Days are longer and the atmosphere of spring has now settled at the research station on the island of Ponza.
New species for the current year are added to the list of those already ringed in 2024 every day, but some catches are more special than others, as they are less common. For example, as a surprise in the Easter egg, we got an adult male of Ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus): the third specimen of this species since the Small Islands Project (PPI) began on Ponza!
Even more sensational, the capture of a Rüppell's warbler (Curruca ruppeli), the first ringed in Ponza since the PPI began. It nests in Mediterranean scrub environments, generally on the rocky slopes of hills covered with thick bushes. It is considered a rarity in our area, as it is known to nest around the Aegean Sea (Greece, Turkey, Syria,...), even if observation of this species in our territory are increasingly frequent.
A Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) already ringed in Lisbon came to our nets, and so it was included in our retrap records.
With the weather being a little more merciful than at the beginning of the year, the rhythms of the birds to be ringed remain variable from day to day, while the variability of species increases.
In the photos below, in order: Siskin (Spinus spinus), Quail (Coturnix coturnix), Wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix), Yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica), Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), Great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus ), Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius).
