Sicilian landscape

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

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

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

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

Spring. Time to go!

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…