Birding Rome: bird photography along Circeo coastal wetlands

Last Saturday we accompanied, together with the naturalist and photographer Francesco Simonetta, our first guests from Brazil, for a birding day trip departing from Rome, focused on Circeo National Park’s coastal wetlands, one of the best places in Lazio where you can do birdwatching. This, in fact, thanks to the coastal lakes and riparian environments connected to them, boasts numerous hotspots ideal for observing and photographing birds throughout the year

We begin by arriving at the first light of dawn at the “Pantani dell’Inferno“, a marshes area close to Lake Caprolace where we use the car as a shed.

Here we are lucky to observe a small group of Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) a few meters away, which, together with numerous Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra), grazing on the side of the road, lend themselves undisturbed to our “photoshoot”.

There are many birds present here and the checklist is already starting to boast about thirty species, including ducks, herons, song birds and some waders , but the real star of this session is a beautiful and confident Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), who he lets himself be photographed for about half an hour while fishing and cleaning his plumage on the great variety of perches that the area offers him.

After a couple of hours we decide to move and do some road cruising photography on a path that runs alongside one of the coastal lakes, focusing on the species linked to rural environments. Here we come into contact with a multitude of passerines, including many Black Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros), European Robins (Erithacus rubecola) and Zitting Cisticolas (Cisticola juncidis). The greatest satisfaction, however, comes from a female of Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) perched on a branch, which gives us excellent shots before flying away.

From here we first move along flooded meadows, crowded with dozens and dozens of Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) and Eurasian Curlews (Numenius arquata), and then move along the coast where we photograph some Sandwich Terns (Thalasseus sandvincensis) and manage to spot a Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) a few meters from the coast.

We therefore move towards Lake Fogliano, for the last stops of the tour. Once we arrive at one of the two huts here, waiting for us is an Osprey (Pandion heliaetus), that winters this year in the area with at least two specimens. Before returning to Rome we make a short stop near a canal, used by Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) as a winter roost site. Here the Ardeidae are not missing and allow us to close the daily checklist to as many as 63 species of birds!

CHECKLIST

1. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
2. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
3. Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
4. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
5. Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
6. Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
7. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
8. Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
9. Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
10. Little Grebe(Tachybaptus ruficollis)
11. Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
12. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
13. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
14. Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
15. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
16. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
17. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
18. Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
19. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
20. Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
21. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
22. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
23. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
24. Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
25. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
26. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
27. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
28. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
29. Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
30. Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
31. Common Sandpiper (Gallinago gallinago)
32. Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
33. Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
34. Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
35. Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
36. Feral Pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica)
37. Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
38. Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
39. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
40. European Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)
41. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
42. White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
43. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
44. European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
45. Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
46. European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)
47. Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)
48. Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
49. Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)
50. Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)
51. Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti)
52. Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
53. Great Tit (Parus major)
54. European Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
55. Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
56. Common Magpie (Pica pica)
57. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
58. Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
59. Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
60. Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae)
61. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
62. European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
63. European Serin (Serinus serinus)