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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Lake Garda in June (1 Viewer)

squidfish

Well-known member
Hi

I'm heading to Lake Garda in June for a week and cannot seem to find much information on the web about local sites for bird watching. Wondered if anyone had any experiences of the area of suggestions they could make?

Cheers

Rich
 
I posted a similar request (though for July rather than June) a few years ago but had very little feedback, unfortunately! So I hope you get a better response, hopefully from some of our Italian members.

It's a very big lake with lots of towns around it and is very popular with tourists so finding a quiet spot is not easy at the waterside, though 'inland' you don't have to move far away to get away from the crowds.

The southern end of the lake is surrounded by much flatter land than the northern end which is in the foothills of the Dolomites.

I've visited 4 times but 3 of those were in July so it wasn't good for birds, anyway, so I concentrated more on butterflies (Monti Baldo above Malcesine is perhaps 'The' location for these though I haven't had time to explore, yet, and June may be a bit early for the peak of the butterfly season for high mountain species).

Black Kites are widespread, Honey Buzzards, I've seen around the wooded slopes near both Garda town and Riva del Garda. Serins are common garden birds (as are 'Italian' Sparrows). Firecrests occur in mature gardens and I've seen Crested Tits on a walk just a short way 'above' Riva amongst the conifers.

I've seen Great Reed Warblers near the water's edge at Sirmione and there's no reason why they might not occur in other suitable areas of reeds, etc - the reeds near to Garda held several Penduline Tits last March so I suppose they're around other sites as well.

There were quite a few wintering water birds around last March, including several B N Grebes but generally I haven't seen much on the water in July given the size of water-surface available!

I've had both Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins at Riva though not on a day to day basis.
 
Many thanks for the excellent reply Adey. There seems to be a distinct lack of information about the area on the net, unless its all in Italian of course :)

Cheers

Rich
 
A couple of further points - when a small bird flies into one of those Cypress trees, you'll never see it again and the Blackcaps have a slightly different regional 'accent.' I don't know whether other sylvias like Orphean Warbler occur, but every time I finally managed to see the bird that was singing that unfamiliar song it was always a Blackcap!
 
...and if you can't find many birds, there's plenty of views available to photograph. This one is from the narrower northern end of the lake. The mountains don't form a solid wall around the lake, there are many valleys with picturesque villages just a short distance away from the water.
 

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Adey

I tend to photograph more than bird watch and am used to tricky customers such as blackcap. Recently went to Tenerife and it took all week before I finally got a shot of a Sardinian Warbler which is another bush lurker

sardwarb1.jpg


Cheers

Rich
 
I'll be looking out for your posts when you return, Rich. Hope you get something that poses like that SW - June may be better than my experiences in July which is hardly the best month anyway.

I'll be going to Spain for a few days holiday in June so it'll be interesting to see what I can find there, though, again, I may concentrate on butterflies as my wife finds these a bit easier to 'share' (staring into Cypress trees for something that's determined to stay in there isn't the best way to keep her attention on the job in hand!).
 
How's it for Raptors? I might be going to the lake for a school trip in May this year. So far it sounds pretty good...

Hopefully, someone from Italy will post a few details here. All I can say is that the aforementioned Black Kites and Honey Buzzards were the only raptors that I encountered during my visits there. Black Kites are very regular, certainly in the areas I visited, but you need a wooded valley for a better chance of the Honey Buzzard.
 
Many thanks for the excellent reply Adey. There seems to be a distinct lack of information about the area on the net, unless its all in Italian of course :)

Cheers

Rich

Hello Rich,
I'm not familiar at all with that area "bird-wise", although it's a fine and relaxing place to visit.
I've found this site here - partly translated - it also provides the main hotspots for birding in the Verona area.
Perhaps getting in touch with Maudoc (Maurizio, the webmaster - an experienced birder himself) might prove fruitful ...
There's also the local EBN website here, with hotspots and latest sightings; if I find something else I'll get in touch ...

Cheers,

Max
 
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I suggest you the mountain chain of Monte Baldo; you can reach the top thanks to a cableway and than walk along the edge.
Onother interesting area could be the Lessinia Regional park.
In both areas you can see alpine birds.
ciao
Etrusco
 
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