First day of fieldwork in Val Troncea

After months of waiting the time had come: the first day of fieldwork in Val Troncea with my supervisor Dan Chamberlain.

We arrived in Val Troncea around 08.00h in the morning and made our way up to the study area. While climbing up the mountain, we could already hear some Western Bonelli's Warbler, Garden Warbler, Rock Buntings, Whinchats and Tree Pipits singing at lower elevations. Also some Long-tailed Tits have been jumping through the trees and we could spot some signs of the Black Woodpecker – a rare species in this area.

When we finally arrived at the study site, we were surprised by the huge amounts of snow which were still in the area. All Rhododendron and Juniper shrubs have been covered by a thick layer of snow. Nevertheless, birds were singing!

Besides Ring Ouzels, Linnets and Lesser Whitethroats, we could also map our first singing Dunnocks. In total, we counted seven singing individuals and some of them were found in the old territories of last year.

 A Dunnock territory still covered by snow 

Dunnock territory No. 2

A Dunnock singing from it's perch

One of the bird species which we missed was the Water Pipit. We were unable to observe it neither in high nor in low altitudes. Hopefully, I will see it next week, when the field season is officially starting.

Dan and I searching for Dunnocks

A chamoix walking at higher altitudes