The Po Delta in late summer: 600+ Pygmy Cormorants (and more)

12:31 - Friday, August 25, 2006 - comments {2} - post comment

5 Northern Bald Ibis at La Tomina reserve, NE Italy, on August 19 through 23, 2006

According to information from the SOM (Stazione Ornitologica Modenese), five Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) have been present since August 19, 2006, at La Tomina reserve, N of Modena, NE Italy. The birds, all ringed 2cy, are part of a reintroduction scheme involving Austria and Italy, and are coming from the WWF reserve Oasis Laguna di Orbetello in Tuscany, C Italy. During 2004 and 2005, two groups for a total of 14 Bald Ibis were escorted there by an ultra-light aircraft from Scharnstein, Upper Austria (7 in 2004 and 7 in 2005). The hand-rearing of offspring was prepared in Austria, with eggs and nestlings coming from various european zoos. The young Bald Ibises had spent the winters in C Italy and were given their independence on the following springtimes. For the first time in 400 years there are free-flying Bald Ibis in Europe who have the imprint of their migratory route and thereby the capability to survive independently in the wild. The release of the birds in spring is in accordance with the natural dynamism of the family group. The adult birds return swiftly to their breeding territory to reproduce. The juveniles return either later in spring to the breeding territory or remain in winter quarters for 2 to three years until they have reached sexual maturity. The experimental founding of a migratory colony is only one of the Austrian team’s activities. They worked closely with the Konrad Lorenz research institute in order to create a broadly based pool of knowledge for the protection and reintroduction of this greatly endangered species. The international popularity of the project is also being used to sensitize the general public, and in particular young people, for species conservation.  The first and most necessary priority of sexually mature birds in the reproduction cycle is the return migration. Young Bald Ibis do not have this motivation as members of the ibis family of birds reach sexual maturity only after a number of years.  The birds have no problems with foraging independently. Analysis of Bald Ibis diet in Tuscany has shown that up to 90% of their daily requirements consist of worms, larvae, beetles and snails for which they probe to a depth of up to 10 cm. They possess a highly specialised tool for this. The some 12 cm long, slightly curved beak works like a pair of tweezers – the upper and lower mandibles meet at the tip only. A hook on the upper mandible assists in getting a grip on the food source. The tip of the beak is also equipped with smell and taste organs. All Bald Ibis kept in zoos originate from Morocco. First imports into zoos occurred in the 1940s but all birds died soon after their arrival. The next imports in the 1950s survived and are the founders of the current zoo population. Three bloodlines exist within the zoo population, which is managed under a European Endangered Species Programme (EEP): Basel Zoo, imported in the 1950s and 60s, Rabat Zoo, captured in the 1970s, and Naturzoo Rheine, the last imports of wild birds in 1976 and 1978. Last Minute. The 5 Bald Ibis were last observed by Raffaele Gemmato when roosting at La Tomina reserve on the evening of August 23rd, while 2 Bald Ibis were recorded in direct fly and soaring over the Asolo hills, near Treviso, NE Italy, by Gianfranco Martignago, Franco Trave, Francesco Mezzavilla & Fabio Piccolo on August 25th. 

Photos courtesy of Raffaele Gemmato and William Vivarelli.

23:21 - Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Western Reef Heron at Faenza, NE Italy, on August 11, 2006

Mauro Ferri and Mario Bonora were able to watch a Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) of the gularis dark phase at Faenza, NE Italy, in an area where a White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) reintroduction and restocking project is carried out. The first picture by Menotti Passarella shows a probable hybrid Egretta gularis x Egretta garzetta found on April 6 to 8, 2001, in the Po Delta, NE Italy. There are recent claims of reproduction of mixed pairs Western Reef Heron with Little Egret in N Italy. E.g., the second picture, courtesy of Angelo Battaglia, features an adult Western Reef Heron sitting on the nest on May 5, 2005, in the mixed heron colony of the De Pinedo Reserve near Caorso, Piacenza, N Italy.

Western Reef Heron, Punta Barene, NE Italy, 30 Dec 2004, photo courtesy of Stefano Sava 

11:51 - Monday, August 14, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Bonelli's Eagle near Vercelli, NW Italy, on Aug 13, 2006

Gianfranco Alessandria, Franco Carpegna and Laura Gola have found a Bonelli's Eagle, Hieraaetus fasciatus, immature near Vercelli, NW Italy, on Aug 13, 2006. This smallish eagle of mountains, cliffs, gorges, woodland, in Europe it's strictly a Mediterranean species, occurring on the Iberian peninsula, in S France, Sicily, Croatia and Greece, while it's quite rare in NW Italy. This is the 6th records for Piedmont, after the onef dating back to 1992 and 1999. Birds are coming probably from S France, where more than 20 pairs are breeding regularly. The photo, courtesy of Giovanni Cumbo, was taken in Sicily on January 8, 2006, during a trip organized by Lipu-Birdlife, Alcamo section.

09:54 - Monday, August 14, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Juv Caspian Gull at Germignaga, Varese, NW Italy on Jul 29 to Aug 2, 2006

A juv Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans) was observed and photographed by Michele Viganò at Germignaga, Varese, NW Italy on Jul 29 to Aug 2, 2006. The bird's central tail feathers was showing a very weak and abraded tail-bar and an obvious black-extra bar. Moreover, some second generation outermost tail feathers were still growing due to the accidental moult of part of the tail (the Americans tend to call this 'adventitious molt') and were showing a fuller tail-bar, lacking apparently any extra-bars.

Source: Surfbirds Photo Galleries

Juv Caspian Gull and juv Yellow-legged Gull, Germignaga, NW Italy

Juv Caspian Gull, Germignaga, NW Italy. Note the old central tail feathers and the growing outermost tail feathers. 

11:47 - Thursday, August 3, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Laughing Gull at Portopalo, Sicily, on Aug 2, 2006

23:50 - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Immature Long-tailed Skua off the Po Delta on July 30, 2006

An immature Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus) was observed and photographed by Bruno Moretti off shore of Rosolina, Po river Delta, NE Italy, on July 30, 2006. Small bill with weak gonydeal angle, small head, slim body with shallow breast and narrow wings was pointing to this species. As it was similar to juvenile, but with new upperwing-coverts uniform greysh-brown, lacking pale scaling of juveniles, and underparts cleaner whitish, making breast band and dark hood more striking, hence the bird was a 2cy in 'firts winter plumage'. The picture shows the bird has underwing as on juvenile; note pale bases to retained juvenile primaries. Conspicuous greyish breast band, pale lower breast and barred flanks together with conspicuous pale barring on uppertail-coverts are typical of an intermediate phase. The last observation of this species in the Delta was dating back to  August 11, 2006, when a pale phase 2cy was recorded at Gorino.

11:36 - Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Tunisia, a sparrow's puzzle.

Luca Boscain, a young Italian birdwatcher, during a recent trip in Tunisia was able to observe and photograph a wide range of variability among breeding sparrows of the genus Passer (apart from Desert Sparrow, Passer simplex, breeding in S Tunisia). Finally he was able to realize a plate showing this variability associated to the Tunisia map, pointing particularly to the shape and size of the black bib extending to upper breast and eventual streaks extending down flanks. According to Beaman & Madge’s Handbook of Bird Identificaion (1998) Tunisia hosts both House Sparrow and Spanish Sparrow; however, birds resembling Italian Sparrows may occur outside Italy as a result of hybridization between these two closely related species. Indeed, none of the sparrows found in Tunisia by Luca Boscain were showing the typical grey forehead/crown of the House Sparrow, all having a head similar to Italian Sparrows with brown forehead/crown. The only birds showing the features of the Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) were present close the Chateau Boire Bou at Cap Bon, N Tunisia, even the voice of them was indistinguishable from to the call of Italian Sparrow (that is very similar to the voice of House Sparrow). Probable hybrids P. hispaniolensis x domesticus with streakes extending down flanks were found at Hammamet and Mahares. Along the desert borders birds were losing features of the Spanish Sparrow, with very few streakes down bib and no streaks at all at Douz, the last oasis before the Great Tunisian Erg, where birds appeared indistinguishable from a pure Italian Sparrow. As about the voice, none of the Tunisian sparrows were calling as Spanish Sparrow (e.g. those breeding in the Po Delta, NE Italy, coming from the Balkans). According Cramp et al.'s Handbook (1994) the form Passer domesticus tingitanus of N Africa is closely related to P. d. italiae of Italy (the former being a subspecies of the latter according Stephan 1986); however populations in Tunisia show extreme individual variation, from pure P. domesticus to pure P. hispaniolensis and all forms between. Isolated Sahara populations are more stabilized and usually nearer P. domesticus tingitanus (which is itself variable, probably due to introgression of P. hispaniolensis characters even in its pure form), those of coastal Tunisia are nearer P. hispaniolensis. However during his trip, Luca Boscain was unable to find neither P. hispaniolensis nor P. domesticus tingitanus pure forms.

Last minute. G. Olioso suggests to check this paper out:

Stephan B. (1999).  [Taxonomy of Mediterranean sparrows, genus Passer – further problems in hybridisation, italiae, tingitanus.]  [in German, summary in English]  Mitt. Mus. Nat. kd. Berl. Zool. Reihe 75: 3-9. 

Sparrow, Tunis, Tunisia

Sparrow, Tunis, Tunisia

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Cairo, Egypt

23:48 - Thursday, July 27, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

A lot of Gull-billed Terns in the Po Delta during summer 2006

Various breeding colonies of Gull-billed Terns (Sterna nilotica) for a total of some hundreds breeding pairs were scattered in the wetlands of the Po Delta, NE Italy, during summer 2006. So this species was commonly seen when patrolling cultivated fields, rivers, canals and ditches looking for preys. The picture shows a juvenile photographed by Roberto Sauli near Comacchio during mid-July, showing a reddish base of the bill.

23:57 - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Lesser Spotted Eagle near Bologna, NE Italy, on July 10, 2006

An immature Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) was observed and photographed by William  Vivarelli flying over the hills near Bologna, NE Italy, on July 10, 2006. The bird, an immature, was showing both obvious whitish uppertail coverts and whitish area at base of inner primaries. This species is quite rare in Italy, being more typical of E Europe in summer.

23:00 - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Sandwich Tern ringed in Italy and breeding in Denmark

An adult Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis) ringed in the Comacchio salina, NE Italy, on April 6th, 2006, by Adriano Talamelli, was found breeding in a small colony of 10-15 pairs at Præstø Fjord, Sjælland, Denmark, on  May 17th, 2006, by Helge Sørensen. The Comacchio salina ringing station is the most important site in the Mediterranean for the study of the migration of this species, with dozens of recoveries from a lot of areas ranging from Holland to Denmark and Ukraine. Birds had been ringed with yellow, red, green and blue rings.

06:56 - Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Red Phalarope in the Po Delta, NE Italy, on June 12, 2006

A female Red or Grey Phalarope in breeding plumage was found and photographed by Eddy Boschetti and Nicola Donà at the Sacca di Scardovari, Po Delta, NE Italy, on June 12, 2006. 

The previous observations of this irregular species in the Po Delta was made on May 18, 2003 by Marco Guerrini, Dario Quaranta, Roberto Bonetti and Mauro Bailo in the Comacchio salinas (see picture, this bird with a Black-winged Stilt), and in 1989 by Carlo Guzzon at the Zavelea marsh near Comacchio.

Finally, the last record of the species in the Veneto region dates back to 1971 near Venice.

08:24 - Thursday, June 15, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Bewick's Swan at Valle Bertuzzi, NE Italy, on February 23, 2006

The Bewick's Swan Cygnus bewickii, found by Fausta Lui and Leonardo Cocchi at Valle Bertuzzi, Po Delta, NE Italy, on December 8, 2005, was relocated today by Menotti Passarella and Myles McNally. Comparing pictures of this swan taken today at Valle Bertuzzi with those of the Bewick's observed in November 2005 at La Tomina near Modena, NE Italy, one may suggests that the same individual is involved in both cases, according to the bill pattern. Indeed, the  bill pattern for every Bewick's Swan is unique.

20:51 - Thursday, February 23, 2006 - comments {2} - post comment

Caspian Gulls at Chioggia (NE Italy) and Pusiano (NW Italy)

The photo-collage features two adult Caspian Gulls Larus cachinnans photographed respectively by Marco Basso at Chioggia recently and by Giuliana Pirotta at the Pusiano lake on February 17, 2006. The Chioggia gull (left) shows the typical pattern of the longest primary P10 on the far wing, with the "mirror" that merges with the white feather tip to give an extensive white tip several centimetres in length and a white "tongue" along the inner web (scarcely visible), with a narrow black cross bar and thin black outer web. The P9 mirror is better separated from the white tip, being split by a narrow black bar along the primary shaft, and a best visible white "tongue" along the inner web. Check also the wing-tip of the folded left wing, being visible on the tail of the Pusiano gull (right), that features the typical P9 pattern (the P9 tip covers the P10 almost completely). Moreover, note the yellow legs of the Pusiano gull.

14:04 - Saturday, February 18, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Great Black-backed Gull at the harbour of Pescara, C Italy

A returning Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus has been recorded each winter in the harbour of Pescara, C Italy, since its first appearance in 2001. Maybe this is the southernmost regular  wintering place of the species in Europe. Photo courtesy of Antonio Antonucci, taken on February 10, 2006, coming from his blog.

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19:25 - Sunday, February 12, 2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Herring and Caspian gulls at Zadina, NE Italy, today

The beach of Zadina with its pier, near Cesenatico, is still hosting dozens of both Herring Larus argentatus and Caspian Larus cachinnans gulls. This brilliant picture taken today by Roberto Sauli features a very beautiful Caspian Gull with yellow legs, while normally they show pinkish to greysh legs in Italy in winter.

17:21 - Sunday, February 12, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment

Greater Sandplover at Gorino, Po river Delta, February 11, 2006.

NE Italy, S of Venice. Photo courtesy of Michele Scaffidi

21:05 - Saturday, February 11, 2006 - comments {2} - post comment

Zadina's pier near Cesenatico, NE Italy, the hotspot to see Herring Gulls in the Mediterranean

While in the Olsen & Larsson Gulls guide the Herring Gull doesn't winter regularly south of C Europe, we have dozens of them in the Adriatic coast of Italy, where the Zadina's pier near Cesenatico hosts regularly them all the winter. The photo taken on February 6, 2006, by Roberto Sauli, shows a typical argentatus type of a range from Germany to Scandinavia, Baltic Sea and Finland.

22:22 - Thursday, February 9, 2006 - comments {5} - post comment

A more picture of the strange gull from Poland

The strange first winter gull observed by Marco Basso and Menotti Passarella is still at Chioggia, NE Italy. Since it was ringed, it was possible to know it was marked in Poland as chick on May 2005, in a colony with Herring Gull Larus argentatus as dominant species. According to Grzegorz Neubauer, the ringer, in this colony regular hybridization occurs among Herring Gull Larus argentatus, Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans and Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis. In the case of this bird, its father, once trapped, was showing a strange combination of features, not fitting any of the three species; its mother remained unknown. Thus it may be a backross hybrid of F2 or F3 generation; however it was ringed as "species not determined". This new picture shows underwings, uppertail and flanks. Any comments ?

18:15 - Thursday, February 9, 2006 - comments {3} - post comment

Caspian Gulls in NW Italy too: one today at the Pusiano Lake

Enrico Viganò took this photo this morning at the frozen lake of Pusiano, NW Italy. So, this winter the influx of Caspian Gulls have reached both N and E sides of Italy, with an estimate of 500 to 1000 birds.

21:42 - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment