Canarybirder
Oenanthe Birding Adventures
North West Italy, February 2008
A meeting at Justy's house to sort out our forthcoming trip to Kuwait ended up with us booking some Ryanair flights to Italy as well!
After reading a trip report by Richard Bonser the 4 of us all fancied a long weekend in northwest Italy chasing some Category C species and despite everyone else thinking we were crazy we were determined to go for it and squeeze a 3 day trip in.
The aim of the trip was to score with 4 Category C species which now have self supporting populations to the north and west of Milan - Sacred Ibis, Northern Bobwhite, Ashy-throated Parrotbill and Vinous-throated Parrotbill and pick up whatever else was in the area too.
Information and trip reports for the area are few and far between on the internet but a trip by a group of Swedes in January plus Richard Bonsers info from 2007 gave us some good info. Olof Jonsson was very helpful in giving us news that was only a month old and then by pure chance I noticed a photograph of a Sacred Ibis posted on Surfbirds by Richard Billington, a Brit now living and working in Novara. Rich was amazingly helpful and we're all very grateful for the info he supplied in several detailed emails. Both Rich and a member of the Swedish crew Jesper Segergren have also kindly allowed me to use some of their photographs in the report that follows. Rich's blog of local birding can be found at www.surfbirds.com/blog/billington
At the last minute I found the Hotel Sogno in Novara on the internet and duly booked us a room for 4 for the Friday night at the cost of £20 (30 Euros) each for B & B by email. Reasonably priced hotels in Novara are at a premium so this one is well worth considering and is located in the NE part of the town about 20 mins walk to the centre.
We stayed on the 2nd nite at the Orange Motel Hotel http://www.orangemotel.it/index_eng.html between Cotgeno and Vergiate just a few miles south west of the village of Inarzo where Palude Brabbia is accessed from. This was a little more expensive at £30 (40 Euros) each for B & B but was of slightly better quality and we were too tired and wet to search for anywhere else!
The sites we visited were:
Casalbeltrame/Ponzana/Marangana/Biandrate area
Bosche de Ticino
Central Novara
Palude Brabbia (both east and west sides)
Due to time limitations (see below for explanations!) we didn't have enough time to visit the mountains at Mottarone for Alpine Accentor which had been our aim.
8 February 2008
Andy picked me up and leaving Reepham at 03.00 we picked up Justy in Norwich and Lee in Thetford before making our way to Stansted for an 08.15 flight to Milan Bergamo. For anyone using Ryanair please note that Bergamo is a town c30 miles east of Milan so the airport is hardly in Milan!
Ariving in Italy more or less on time after a 1 hour 40 min flight we picked up our Hertz hire car and were pleasantly surprised to find out that we'd been given a free upgrade to a Volkswagon Touran which proved itself to be extremely spacious for the 4 of us plus all our gear and probably the best hire car we'd ever had. While waiting by the carpark our first birds of the trip were a pair of Italian Sparrows hopping around on the tarmac allowing our first look at this distinctive sub-species.
Heading west on the autostrada we got stuck in traffic around the north side of Milan. Other trip reports warn of this and we can certainly back the warnings up. The journey provided views of c20 Cattle Egrets, several Little Egrets and the ubiquitous Hooded Crows.
Arriving at the area west of Novara in early to mid afternoon still meant we had plenty of time to explore the area centered around the villages of Casalbeltrame, Ponzana, Biandrate and Marangana. We'd been tipped off about this area by Richard Billington as being the best place in the winter months for Sacred Ibis (they breed at Oldenico just to the west but in winter are much better seen here). Sure enough, on our first stop along thre minor road just east of Casalbeltrane a single Sacred Ibis was located in a field but quickly disappaered before we could get scopes on it. We then proceeded to drive the lanes and scan the rice fields for the rest of the afternoon with no further sign of any! This tactic did reveal loads of other birds though with unexpectedly large numbers of c30 Great White Egrets plus c10 Little Egrets and c15 Grey Herons. Many of the Great Whites came into roost at the isolated woodland reserve of Palude di Casalbeltrame just north of Ponzana which also had c75 'sinensis' Cormorants. Raptors were very well represented with 1-2 Peregrines, 1-2 Hen Harriers, 3+ Marsh Harriers, 4-5 Common Buzzards and a couple of Sparrowhawks. Other sightings of interest were c40 Tree Sparrows, several Italian Sparrows, c90 Bramblings, 2 Water Pipits, a single Stonechat, 2 Kingfishers in roadside dykes and c60 Stock Doves. During the afternoon Andy asked for the car to be stopped and we were all soon out and watching a Great Grey Shrike on roadside telegraph wires. Despite being tipped off that the Sacred Ibis all roost at the Palude di Casalbeltrame reserve we stood waiting to no avail. Lee however got onto flock of birds to the north and although a long way off they were obviously Sacred Ibis. We counted 46 individuals which were joined by 5 more as they flew west and landed to roost in a roadside cyprus plantation between Casalbeltrame and Biandrate. Leaving the site more than happy with our afternoons work we had a Coypu in a trackside dyke as the light faded and then a Long-eared Owl across the road in Biandrate after dark.
That night, after finding the Hotel Sogno with a little difficulty we walked into the center of Novara and after a couple of texts met Richard Billington. He led us to a great little restaurant were his friends Flavio, Suzi, Sara and Emanuela joined us for a meal and what was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The gnocci with gorgonzola and salmon was to die for!
9 February 2008
After breakfast this morning we made our way out of Novara and south east towards Vigevano. Following the directions in Bonser out of the southern side of Vigevano and through the village of Sforzesca we found the parking spot by the woodland of the Bosche de Ticino with ease. On the approach we had 2 Tree Sparrows, 3 Great White Egrets, 3 Common Buzzards plus a Water Pipit over the carpark. Walking through the gate and on through the woodland leads to a fork in the path after about 200 metres where we turned right. In a short while the path emerges from the trees with a large grassy clearing on the left. As soon as the grassy area startes there is a wooden bench on the right beside a small side path to a footbridge bridge. Almost as soon as we reached the bench 4 Northern Bobwhites flushed from right behind the bench and ran/flew about 50 metres into the trees. The last one, a really nice male lingered for a few more seconds than the others and was seen very well albeit briefly. We then trawled the block of wood they'd flown into by spreading out in a line but one quick scuttling view and a Woodcock flushed were all we could manage. Bullied by this almost instant success with our target species (and one we all agreed could have been the most difficult) we spent a good morning further exploring the clearings and woods. No more Bobwhites were seen but plenty of other woodland species were notched up - 3+ Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 3+ Great Spotted Woodpeckers, c5 Green Woodpeckers, 4+ Nuthatches, 9 Woodlark, c6 Marsh Tits and a couple of Goldcrests. Back near the car a Common Lizard was photographed well as it basked in the sun.
We then made our way back into central Novara to a site in a residential area in the SW of the town. A tree which Richard Billington dubs the 'magic tree' certainly lived up to it's billing with up close and personal views of 8 Long-eared Owls roosting right out in the open in 2 bare silver birch trees. They were duly blasted with the cameras! The directions given by Rich that we followed were 'From Vigevano take the road to Mortara and then to Novara. When you arrive in Novara, you will eventually come to a roundabout (pretty sure it is the first you come to) with a modern art horses head on. Turn left at the roundabout taking Viale Giulio Cesare. Continue up this road for c800 metres and you will see a football field on your left. After another 100 (NOT at the traffic lights) meters take a right and you will see a supermarket (Carrefour) go towards the supermarket turn right immediately before you arrive at the supermarket. Follow the road to the end, turn left and park. Walking, continue in the same direction and turn right at the first junction and right again into a cul de sac (marked STP Battaglia). The tree is at the end' If visiting earlier in the winter the trees can hold up to about 50 birds! Just around the corner in a small playground was a Black Redstart.
It was time to leave the Novara area and drive north for phase 2 of the trip. After an uneventful and smooth drive we found our way to the village of Inarzo on the eastern edge of the Palude Brabbia (Brabbia Marsh to you and me!). With a little difficulty we found the access road at a narrow crossroads in the village and made our way to the end at a small rubbish recycling centre on the edge of a lightly wooded area. The walk is initially along good tracks beside the wood where some Spring Snowflakes were in full flower beside the stream. Passing a hide on the right and through a reedscreen gate you enter the marsh proper and a grassy strip leads directly out to into the marsh with reeds on the right and trees/bushes on the left. On our visit we encountered a problem in that the area was flooded. We had no option but to roll up our trousers and wade through in shin deep water as we needed to get to the prime area for our target parrotbills. Being February the water was freezing and beyond the standing water the marsh was very wet meaning there was nowhere to stand without sinking into about 3 inches of peaty water! On through we waded to the far end where a fallen tree signals the end of where you can go. We only had about 2 hours before dark and stood about patiently with no sight or sound of any parrotbills. The best bird was a Great Grey Shrike sat up at the back a reedy pool, a Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Tits, c15 Bramblings, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 6 Fieldfares whilst over head passed 7 Great White Egrets and Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk. Then, as the light started to fade we could just make out the calls of parrotbills in the reeds on the right at the far end. Frustratingly they failed to show until Lee called that he'd got some in his scope. a quick look through bins revealed c5 parrotbills but too far away and in too poor light to readily identify. Cue a mad splosh for Justy and me back to our scopes some 30 metres away. I was first and heard a splash from behind me only to turn round and see Justy face down in the muddy and water crying 'man down'! He had a big smile on his face though which would have been even bigger had the parrotbills still been there when we got back to Lee. He'd had identifiable views of both species but we had to settle for putting them down as Parrotbill sp as their calls gradually became fainter as they faded away into the darkening reedbed. We all knew where we had to be the following morning, wet feet or not!
The walk back was fun in the wet and dark with feet we couldn't feel but we finally found the car and then a hotel (the Orange Motel Hotel) between the nearby village of Corgeno and Vergiate. Wanting 4 separate beds we had to wait an hour for them to re-arrange the rooms. An hour that was put to good use with some beers in the adjacent pizzeria. Sadly food wasn't on offer because of a wedding reception there that night so after a wash and some hanging of wet boots on the heated towel rails we ventured into Vergiate. Here we found a nice resturant full of locals (always a good sign) and dined on pizza and huge plate of assorted salami.
10 February 2008
Another day, another marsh! Well, more precisely the same marsh but round the other side!
Hoping that access to the marsh from the carpark by the Whirlpool Factory on the west side would be drier we made our way there. Access was easy, especially as it was a Sunday and the factory deserted. Simply drive to the factory and then as the buildings are approached veer left to park at the far end of the rough staff carpark. Here a barrier over a track shows where you need to walk. After about a 10 minute walk along the track (following the perimeter fence of the factory) a reserve centre/ringing hut (closed on our visit) is reached and an all too familiar wide grassy strip leads out onto the marsh through the reeds.
Adopting the fashionable 'plastic bags on feet look' we made our way out. Initially the path out was dry but we were lulled into a false sense of security as it soon descended a slight dip and breaking the ice on top of the water we were in up to our knees! At least this time it did dry out a bit after 40 yards or so and we could stand in a suitable viewing position which wasn't in standing water. An hour later and we'd seen nothing much other than 2 Ravens, a Marsh Harrier, a couple of Common Buzzards and a group of Long-tailed Tits when we suddenly caught the calls of parrotbills in the reeds to the north of the path. A frustrating 30 minutes ensued with no views until a bright chestnut crowned Ashy-throated Parrotbill suddenly gave itself up in a bush. Within a few minutes another bird popped up on the front of the reeds and showed for a few seconds. A bigger, paler bird with no grey wash or cap, a beady-eyed appearance and a warm sandy colour. Undoubtedly a Vinous-throated Parrotbill. During the following 30 minutes before the small group moved away we had several more brief views of Ashy-throateds.
At point we decided that we needed to return to the other side of marsh again. Eventually we found a cafe which was open on a Sunday and after a quick pannini we were in Inarzo again and heading out into the swamp!
Walking up towards the fallen tree at the far end I found a really close male Penduline Tit but it quickly flew before anyone else could catch me up. This time however we quite quickly located some parrotbills at the far end of the access strip and identified 2 Vinous-throated Parrotbills as the first 2 birds seen. Some reasonable views of a couple of Ashy-throated Parrotbills followed before they all then faded away into the reeds. We hung around for as long as our schedule allowed and managed a Kingfisher, 7 Great White Egrets, a male Sparrowhawk, 2 Cetti's Warblers, a Green Woodpecker, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Siskins, 3 Bramblings, 8 Fieldfares, a single Redwing and 2 Gadwall. Water Rail was also heard squealing at this site and around the west side.
We left the site at about 4pm and after a change out of wet gear and a re-packing of bags we headed back to Bergamo and our flight home. Justy's boots had fallen to pieces in the marsh so were sacrficed to the gods of Palude Brabbia by leaving them hanging from the reserve sign! Needless to say our flight was delayed and we arrived back with just a 3 hour sleep window remaining before work in the morning!
The boys had scooped again though - all 4 target birds were seen in a trip list of 72.
A meeting at Justy's house to sort out our forthcoming trip to Kuwait ended up with us booking some Ryanair flights to Italy as well!
After reading a trip report by Richard Bonser the 4 of us all fancied a long weekend in northwest Italy chasing some Category C species and despite everyone else thinking we were crazy we were determined to go for it and squeeze a 3 day trip in.
The aim of the trip was to score with 4 Category C species which now have self supporting populations to the north and west of Milan - Sacred Ibis, Northern Bobwhite, Ashy-throated Parrotbill and Vinous-throated Parrotbill and pick up whatever else was in the area too.
Information and trip reports for the area are few and far between on the internet but a trip by a group of Swedes in January plus Richard Bonsers info from 2007 gave us some good info. Olof Jonsson was very helpful in giving us news that was only a month old and then by pure chance I noticed a photograph of a Sacred Ibis posted on Surfbirds by Richard Billington, a Brit now living and working in Novara. Rich was amazingly helpful and we're all very grateful for the info he supplied in several detailed emails. Both Rich and a member of the Swedish crew Jesper Segergren have also kindly allowed me to use some of their photographs in the report that follows. Rich's blog of local birding can be found at www.surfbirds.com/blog/billington
At the last minute I found the Hotel Sogno in Novara on the internet and duly booked us a room for 4 for the Friday night at the cost of £20 (30 Euros) each for B & B by email. Reasonably priced hotels in Novara are at a premium so this one is well worth considering and is located in the NE part of the town about 20 mins walk to the centre.
We stayed on the 2nd nite at the Orange Motel Hotel http://www.orangemotel.it/index_eng.html between Cotgeno and Vergiate just a few miles south west of the village of Inarzo where Palude Brabbia is accessed from. This was a little more expensive at £30 (40 Euros) each for B & B but was of slightly better quality and we were too tired and wet to search for anywhere else!
The sites we visited were:
Casalbeltrame/Ponzana/Marangana/Biandrate area
Bosche de Ticino
Central Novara
Palude Brabbia (both east and west sides)
Due to time limitations (see below for explanations!) we didn't have enough time to visit the mountains at Mottarone for Alpine Accentor which had been our aim.
8 February 2008
Andy picked me up and leaving Reepham at 03.00 we picked up Justy in Norwich and Lee in Thetford before making our way to Stansted for an 08.15 flight to Milan Bergamo. For anyone using Ryanair please note that Bergamo is a town c30 miles east of Milan so the airport is hardly in Milan!
Ariving in Italy more or less on time after a 1 hour 40 min flight we picked up our Hertz hire car and were pleasantly surprised to find out that we'd been given a free upgrade to a Volkswagon Touran which proved itself to be extremely spacious for the 4 of us plus all our gear and probably the best hire car we'd ever had. While waiting by the carpark our first birds of the trip were a pair of Italian Sparrows hopping around on the tarmac allowing our first look at this distinctive sub-species.
Heading west on the autostrada we got stuck in traffic around the north side of Milan. Other trip reports warn of this and we can certainly back the warnings up. The journey provided views of c20 Cattle Egrets, several Little Egrets and the ubiquitous Hooded Crows.
Arriving at the area west of Novara in early to mid afternoon still meant we had plenty of time to explore the area centered around the villages of Casalbeltrame, Ponzana, Biandrate and Marangana. We'd been tipped off about this area by Richard Billington as being the best place in the winter months for Sacred Ibis (they breed at Oldenico just to the west but in winter are much better seen here). Sure enough, on our first stop along thre minor road just east of Casalbeltrane a single Sacred Ibis was located in a field but quickly disappaered before we could get scopes on it. We then proceeded to drive the lanes and scan the rice fields for the rest of the afternoon with no further sign of any! This tactic did reveal loads of other birds though with unexpectedly large numbers of c30 Great White Egrets plus c10 Little Egrets and c15 Grey Herons. Many of the Great Whites came into roost at the isolated woodland reserve of Palude di Casalbeltrame just north of Ponzana which also had c75 'sinensis' Cormorants. Raptors were very well represented with 1-2 Peregrines, 1-2 Hen Harriers, 3+ Marsh Harriers, 4-5 Common Buzzards and a couple of Sparrowhawks. Other sightings of interest were c40 Tree Sparrows, several Italian Sparrows, c90 Bramblings, 2 Water Pipits, a single Stonechat, 2 Kingfishers in roadside dykes and c60 Stock Doves. During the afternoon Andy asked for the car to be stopped and we were all soon out and watching a Great Grey Shrike on roadside telegraph wires. Despite being tipped off that the Sacred Ibis all roost at the Palude di Casalbeltrame reserve we stood waiting to no avail. Lee however got onto flock of birds to the north and although a long way off they were obviously Sacred Ibis. We counted 46 individuals which were joined by 5 more as they flew west and landed to roost in a roadside cyprus plantation between Casalbeltrame and Biandrate. Leaving the site more than happy with our afternoons work we had a Coypu in a trackside dyke as the light faded and then a Long-eared Owl across the road in Biandrate after dark.
That night, after finding the Hotel Sogno with a little difficulty we walked into the center of Novara and after a couple of texts met Richard Billington. He led us to a great little restaurant were his friends Flavio, Suzi, Sara and Emanuela joined us for a meal and what was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The gnocci with gorgonzola and salmon was to die for!
9 February 2008
After breakfast this morning we made our way out of Novara and south east towards Vigevano. Following the directions in Bonser out of the southern side of Vigevano and through the village of Sforzesca we found the parking spot by the woodland of the Bosche de Ticino with ease. On the approach we had 2 Tree Sparrows, 3 Great White Egrets, 3 Common Buzzards plus a Water Pipit over the carpark. Walking through the gate and on through the woodland leads to a fork in the path after about 200 metres where we turned right. In a short while the path emerges from the trees with a large grassy clearing on the left. As soon as the grassy area startes there is a wooden bench on the right beside a small side path to a footbridge bridge. Almost as soon as we reached the bench 4 Northern Bobwhites flushed from right behind the bench and ran/flew about 50 metres into the trees. The last one, a really nice male lingered for a few more seconds than the others and was seen very well albeit briefly. We then trawled the block of wood they'd flown into by spreading out in a line but one quick scuttling view and a Woodcock flushed were all we could manage. Bullied by this almost instant success with our target species (and one we all agreed could have been the most difficult) we spent a good morning further exploring the clearings and woods. No more Bobwhites were seen but plenty of other woodland species were notched up - 3+ Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, 3+ Great Spotted Woodpeckers, c5 Green Woodpeckers, 4+ Nuthatches, 9 Woodlark, c6 Marsh Tits and a couple of Goldcrests. Back near the car a Common Lizard was photographed well as it basked in the sun.
We then made our way back into central Novara to a site in a residential area in the SW of the town. A tree which Richard Billington dubs the 'magic tree' certainly lived up to it's billing with up close and personal views of 8 Long-eared Owls roosting right out in the open in 2 bare silver birch trees. They were duly blasted with the cameras! The directions given by Rich that we followed were 'From Vigevano take the road to Mortara and then to Novara. When you arrive in Novara, you will eventually come to a roundabout (pretty sure it is the first you come to) with a modern art horses head on. Turn left at the roundabout taking Viale Giulio Cesare. Continue up this road for c800 metres and you will see a football field on your left. After another 100 (NOT at the traffic lights) meters take a right and you will see a supermarket (Carrefour) go towards the supermarket turn right immediately before you arrive at the supermarket. Follow the road to the end, turn left and park. Walking, continue in the same direction and turn right at the first junction and right again into a cul de sac (marked STP Battaglia). The tree is at the end' If visiting earlier in the winter the trees can hold up to about 50 birds! Just around the corner in a small playground was a Black Redstart.
It was time to leave the Novara area and drive north for phase 2 of the trip. After an uneventful and smooth drive we found our way to the village of Inarzo on the eastern edge of the Palude Brabbia (Brabbia Marsh to you and me!). With a little difficulty we found the access road at a narrow crossroads in the village and made our way to the end at a small rubbish recycling centre on the edge of a lightly wooded area. The walk is initially along good tracks beside the wood where some Spring Snowflakes were in full flower beside the stream. Passing a hide on the right and through a reedscreen gate you enter the marsh proper and a grassy strip leads directly out to into the marsh with reeds on the right and trees/bushes on the left. On our visit we encountered a problem in that the area was flooded. We had no option but to roll up our trousers and wade through in shin deep water as we needed to get to the prime area for our target parrotbills. Being February the water was freezing and beyond the standing water the marsh was very wet meaning there was nowhere to stand without sinking into about 3 inches of peaty water! On through we waded to the far end where a fallen tree signals the end of where you can go. We only had about 2 hours before dark and stood about patiently with no sight or sound of any parrotbills. The best bird was a Great Grey Shrike sat up at the back a reedy pool, a Kingfisher, 2 Marsh Tits, c15 Bramblings, 1 Water Pipit, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 6 Fieldfares whilst over head passed 7 Great White Egrets and Marsh Harrier and a Sparrowhawk. Then, as the light started to fade we could just make out the calls of parrotbills in the reeds on the right at the far end. Frustratingly they failed to show until Lee called that he'd got some in his scope. a quick look through bins revealed c5 parrotbills but too far away and in too poor light to readily identify. Cue a mad splosh for Justy and me back to our scopes some 30 metres away. I was first and heard a splash from behind me only to turn round and see Justy face down in the muddy and water crying 'man down'! He had a big smile on his face though which would have been even bigger had the parrotbills still been there when we got back to Lee. He'd had identifiable views of both species but we had to settle for putting them down as Parrotbill sp as their calls gradually became fainter as they faded away into the darkening reedbed. We all knew where we had to be the following morning, wet feet or not!
The walk back was fun in the wet and dark with feet we couldn't feel but we finally found the car and then a hotel (the Orange Motel Hotel) between the nearby village of Corgeno and Vergiate. Wanting 4 separate beds we had to wait an hour for them to re-arrange the rooms. An hour that was put to good use with some beers in the adjacent pizzeria. Sadly food wasn't on offer because of a wedding reception there that night so after a wash and some hanging of wet boots on the heated towel rails we ventured into Vergiate. Here we found a nice resturant full of locals (always a good sign) and dined on pizza and huge plate of assorted salami.
10 February 2008
Another day, another marsh! Well, more precisely the same marsh but round the other side!
Hoping that access to the marsh from the carpark by the Whirlpool Factory on the west side would be drier we made our way there. Access was easy, especially as it was a Sunday and the factory deserted. Simply drive to the factory and then as the buildings are approached veer left to park at the far end of the rough staff carpark. Here a barrier over a track shows where you need to walk. After about a 10 minute walk along the track (following the perimeter fence of the factory) a reserve centre/ringing hut (closed on our visit) is reached and an all too familiar wide grassy strip leads out onto the marsh through the reeds.
Adopting the fashionable 'plastic bags on feet look' we made our way out. Initially the path out was dry but we were lulled into a false sense of security as it soon descended a slight dip and breaking the ice on top of the water we were in up to our knees! At least this time it did dry out a bit after 40 yards or so and we could stand in a suitable viewing position which wasn't in standing water. An hour later and we'd seen nothing much other than 2 Ravens, a Marsh Harrier, a couple of Common Buzzards and a group of Long-tailed Tits when we suddenly caught the calls of parrotbills in the reeds to the north of the path. A frustrating 30 minutes ensued with no views until a bright chestnut crowned Ashy-throated Parrotbill suddenly gave itself up in a bush. Within a few minutes another bird popped up on the front of the reeds and showed for a few seconds. A bigger, paler bird with no grey wash or cap, a beady-eyed appearance and a warm sandy colour. Undoubtedly a Vinous-throated Parrotbill. During the following 30 minutes before the small group moved away we had several more brief views of Ashy-throateds.
At point we decided that we needed to return to the other side of marsh again. Eventually we found a cafe which was open on a Sunday and after a quick pannini we were in Inarzo again and heading out into the swamp!
Walking up towards the fallen tree at the far end I found a really close male Penduline Tit but it quickly flew before anyone else could catch me up. This time however we quite quickly located some parrotbills at the far end of the access strip and identified 2 Vinous-throated Parrotbills as the first 2 birds seen. Some reasonable views of a couple of Ashy-throated Parrotbills followed before they all then faded away into the reeds. We hung around for as long as our schedule allowed and managed a Kingfisher, 7 Great White Egrets, a male Sparrowhawk, 2 Cetti's Warblers, a Green Woodpecker, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Siskins, 3 Bramblings, 8 Fieldfares, a single Redwing and 2 Gadwall. Water Rail was also heard squealing at this site and around the west side.
We left the site at about 4pm and after a change out of wet gear and a re-packing of bags we headed back to Bergamo and our flight home. Justy's boots had fallen to pieces in the marsh so were sacrficed to the gods of Palude Brabbia by leaving them hanging from the reserve sign! Needless to say our flight was delayed and we arrived back with just a 3 hour sleep window remaining before work in the morning!
The boys had scooped again though - all 4 target birds were seen in a trip list of 72.
