Not much going on birding-wise in the past couple of weeks, so being in the northern city of Parma on non-birding business we grabbed the chance to visit the nearby LIPU flagship reserve, Torrile, where G had been eons ago but that I had never visited. The reluctant teenager refused to join us (presumably the first of many such refusals to come) and was brought to her grandma. We set off early on Saturday morning and spent the best part of the day on our “other” business, then had a delicious dinner in the old town (Parma is famous for being a foodie place).
Up early on the Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and drove to Torrile, just a few kms. away. We weren’t really expecting much, given the season and the heat, but despite not having the time of our lives we did spend an enjoyable few hours. We saw all the herons, minus Purple, with excellent views of a Squacco Heron feeding in front of one of the hides, many Cattle Egrets (lots of juveniles) and a flyby Little Bittern (which I didn’t see… :-C), and a lot of ducks, including Shoveler, Shelduck, Pochard, Teal etc.
Green Sandiper, the first Lapwings of the season, and Snipe were the only waders present, while a single specimen of Black-headed was the only Gull present. Among the others, Great Crested and Little Grebe, Marsh Harrier, Kingfisher, Cormorants. Also very vocal groups of presumably resident Long-Tailed Tits. Migration was very slow, in fact apart from Swallows and House Martins we only heard a single Willow Warbler, although we did see a flock of Bee-eaters later on in the afternoon as we were driving back home.
All in all a pleasant half day in a place surely worth visiting in spring.
Up early on the Sunday morning we had a leisurely breakfast and drove to Torrile, just a few kms. away. We weren’t really expecting much, given the season and the heat, but despite not having the time of our lives we did spend an enjoyable few hours. We saw all the herons, minus Purple, with excellent views of a Squacco Heron feeding in front of one of the hides, many Cattle Egrets (lots of juveniles) and a flyby Little Bittern (which I didn’t see… :-C), and a lot of ducks, including Shoveler, Shelduck, Pochard, Teal etc.
Green Sandiper, the first Lapwings of the season, and Snipe were the only waders present, while a single specimen of Black-headed was the only Gull present. Among the others, Great Crested and Little Grebe, Marsh Harrier, Kingfisher, Cormorants. Also very vocal groups of presumably resident Long-Tailed Tits. Migration was very slow, in fact apart from Swallows and House Martins we only heard a single Willow Warbler, although we did see a flock of Bee-eaters later on in the afternoon as we were driving back home.
All in all a pleasant half day in a place surely worth visiting in spring.
