Thursday, February 16, 2012 — St. Juliana of Nicomedia
More photos of the day are available in the diary.
I am at the Parco Regionale della Maremma, which is one of the areas where graylag geese pass the winter in
Italy. Thousands of them are pasturing in the grasses, but I note that they are pretty restless despite the fact
it is early afternoon. Many small flocks are taking off and landing, flying over the area.
At sunset, before returning home, I'm driving through the Padule Aperto, a few kilometres north, another
well-known area of wintering geese. A few hundreds of birds are preparing for the night.
****
After a few days I learned from the local birders that, the day after, none of the thousands of geese were
present any longer. I saw them for the last time in the season, just when they were preparing for the long
migration to their northern homes. It has been an exciting experience!