Isola de Ventotene Part II

Well, about the same time as coming back from Ventotene I managed to "loose" my internet connection at home ...... 3.5 months later, it is working again!!! I am not going to talk much about that other than to say it was on the frustrating side!

My trip to Ventotene this year lived up to the really high expectations and I always wonder why I go back so seldom during migration. I think I need to get my priorities right!! Before we had even got onto the island we had great views of Cory's shearwater playing in the wake behind the ferry.

Once on the island there were birds everywhere and waves of migrants would come in all the time and those that had rested would leave for the mainland (14km). The European bee-eaters seem to be particularly plentiful and hundreds went over each day. Rather than me explain what we saw, just enjoy some of the images from that trip....

We are planning next years trip already and I hope the weather was as good as this year.

Isola de Ventotene

Not far off the coast, and just south of Rome, is a small island called Ventotene. Although many people know of the island, it is usually the larger neighbour called Ponza that is visited - it is larger and there is more to do. The easiest way to get to Ventotene is to take a train or car to Formia and then a ferry that takes 30 - 60 minutes (in summer there are a good number of ferries each day).

Although a small island, Ventotene has a fair amount to offer: a great little harbour, boating, scuba diving (including a number of schools), a good restaurant, plenty of accommodation and a nice protected beach. A very nice place for a few days. However, the main attraction for me is that it has to be one of the best birding destinations in Italy during the spring migration period - April / early May is the peak. It is early landfall for many of the migratory birds coming back from Africa to summer in Europe. As the island is small, the density of birds can get awesome. Many of the birds are exhausted and hungry, which means that they are often not as skittish of humans as they are normally. One may not get the diversity of species as in other parts of the world, but the share numbers and proximity is special.

The other advantage of this is that photographing the birds is relatively easier and it is not uncommon to come back from a weekend with a good number of above average images of birds. The island itself also makes for good photography. Some examples from previous years ....

 

I have not been there for four years but I am going back in a few hours ..... watch this space!!