Autunno in Italia

Fall seems to be arriving in Italy.  The change in color as you walk along the Sentiero Rilke high on the cliffs of Duino is subtle.  The change in weather on the other hand is not quite as subtle.  The nights are much cooler now and the days usually start off with clouds or mist reminiscent of the weather in Oregon.  By around noon the sun still often comes out, but rainy days are much more frequent.  The hot, dry summer days that we had when we first moved to Italy are a thing of the past for sure.

The birds have finally just started to migrate past our area as well.  Huge flocks of House Martins and Barn Swallows swarm along the cliffs when there is north wind, waiting for the right moment to head across the Adriatic to winter down in Africa.  Blackcaps, a warbler that looks more like a Catbird, are very common now.  Overall the diversity is still not that great, but every day we still seem to find one or two new species that we've never seen before.  This weekend Kristen finally got to see the European Kingfisher, which is probably my favorite bird so far in Italy.  Nothing like our Belted Kingfisher back in NJ, this Kingfisher glows an iridescent turquoise-blue and buzzes low and fast over the water more like a giant bee than a bird.  Un bello uccello!

Ciao,
Tom