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An
update to this article covering our 2014 visit is now available.
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Wildlife throughout
Europe tends to be generally similar - same birds, same
moths, same butterflies and so on - but the numbers present
can differ considerably and there are things there that
we don't see here. It is interesting to see all the differences
and the 'new' things. This is a look at common wildlife
to be found out there.
To
set the background, we have visited my son & family annually
for some years, normally in late April but we have also been
there in May and September on occasion. Our visit is primarily
to see the family but I, spending most of the day out in the
garden, cannot help but see some of the local wildlife.
 My
son and his family live some 30 or 40 miles northwest of Rome
and they are somewhere around 1200 feet above sea level.
The images below give a closer look at the area. The first
shows Lake Bracciano and here the little red tadpole, marked
R&A, marks their home. The second image gives a closer
look at his location. Mostly fields and countryside. The dotted
area to the west shows a recently planted hazel plantation
- there are many of these around - this is a major hazel growing
area. Just to the north of the property is a riding school
and beyond that is a shallow valley with a small stream. The
third image is a view northwards from the house. Most of the
trees you see are probably oak - a very common tree here.
They produce masses of acorns that are only too willing to
sprout so they spread like weeds. The hedgerows are a mixture,
largely hawthorn, roses, bramble and wild plum (a variety
of blackthorn or sloe). The latter, with rather pretty white
flowers but equipped with nasty thorns, is a real thug and
spreads everywhere. Its one redeeming feature is that the
plums may be small but are very tasty!
You
may think this to be very good area for all sorts of birds
- but you would be quite wrong. Alas, many Italians are avid
hunters and the hunting season can run from the autumn until
early spring and it takes a dreadful toll on migrating birds.
It also, incidentally, takes a fair toll on hunters - the
number of fatalities usually runs well into double figures
each year. Anything that flies, and that includes small birds,
is likely to be shot. In some areas there is flagrant 'out
of season' hunting plus quite a bit of illegal trapping. The
absence of the small birds perhaps explains the proliferation
of insect life. There are masses of butterflies, moths, spiders,
beetles, crickets and grasshoppers, bees and wasps!
I have tried
to use only my own images here but there are many things
that the locals tell me are common, even if we haven't seen
them ourselves, so I have had to obtain images elsewhere
to include them.
Starting at ground
level and working upwards (I know insects and other beasties
aren't everyone's cup of tea but they are all part of our
world) -
Ground (aka Garden)
ants. These are mostly only about 6mm long, roughly quarter
of an inch, but there are some in the colony that are distinctly
larger, around 10mm. I don't know the ant society at all so
if anyone reading this can tell why there are two sizes then
I would like to hear from you. They are, like most ants, ground
nesters. However, their nests cannot be very large and they
seem to be quite close to the surface. The soil is quite sandy
and loose and this 'volcano', about 4 inches across, was created
in little more than one day. It never seemed to get much larger
after that. A very heavy rainstorm virtually flattened this
heap but as soon as the rain stopped, the ants were slaving
away and had a new entrance open within about an hour and
in about 6 hours they had the heap back to its former glory.
Now for some spiders. The first is a funnel web, in this case
by a type of grass spider. They build these wonderful beautifulfunnel
shaped webs among the vegetation. I have often tickled a web,
hoping to trigger some response but to no avail, I have yet
to see one of them. These funnel webs are quite common.
 Now
a wasp spider, named for its striped body. It is also sometimes
called a 'St.Andrews Cross' spider due to the way it arranges
its legs into four pairs as it waits on the web, similar to
the cross on the saltire. They are reputed to have quite a
nasty bite!
Then
there are the 'hunting' spiders, spiders that actively seek
their prey rather than building webs. This is, by far, the
biggest family of any of the spiders and common throughout
the world and there are thousands of different ones.
This isn't a large tarantula - actually it is only about 6mm/quarter
of an inch long but photograped in close-up. This second image
shows it as you would normally see it!
 This
one was intriguing - note the egg sack. When this lady headed
for cover from my prying eyes she did so onseven legs, the
eighth one held the egg sack very protectively under her body!
With one exception,
I have not attempted to photograph any beetles. However,
this one deserved a picture. I just had time to grab this
rather poor image before it opted to depart (noisily I might
add) so there was no further opportunity. The body would
be something over an inch in length and the horns a bit
longer. However, my son came across one in 2012 and got
this excellent picture of it on his daughters hand - she
was quite enthralled until it started to nip her!
Grasshoppers
and crickets are commonplace - but you can't get within
camera range! They go quiet while you are still well out
of visual range and then scoot off when you get closer.
The first sighting is usually of a bright blue or green
flash of their wings as they depart rapidly.
 Now
this intriguing beastie, as you will no doubt realise, is
a preying mantis. We have seen them often, both green ones
and brown ones. They are often to be found around the taller
weeds and grasses. Fascinating things. If you pick one up
(easy to do), no matter how you move them around the head
swivels to keep you in view. And they can end up in the strangest
of places! Indoors, as this one is, on hands, arms or even
on heads!
Not one you see very often - a stick insect. They may actually
be quite common but their camouflage is superb. My son found
this one when clearing some Ivy. Only if they move when
disturbed do you stand a chance of spotting one, otherwise
they just look like any another twig!
 A
less welcome character, not too common but by no means scarce,
is the European Black Scorpion. It does sting - reputed to
be about equivalent to a bee sting. This one certainly caused
a stir - it was wandering around the bedroom wall! Bit of
a panic to catch it and consign it back to the outside world
where it belonged - via a short session for a photo.
Lizards are everywhere!
The first picture is of a common wall lizard and the word
'common' is very appropriate. If the sun is out you can
see considerable numbers of them. They range in size up
about 8-9" overall. The second one is probably a western
green lizard. Slightly larger than the wall lizards. You
don't see them as often but they are obviously quite conspicuous.
Very pretty things - but very, very wary. Your only hope
of a photograph is from a fair distance away using a telephoto
lens. This picture was taken in a hurry so I apologise for
it being a bit out of focus. The last image may not look
like a lizard but it is. It's a slow worm (and we do get
them in Britain). Very pretty characters. If you look closely
you may just make out the 'stumps' where they had legs in
the past. It lives mainly underground so has no need of
legs. Very often found under stones or logs.
There is supposed to be quite a few different types of small
frogs around. I never sighted even one until a rainy
evening in 2013 when I found one with a body length of about
four inches, easily twice the size of our frogs, just outside
the door. Camera grabbed (well phone actually) for a picture.
Alas I didn't allow for a frog of this size covering about
three feet with every hop so it escaped without me getting
a picture! What is seen, though, are toads - and some very
large ones at that. This character found its way in the door,
handy for getting a photo, and it measures around 4 inches
ACROSS the body.
 There
are snakes around but I have only ever had a fleeting glimpse
of one. Poisonous? Some will be. There are 19 different ones
recorded in Italy and includes 'Vipera' - what we call Adders.
Up in the air
now. Flying insects abound. You have everything from small
to large flies, various hoverflies, bees and wasps, moths
and butterflies. The commonest wasp, slightly smaller than
our common wasp, seems to nest in any convenient hole in
a tree, or ground or, in this case the handle of the wheelbarrow!
 Bumblebees
as we know them have rarely been seen but a conspicuous
buzzing noise will usually announce the presence of a Carpenter
Bee. This is a large bumblebee-like creature. It has a glossy
black body and the almost transparent wings shimmer in a
bluish colour! Never stays in one place for more than a
second or two and is nearly impossible to catch with the
camera!
In 2013 we had the first regular sightings of bumblebees.
No images to offer but three types were noted. One was similar
to our buff-tailed or white-tailed bumblebee, one all brown
similar to our carder bee and the third, fairly small, was
an overall greyish-brown colour.
Moths
- most dayflying moths are small and hard to get a close look
at. Night moths come to the outside light and the white walls
so are easy to see but not so easy to photograph with a fairly
basic camera! Best hope for a picture is if they choose to
'lie up' through the daytime. Here are a few that are (tentatively)
identified -
This
first is an Oak Eggar. Oddly, it does not relay on oak trees.
The second one is probably a common emerald moth. The third
is called 'The Lappet' and is perfectly camouflaged as an
oak leaf so would be easy to overlook! The next three were
found in full daylight -
The first one
is an Emperor Moth. The pole is 70mm (almost 3") across
so this one has a good 4 inches of wingspan. This is the
biggest Emperor moth I have ever seen.
The second one is a Crimson Tiger, fairly similar to our
Garden Tiger but different pattern of wing marking and a
different shade of red.
Finally, this beauty is a bit of a rarity that I was very
lucky to find - it is an Amata Phegea, a moth without
a regular common name but it seems to be sometimes called
the Nine Spotted Moth.
I have photographed lots of others but they are generally
variously brown and much less interesting!
Butterflies abound.
Two are very common. First appears to be the Common Blue.
They can be found in very large numbers in late summer and
they seem particularly drawn to the wild mint plants. The
other very common one looks like our Meadow Brown but could
be a Gatekeeper.
Less
common, but still fairly regular, is a fritillary of some
kind. And now and then there is the Small Copper. During later
spring, Orangetips appear in quite large numbers - the masses
flashing orange is reminiscent of the worst set of roadworks
you can imagine!
Oddly
enough, we have rarely seem a white butterfly. However, three
more colourful butterflies have appeared regularly, but only
one or perhaps two, at a time. They always seemed to be just
passing through and never seemed to land anywhere so very
hard to get a close look at, never mind photograph! Two of
them are bright yellow. I would see them regularly during
our one-week visit every spring but had no idea what they
were. Then one lucky day in 2011 two of them fluttered slowly
past me at short range in the space of a few minutes and they
were different types! I have borrowed these images as I never
have caught them on the ground. Both quite identifiable -
the first is a Brimstone, the second a Clouded Yellow.
 The
third butterfly is known locally as a 'swallowtail' - a common
name given to most of the 500+ different types! The Swallowtail
known in Britain is found around Norfolk and is far from common!
There have been records of another type, probably a migrant
from Europe, that was even more scarce - and they called it
the 'Scarce Swallowtail', imaginately enough! However, it
is far from scarce in Europe.We would have regular sightings
but, like the yellow ones, they seldom settled anywhere. Again,
it wasn't until 2011 that this one was more cooperative and
stopped to savour a rosemary bush long enough to get photographed.
Just to round off the butterfly collection - this is a White
Admiral on a vine beside the back door. The only one I have
ever seen.
Of
course, with all these moths and butterflies, there has to
be caterpillars! No doubt most of the ones to be seen are
of moths. They range from very small to perhaps two inches
in length and from very inconspicuous drab greens or browns
to quite colouful. Many of them seem to be of the hairy or
knobbly/spikey variety! This is a small selection of the prettier
ones. I only know what the last one is!
I
couldn't resist including the last one. A close inspection
will reveal that it is made of daisies! My youngest granddaughter
(aged 6 at the time) had to make her contribution - and a
very realistic one at that.
Apart from moles,
no different to ours, wild animals are mainly nocturnal
so you seldom see anything except in the car headlights.
There are no rabbits or hares to be seen, I have never seen
a mouse or vole though the local cats seem to find them
so they are common enough. Nor have I seen any deer. I had
heard that there were lots of black squirrels  around
and I finally saw them in 2012. These are not the supposedly
quite ferocious black squirrels, a melanistic form of the
grey squirrel, that we usually hear about - but are actually
a sub-species of the European Red squirrel. The grey squirrel
is only found in the north/northwest of Italy and, although
it will undoubtedly spread, it is still confined to that
northwestern corner. Reds in Italy actually have three sub-species
- the northern ones are, like ours, reddish coloured, the
central ones much more variable between red and near black,
the southern ones unmistakably black. The ones we have seen
appear to be more akin to the southern race. This one was
found dead so duly photographed for the record.
There are foxes and badgers around but likely to be seen
only at night in the car headlights. We have never
been lucky enough to see any of these although there are
plenty of them around - and some very large ones at that
- and my son has seen quite a few out on the road at night.
It is, of course, a wild boar. If walking quietly through
woodland roads they can sometimes be heard snuffling around
in the undergrowth. But they are generally shy animals and
the main risk seems to be in hitting them with the car.
 Now
for the last animal, another elusive one, the European (crested)
porcupine. Again a nocturnal beast that you rarely see.
There are quite a number going about and you can quite often
pick up one or two of their quills at the roadside. We tend
to think of them as being a bit like hedgehogs but they
are considerably larger - they can measure up to around
three feet long and stand two feet high. They feed mainly
on roots and bulbs but may take insects, small rodents or
carrion. The long quills over the back are only loosely
attached so they do lose a few here and there!
At the beginning
I mentioned the lack of birds. The riding school just to
the north was started about five or six years ago. The owner
is very much against hunters coming anywhere near his horses
and this has tended to push the hunters further away from
the immediate area. As a result the number of small birds
does seem to be increasing slightly. When we started going
out there, a small bird was rather a rarity but we are beginning
to see a few more now though still far from plentiful. Nevertheless.
we have seen most of our common garden birds - blue tit,
great tit, chaffinch, robin, starling and blackbird and
even long-tailed tits one year - but they are very few and
far between. The odd weather this year (yes, Italy gets
strange weather patterns too) proved interesting. Winter
suddenly gave way to spring in early April (although it
reverted to winter again after we left), everything started
growing rapidly and quite a few migrant birds arrived earlier
than usual. Whether there to stay or just passing through
is unknown but, for the first time, there was almost always
something singing - a marked contrast to the occasional
short burst of song we had become used to. I hope this is
a sign of bird numbers recovering. One readily identfied
migrant was whinchat. Another warbler-like bird, almost
totally devoid of markings was seen. In hindsight, and a
bit of research, it may have been nightingale - apparently
quite common in Italy.
It's
the larger birds that dominate the scene. Three in particular
-
The
'Hoodie Crow' (first image) is probably the commonest bird
in the area. Given that they are mainly carrion eaters, it
is a bit of a puzzle what they find to eat - but it must be
plentiful to sustain such numbers of them. Incidentally, we
think of the Hooded Crow as a bird of the west and north of
Scotland. In fact, our Carrion Crow is the oddity with its
range sandwiched between our western regions and most of Europe.
Next is the Magpie. Plenty of them around. While clearing
a clump of rampant brambles in the garden I found this magpie
nest (third image) on top of the brambles, about 5ft off the
ground and 30ft from the house. A magpie was on this nest,
by the way, so I had to cut around the site with her sitting
very tightly! Note the roof on the nest. The remains of an
earlier nest was found in shrubby wild plum only about 10ft
from the bedroom window so they aren't exactly shy.
And lastly the Jay. Jays are also very common. They bury acorns
all over the place and forget them so there are young oaks
springing up everywhere. Little wonder that the oak trees
are so plentiful - even the windfall acorns sprout readily!
Three
more birds are quite common although more likely to be heard
than seen -
First is the
Green Woodpecker. There are large numbers of them, although
there seemed to be less around during our last few visits,
possibly pushed back by the riding school, but they can
still be heard frequently and you are sure to see them on
a daily basis, even if only at a distance. Then the Hoopoe
- they too are quite common although you are more likely
to hear their 'hoo-hoo-hoo' call than to actually see the
bird!
Another bird that seems to be common but rarely sighted
is Scops Owl. Seldom seen but often heard, a very distinctive
'ping' or 'bong'. You can hear quite a few pinging away
most evenings.
 A
nice one - the turtle dove. The first we saw of them was in
2011 when I heard this purring sound and kept an eye out.
It wasn't long before they were sighted and there were actually
three pairs of them going around. Very nice to see and hear.
Alas, there was no sign of them in April 2012 but, come 2013,
there was a pair there again.
One bird you could be sure of seeing virtually everywhere
is a Sparrow of one kind or another and only in Italy will
you see this one!. Until recently Europe had three recognised
types - the Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow and the Spanish
Sparrow. But now there is  officially
four! For those that know their sparrows, this one looks
as if its pieces of House Sparrow bonded to pieces of Spanish
Sparrow. Well, it is! There is a whole hodge-podge of hybrids
between House Sparrows and Spanish Sparrows around the Mediterranean
basin, ranging from pure one to pure other and every combination
in between. But Italy likes to be different! Although there
are Tree Sparrows in Italy (and they are quite common in
some towns), there are no House Sparrows except in a very
narrow band in the extreme north and there are no Spanish
Sparrows either except down south in the 'toe' of Italy
and Sicily. The common sparrow is a 'true' 50:50 hybrid
between House and SpanishSparrows. Except at the fringes
where it meets its ancestors, this one breeds only with
its own kind and has ousted its two ancestors completely
completely from most of mainland Italy and Corsica (but,
curiously, not in Sardinia which is only a short distance
away and is still dominated by the Spanish Sparrow). The
classification societies have finally accepted (in 2011)
that this Italian hybrid has actually evolved into a new
species, officially the Italian Sparrow, posh name passer
italiae - our newest official European bird.
 We
occasionally see what must be one of Europe's most colourful
birds flying overhead.
This is the Bee-eater (not my photo by the way). Like sandmartins
they nest in holes on sandy banks and we think they may
nest on one of the banks along the stream to the north but
have not gone looking.
 And
another summer visitor - the Golden Oriole. I heard a call
from a bird in the treetops one day in 2012 but the bird was
just a dark shape silhouetted against the sky and I couldn't
identify it. It was only recently that I discovered that it
had actually been an Oriole. But the Orioles arrived early
in 2013 - I heard them frequently and had sightings of a fair
few on occasion - but too fleeting and distant to get a photo
so I borrowed this one.
There are quite a few Raptors are around. We have seen what
appears to be Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. Unfortunately,
they are usually high in the sky and positive identification
is difficult. I haven't looked into the situation regarding
other raptors that could well be in the area. Apparently there
could be quite a selection to be found. Perhaps some day I
will pay a bit more attention to them.
 Nature
is not just about birds and beasties. There is an abundance
of wildflowers too. I admit that I know little about them!
Nonetheless, I can appreciate their beauty and the place
they hold in the grand scale of things. To my uneducated
eye, the wildflowers in Italy are much the same as the ones
here but no doubt there are significant differences. I had
to include this image of an unknown, simply because of its
completeness within a very small size - about 3 inches tall!
I may try and get more images on a future visit and leave
it to the viewers to try and put names to them. Meanwhile,
read on for more on the world of plants.....
I
cannot close this article without mentioning near neighbours
- a lovely couple called Jean and Roberto. Jean is of Scottish
parents so we enjoy a visit for a good gossip! Jean &
Roberto have a property where roughly threequarters is of
virtually flat meadow/orchard and the remaining quarter is
a steeply sided, wooded gully. Apart from a well kept garden
and rockery, the bulk of the land is meadow, mown for hay
later in the year, and open orchard of walnut. In spring and
summer there is a profusion of colour from the wildflowers.
Splashes of deep purple punctuate the usual whites, blues
and yellows - the purple is a type of orchid that is only
found in southern Europe and is widespread. The grasses themselves
are varied and have interesting heads so make a good backdrop
to the flowers. There may be few birds but the buzz of insects
working the flowers is also something to behold. The first
three images are of the meadow areas and the fourth images
show us making our way down into the gully via a steep path.
This is only a taster on what is to come.
I
have always enjoyed being in woodlands and, to me, that gully
is next thing to Paradise! Being well away from roads, it
is totally quiet. You may hear one or two insects buzzing
about their business but, alas, few birds (like everywhere
else!) to serenade you - about the best you can hope for is
a Great Tit chirping away and possibly a crow or Jackdaw
overhead. However, forget the birds and look around for I
have never seen so many different species of trees and shrubs
growing, entirely naturally, in such a small area! There are
oaks, sycamores, ash, hazel and many, many more, including
ones I cannot identify, all thriving there.Beneath them lies
carpets of shade loving wildflowers. It is the most wonderfully
secluded piece of woodland I have ever had the pleasure to
be in. The following images start with some rustic and very
functional steps leading down the steepest part, the others
showing only some of what all there is to see - and the pictures
do not really show its full charm.
So, Jean & Roberto, if you are reading this, you have
my very special thanks for such a wonderful experience.
Jean & Roberto
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(Sadly, Roberto passed away in October
2014)
So that's it - for now. Perhaps another visit will show some
more new things that I can add to this rather lengthy missive!
Thanks for viewing.
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