerines or insects. The cliffs in front of the sea were full of exciting falcons and I met good photographic opportunities. However the most fascinating situation was at a spring at the foot of a cliff just in front of the sea, falcons are using to go there drinking and washing at midday when temperature grows up. But in few days the falcons left the island starting the migration en route to Madagascar and the Egean island appeared to be desert…

The kingdom of goats

2009-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

Antikythira is a small island with only 40 people living there. The landscape is dominated by hundreds of goats: for this reason only rank ground vegetation and bushes are able to survive. October is a beautiful month also because a lot of birds migrate en route to Africa. and in some days the skyline was covered by flocks of buntings and finches. Also some raptors pass with a bunch of wondering isolated eagles like one Imperial eagle. Few species of animals remain there all the year long; among theme it is not difficult to observe the Bonelli's eagle spending the days hunting chukars and rabbits. Only three species of reptiles and one bashful snake, the Telescopus fallax, live there.

Big mountain, small living beings

2009-11-08T13:28:00.001-08:00

Mount Olympus in Eastern Greece is a very impressive place and spending September there was a good time also if news from Italy were bad... I was there studying raptors migration as usual and in particular the migration of Short-toed snake eagle but from time to time I was attracted by small animals and flowers living there. The huge gorges and deep forests are full of life but unfortunatly I met a lot of hunters. The most amazing I observed animals were goshawks, black woodpeckers and a beatiful wild cat.

A message of freedom

2009-09-18T13:23:00.001-07:00

Spring. Time to go!

2009-06-23T02:16:00.000-07:00

I have spent some weeks studying raptor migration at the island of Ustica. This is a small and isolated island located 70 km North off the coast of Sicily and birds migrating through this flyway have to fly over 230-500 Km of sea without stopping before to reach the coasts of Italian peninsula. During the time I was there I observed many different species of birds like black storks, raptors and a great number of small birds like bee eaters and passerines. The Mediterranean islands during Spring are far the best place where it is possible, not only to see, but also to be involved in the migration…

THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE - When I was in Crete I went twice to the slaughterhouse with my collegue Georges to pick up the remains of the butchery to feed vultures. It was hard to be there for me (I'm vegetarian) but I took pictures of that place. The most awful thing was the smell of blood.

2009-03-30T13:16:00.001-07:00

The island of bascule trees

2009-02-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Crete is a wild and amazing island; the high mountains close to the sea left me speechless. Thank to goats, woods are mostly absent and only on the steep cliffs some conifers survive in a way they seem falling down. I have been there to study wintering raptors but the resident ones are more impressive: I have seen lammergeiers in different places, many golden eagles, the Bonelli’s eagle, the goshawk and a lot of griffon vultures. In particular on my last day there I saw one griffon in the nest. The place, that has remained in my mind and eyes, is Kofinas where I watched the best sunset I ever seen.

The land of red kite

2009-02-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

In January I started the field work for my PhD and the first place where I went to study wintering raptors was in Basilicata (Southern Italy). The landscape there is wonderful, few people around and a low number of villages. Large open areas and woods on the mountains. The observations were interesting with a good number of raptors wintering there, in particular many red kites. I have seen also many herons along the coastal area and some flocks of cranes.

Wild Dublin

2009-02-23T14:08:00.001-08:00

During a trip of few days in Dublin I had the luck to visit a wonderful wetland north of the town, North Bull Island. The area was full of ducks, geese and waders and easy to reach by train from the city centre. In particular the number of Brent Geese, Pintails, Shelducks, Curlews, Oystercatchers and Turnstones was really impressive. Moreover I met a Sparrowhawk eating a pigeon in a small garden in an hot spot road for Christmas shopping…

Anyway people in Dublin are very nice and friendly. If you go there please visit the Sinn Féin Bookshop in Parnel Square 58. Tiocfaidh Ar La!

Winter along the coast of Latium

2009-02-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

Every winter I like spending some days at the Circeo National Park. This year I have particularly enjoyed the Sandwich Terns sinking and fishing at the Monaci Lake. The sky was every day covered and the atmosphere was softened and quiet. I have seen also two flocks of Cranes flying along the coast and trying to cross the sea toward South West. I followed their flight along the coastal road by car for some kilometres and after with my binocular over the sea.

Decima Malafede in November

2009-01-24T11:03:00.001-08:00

A month ago I started a Phd in Ecology at the University of Pavia. For this reason at the moment I have stopped working as ranger, my main job, in the Natural Reserve of Decima Malafede. It is an area very close to Rome with small woods and large cultivated fields. The pictures below are shooted in autumn during my last days there.
The blood spot on the leave is the blood of a wild boar injured by a poacher.

Autumn in a silver birch wood

2009-01-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

This is a nice place near Rome where sometimes I used to have a walk in autumn. Is an old volcanic area and in November is wet and full of mushrooms and small animals. The name of this place is "Manziana's caldara".

Sunset on Astura Tower

2008-11-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

Deers and Wild Boars

2008-11-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

In early october I was in the Abruzzo National Park, with my father, trying to take pictures of the fights of deers but it was a bit late in the season. It was nice anyway to enjoy the silence of forest.

September in Sardinia

2008-11-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

In September I went to west Sardinia. It was amazing spending some days in a wetland landscape full of birds. In particular in Piscinas it was great I met deers and I could smell them.