Season 2026 kicked-off!

We have launched the new ringing season under the bright sun and the full moon of the last few days. Migration has already been quite lively, with around 50–150 birds ringed per day.

The most abundant species so far are European robins (Erithacus rubecula) and European stonechats (Saxicola rubicola).

Alongside these, we have ringed several other migrants and residents, including common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), Eurasian woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola), Sardinian warblers (Curruca melanocephala), goldcrests (Regulus regulus), firecrests (Regulus ignicapilla), common blackbirds (Turdus merula), black redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros), common chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs), bluethroats (Luscinia svecica), blue rock thrushes (Monticola solitarius), an adult male hoopoe (Upupa epops), and willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus).

The first long-distance migrants are also starting to appear: we recorded the season’s first barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) and common house martin (Delichon urbicum).

One of the first surprises of the season was a retrap of a Sardinian warbler (Curruca melanocephala) carrying an old ring that was not applied in Ponza. We are now waiting for the ringing centre to trace its origin and reveal where this bird was originally ringed.

Each ring tells a story, and sometimes it allows us to reconnect distant places along the great migratory routes of birds.