By the time you read this story I will have only just returned from a two-week vacation in Sicily. There are many reasons to go to a place like this – cuisine, history, art, culture – but my main interest was adding some bird species to my life list. After watching, studying and spending time with the birds of North America for over 30 years, I was tremendously excited to visit a location where every single bird I saw was something new. Sicily did not disappoint.
The house I was staying in was basically “across the street” from the Vendicari Nature Preserve. My first visit to this area was one of my regular early-morning excursions, but my choice of time was the only regular part about this adventure. I have a feeling that the COVID crisis has caused a cessation of maintenance on nature trails because the “trails” were virtually impossible to find, or follow. At one point I felt super off-the-books as I wandered along a fence line and then beyond that I came upon some 10 foot-tall grasses where a machete would have been useful. However, when I emerged from this ordeal (sweaty, bleeding and more than a little uncertain of what I was doing) I discovered an obvious part of the reserve that was also the spot I was trying to reach.
I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I became a little emotional right then and there. I gazed skyward and uttered a quiet prayer of thanks to Nikonus and Iso for delivering me from the ordeal and it was almost on queue that a response was delivered. Right in front of my, no more than 12 feet away, was a small bird that I had never seen before. Unlike almost every other bird that I had seen up until that point, this individual was completely unbothered by my presence and rather than fleeing it decided to pose for photos.
I’m going to identify this bird simply as a “swamp warbler.” There are 11 species of these birds, but many of them are not found in Sicily. When I tried to go for a better identification of the exact species I quickly discovered why the bird was so mellow. Based on the plumage and a bit of personal experience I am going to say that this was an adult female that had recently spent a great deal of time in a nest where the edges of her tail got mangled up. I am 99% sure that this is a female fan-tailed warbler (Cisticola juncidis), but I am forced to admit that I am guessing.
The habitat I was in seemed to match the habitat of the fan-tail; tall grasses emerging from a saltwater lake that was tidal. I was at the far corner of the lake about a half-mile from the only spot were high and low tides could enter and exit. The water was very shallow and as smooth as glass. The grasses growing up out of the water were completely still, except for when the bird landed on one of the stems. As the bird casually moved among the grasses I was able to get a ventral view and a dorsal view of the plumage. I also like the idea that this little creature had a spider web stuck to her beak, which was visible in the low-angle light of the early morning.
I am not at all familiar with this species in particular, but I am able to put together some of the details of its life. An insectivorous bird, the fan-tailed warbler will eat fruits and grains if they are available. The bird makes a single-use nest out of grasses and a clutch of 4-6 eggs is laid. The eggs are incubated for about 12 days and then the chicks hatch after an additional 12-14 days. This is all very similar to the lifestyles of the wood warblers of North America, but the newness of the species was intoxicating. I could have stood there and watched her all day.
But then came another sound that caused me to look upward and all thought of the fan-tailed warbler evaporated from my mind. There, about 20 feet above me in the clear blue sky, was another bird that I had never seen before. Long tapered wings, a short neck and a long and slender beak were all eye-grabbers, but the real jaw-droppers were the incredibly long, bubble-gum pink legs. It took me 2 seconds to identify the taxonomic group to which this new bird belonged, but I wouldn’t know its identity until I returned home to thumb through my beloved volume of the “Birds of Britain and Europe,” by Roger Tory Peterson, et. al.
But wouldn’t you know it…I’m out of room. So, stay tuned for the grand reveal of this amazing mystery bird in next week’s column. In the meantime you can imagine that I am standing at the edge of a quiet saltwater lake in the early morning hours as the sun is just rising in the east. I am basking in the glow of the favor of the gods who have rewarded me for a perilous journey. Not quite at the same level as Odysseus, but pretty darn close.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 25 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he has just completed his first visit so Sicily. For more information visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or head over to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.