The constant ornithological monitoring that we have been carrying out for some years together and thanks to the Marine Protected Area Regno di Nettuno continues to give a lot of satisfaction.
The islands of the Gulf of Naples are a true paradise for birdwatchers.
Because in the marine protected area Regno di Nettuno hundreds of different species of birds stop. The latest arrival, but only in chronological order, is the razorbill, a seabird of pelagic habits that in appearance and plumage resembles a penguin.
During the last monitoring expedition promoted last December 8th by the marine protected area, in collaboration with the Ardea association, 17 individuals of this species were observed, a number in line with the sudden "boom" of sightings in the Italian seas in recent weeks, the causes of which are being questioned by ornithologists.
“The razorbill – explains Rosario Balestrieri, president of Ardea – nests on the coasts and islands of north-western Europe, Greenland and north-eastern America, usually on high cliffs overlooking the sea, while in winter it moves away from the coast and disperses in the North Atlantic, reaching as far south as the Canary Islands and entering the western Mediterranean”.
The collected data were shared with the initiative of the Zoological Station “Anton Dohrn”, which invited people to report sightings of razorbills through a specific form.
During the monitoring activity, specimens of other pelagic species were observed, starting with the middle skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), whose presence is not often documented in Campania. In particular, two individuals were studied while performing klepto-parasitism on another aquatic bird, the sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis).
Other excellent fishermen detected during the monitoring: the gannets, birds of considerable size, typical of the North Atlantic and capable of spectacular dives, and some shearwaters, more than twenty Corsican gulls (some of which with an identification ring) and two shags, a species whose first, historic nesting in the Kingdom of Neptune is expected.
“Documenting the biodiversity of our sea, revealing it to the general public, and learning more about the avifauna of the Kingdom of Neptune helps us to understand and protect it”, underlines the director of the Kingdom of Neptune, Antonino Miccio.
Sea auks in Ischia (photo Rosario Balestrieri and Michelangelo Ambrosini for Amp Regno di Nettuno)
Article published on 14 December 2022 - 12:59
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