12 March 2020

We hear from Ventotene that Scopoli’s shearwaters are back our islands. Last night they began to sing from the cliffs of the island, joining Yelkouan shearwaters that arrived in our seas a few months ago. Both these species are migratory but make very different journeys and routes before returning to our islands to nest.

Who knows if our beloved Ligea is among them? Actually Ligea, like the other shearwaters born last year, is likely to spend some time in the Atlantic Ocean. It certainly will not reproduce this year but only after 3 or 4 years of age, but we cannot exclude that it came back early to start looking for a nice cavity to nest in the next few years. There is still so much to discover about the life of these fascinating sea birds. We celebrate them with this beautiful picture by Fernando Ferri. Thank you very much Fernando!

In these difficult days we welcome the return of shearwaters to our islands as a sign of hope and good luck. Everything will be fine.