The Samurai of the lagoon

The spoonbill walks in the water with a proudly glance. This species is always suspicious and it is not easy to watch spoonbills close. However during migration a bit of luck pushed this beautiful bird close to the hide where I was in. Therefore I took a sequence of pictures leaving me particularly satisfied to have spend a day in a lagoon, here in central Italy.

February with frogs

February was a rainy month and not particularly cold here in central Italy. Therefore was the best weather for frogs, toads and newts. In coastal areas, in the survived wet woods, Agile frogs have already spawned in the past weeks. Here below a couple of pictures of their eggs in a temporary pool.

The first day of the new year

Today it was nice to spend the first hours of the early morning in the marsh, watching ducks over the golden waters of the river.
I wish a happy new year to our planet and to its wildlife.

The migration of Griffon Vultures

In November at the Strait of Gibraltar a very singular and spectacular event takes place: the migration of the Griffon Vultures. These birds are large and heavy and they are not made to fly over water surfaces. Therefore they wait on the spanish side of the Strait for a sunny day without wind to attempt the crossing and reach Africa. Unfortunately we are in november and days in good weather conditions are not common. As a result it is not rare the catch the sight of huge flocks of vultures flying over the hills between the towns of Tarifa and Algeciras. Up to 1000 of Griffon Vultures together is an incredible sight, as you can see from the pictures below.

Acrobatic falcons

Eleonora's Falcons are spectacular birds. Thinking to those raptors reminds me some beautiful Mediterranean islands in early autumn when temperatures are still warm but turists are back in their claustrophobic towns. Last September I was at Andros in the Aegean Sea, together with HOS ornithologists team to check a colony of these falcons. Looking around it was possible to find the remainings of their prey. Among them a Kestrel, several Hoopoes, Cuckoos, Lesser Grey Shrikes, Scops owls, Golden Orioles. Their movements as well as their calls animated the quiet atmosphere of a coast where you can see just few fishermen in their small boats. Now all the falcons have migrated toward their wintering ground in the Madagascar and I hope to see their acrobatic flight again next year over the Mediterranean skies.

Aspromonte in autumn

The Aspromonte Mountain is a land of great contradictions. It is a wild mountain where few people live and where landscape is breathtaking. On the other hand the effect of unproper, and sometimes illegal, human  activities can be seen everywhere: the signs of fires, the forests where trees are mostly young, the cattle widespreading. In any case it is a mountain worth to be visiting if you are looking for a wild and remote place. Looking at the skyline of the mountain ridge to catch the sight of some flying raptors, walking in the forest at night to discover salamanders or simply enjoying the first rain of Autumn is great!

A quiet moment

 At sunset the light over the water was impressive and the forest was mirrored in the Lake Cornino (Eastern Pre-Alps)