[Maurice Berry]

My wife and I have booked a holiday in Italy from the 22nd to 30th April
We will be staying in Fiuggi for 3 nights before moving down to Sorrento

While staying in Sorrento we will be visiting Pompei and the Vesuvius National Park.

Has anyone been birding in any of these locations? Any information would be gratefully received

Thanks
Maurice

[Touty]

Originally Posted by Maurice Berry

My wife and I have booked a holiday in Italy from the 22nd to 30th April
We will be staying in Fiuggi for 3 nights before moving down to Sorrento

While staying in Sorrento we will be visiting Pompei and the Vesuvius National Park.

Has anyone been birding in any of these locations? Any information would be gratefully received

Thanks
Maurice

Neither Fiuggi nor Sorrento / naples are much cop for birding frankly... enjoy the culture, the weather and the food.

The best places for BW in Italy are the NE, Sicily and the Alps. That having been said, you are spot on with the migration and if you can get out to one or more of the Aeolian Islands such as Capri then just about anything can turn up.

[Maurice Berry]

Many thanks Touty

The holiday is a birthday present for my wife, she`s always wanted to go to Italy (Sorrento ,Rome etc) so not really a birding trip!
Hope to get in a few hours birding before the shops open!!!!
Maurice

[Jhomolari]

Originally Posted by Touty

Neither Fiuggi nor Sorrento / naples are much cop for birding frankly... enjoy the culture, the weather and the food.

The best places for BW in Italy are the NE, Sicily and the Alps. That having been said, you are spot on with the migration and if you can get out to one or more of the Aeolian Islands such as Capri then just about anything can turn up.

Hi - I saw your advice about birding in the Italian Alps and the NE of Italy. Mu husband and I are leaving in a couple of days for both the Cogne area (Gran Paradiso Park) and the area near Casrelrotto in the NE Alps. Do you have any spots that you know of that are good birding in either of those locations?

Thanks so much!

Deborah

[Touty]

Sorry, Castelrotto is well north-west of where I live, about 180 miles, more in north-central Italy and the Dolomites. The birding is good if you can get up high. If you drop me a private message with your e-mail I'll post your request to the Italian bird mailing list so that you can get help from the locals.

[Maurice Berry]

Hi Touty
Sorry I didn`t reply after our holiday in Italy. You were right about the birding, not much to see! However: Rome, Fiuggi, Pompei, Amalfi and Sorrento more than made up for it. St Peters Basilica and Pompei the highlights, also climbed Vesuvius and walked round the rim of the crater, stunning views from the top overlooking the Bay of Naples.
The wooded areas around Fiuggi turned out to be quite productive, Tree Sparrows everywhere, Blackcap, Redstart, Pied Flycatcher and the usual woodland species found here in the U.K.
Hoopoe in the hotel gardens in Sorrento the best find

Maurice

[Touty]

My team in the north-east, the 'Frullini Furlani'... literally the Friulan Jack Snipes, won the Italian 24 hour bird-race for the FIFTH time in a row ten days ago. We found 150 species in 21 hours all Italy's most north-eastern region Friuli Venezia Giulia. In all, the teams involved (15 IIRR) found 242 species or 47% of the entire Italian checklist. I should say that we reached 130 species by 2pm and then it started pouring with rain. If it had stayed fine we would have beaten our Italian record (151 spp.) by a mile and maybe got close to a respectable Euro-total of 170. Next year we'll leave the competition to others and try for a really high score at a bettter time... late April

[Tom B.]

I have to be in Sicily in the third week of September, and am trying to find out about Autumn raptor passage over the Straits. Theres lots of info about how fabulous Spring migration is, but I've found nothing about Autumn migration. Does anybody out there know if there is a significant raptor movement in September over Messina?

Many thanks,

Tom

[gmax]

Hello everybody, it's my first post here ....

During a walk in the countryside I shot a couple of pictures to a bird I wasn't able to identify (no guidebook I have could help me ...) ... perhaps it's a common bird (not to me anyway); other features I noticed:
size: a little bit larger than a blackbird or a thrush
fly (is it correct?): similar to a woodpecker but a bit more linear/straight; very quick
I'm afraid that's all ... it was very far away, even for my camera (32x)

I hope someone out there can help me ... I would be really grateful!!
Thanks a lot in advance!

Max

[cuckooroller]

Max,
You got me. I just looked through the Italian list and I should know what everything looks like here in Italy. The only thing ranging with anything similar to this type of color scheme (dark on the head and mantle and wings though I can't tell if it is blackish or bluish), seemingly white throat and a blotchy rufous collar and everything else ventrally white, would be some kind of Hirundo, but the tail is squared off and it looks like the legs are too long. For some reason I though of Irania, but it should not range. Maybe, some of our more northerly Italian members can hash this one out.

By the way, you should move this to the ID Forum, or at least put a link there. Here it is kind of lost.

[Blackstart]

The colors and resolution in the photos are quite bad (no offense intended), but it looks like it could be a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris.

-Adam

[Touty]

Originally Posted by Blackstart

The colors and resolution in the photos are quite bad (no offense intended), but it looks like it could be a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris.

-Adam

God what an awful photo! But not so bad that you can't ID the bird. It's a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris...... una cesena. Breeder in the north of Italy and regular winter visitor and passage migrant to the northern half of the peninsula. Much shot at by hunters unfortunately. Tastes poor (so I'm told).

There's a photo here:

http://www.lacveneto.it/image/foto/c...0abbattuta.jpg

[gmax]

[quote=Touty]God what an awful photo!
But not so bad that you can't ID the bird.
It's a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris...... una cesena.

Thanks Touty ... as a matter of fact I didn't recognize it, but it's just a common "zanevròn" ...

Max

[cuckooroller]

Max,
Should have got it, but didn't! It didn't even pass in my mind - maybe I thought the breast was too reddish.

[Touty]

[quote=gmax]

Originally Posted by Touty

God what an awful photo!
But not so bad that you can't ID the bird.
It's a Fieldfare Turdus pilaris...... una cesena.

Thanks Touty ... as a matter of fact I didn't recognize it, but it's just a common "zanevròn" ...

Max

Our way they're 'gineproni' (Italo- Veneto - Trieste) and 'ginevrons' (Friulano) - both (like "zanevròn") from Ginepro (Juniper - Juniperus communis) one of its favourite foods here - and 'ciacco' (pronounced 'chak-o') from the call (Italo -Veneto on the coast). The local hunters always shout 'varda i ciacchi!' as the flocks fly over the high street.... "look at the fieldfares!".

[Swissboy]

Originally Posted by cuckooroller

Max,
.... maybe I thought the breast was too reddish.

It must be a male of the species. They can have very intensive colors up front! Anyway, no doubt about the fieldfare.