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Italy: birds and art in Tuscany Sunday 16 May to Thursday 27 May 2010 with Rick Wright and Marco Valtariani
Cost: £3250 plus about £130 for flights Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown Maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders. 2 leaders will join this tour regardless of group size |
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Tuscany, the heart of the ancient kingdom of Etruria, is as rich in culture as it is in birds. Famous artistic centres such as Florence and Siena perch in a landscape dotted with medieval villages, while a fine network of archaeological parks provides excellent birding amid ancient ruins. With only two hotel changes, our springtime tour of this sun-soaked region combines visits to some of the greatest artistic treasures of Europe with relaxed excursions in search of a surprising array of breeding birds and migrants. We’ll also have the opportunity to visit some of Italy’s finest vineyards for a wine-tasting session or two. With the exception of Day 7, when we transfer from our hotel in Albinia to Siena and Florence, all of our scheduled group activities leave individual participants the possibility of taking a morning or a day off to simply enjoy the bright skies, warm air, and easy-going lifestyle of Tuscany. Day 1: The tour begins with an evening flight to Rome. Night in Rome. Day 2: After assembling at 10:00 am, we’ll drive about 30 miles north along the ancient Aurelian Road to Cerveteri. The roads through this impressive Etruscan necropolis are lined with hundreds of monumental tombs, some of them 100 feet across, dating from the 8th to the 3rd century BC. Particularly notable here are the painted tombs, among them the famous Tomba di Rilievi, the walls and pillars of which are painted with scenes of everyday Etruscan life from 2,500 years ago; some of the birds depicted in the murals can still be seen today at this wonderfully peaceful UNESCO World Heritage Site. If time permits, we’ll visit the archaeological museum in Cerveteri which houses many important Etruscan objects in the 16th century Palazzo Ruspoli (ancestral home of the Ruspoli of turaco fame). We’ll then set out on the 60-mile drive to the jewel-like Argento Coast, where our modern and comfortable hotel perches within sight of the glistening green Argentario Promontory. Night in Albinia. Day 3: After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll spend the entire day birding the Orbetello region. This is one of the most productive stretches of coast anywhere on Italy’s Mediterranean shore, and we can expect to find a wide range of coastal species and seabirds. Only about five miles from our lodgings, the open lands surrounding Orbetello Lagoon support good populations of many typical Mediterranean species, including Little Tern, European Roller, and European Bee-eater. The shallow enclosed bay itself provides roosting and nesting sites for Greater Flamingo, several heron species, and numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds. Montagu’s Harrier and Great Spotted Cuckoo are rare but regular in the area. A substantial causeway divides the lagoon into two parts, and leads to the Argentario Promontory. The cliffs, oak groves, and Mediterranean scrub of this prominent landmark offer breeding sites to Sardinian and Western Bonelli’s Warblers; Lesser Kestrel and Short-toed Eagle are both possible, and we’ll keep a sharp eye out for the handsome Audouin’s Gull offshore. Night in Albinia. Day 4: Salt was harvested for millennia from the saline flats of Tarquinia. By the late 20th century, that industry was no longer economical, and in 1980 the evaporation basins were dedicated to the conservation of the plants, birds, and mammals of what is now the Saline di Tarquinia Natural Reserve. The spectacular highlight here is the concentration of Greater Flamingos while other long-legged waders may include Eurasian Spoonbill and Squacco Heron. Mudflats attract Mediterranean Gulls and a host of migrant shorebirds, occasionally including Marsh Sandpiper and Temminck’s Stint. After lunch, we’ll visit the fascinating ruins of Vulci. A thriving Etruscan city-state in the sixth century BC, Vulci was conquered 400 years later by the Romans, who were eager to take advantage of the city’s strategic position on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Fiora River flows through this area and a good variety of birds inhabits the reedbeds and fields here, but the hoped-for prize is a glimpse of one of the very shy resident Otters. Night in Albinia. Day 5: Today will be devoted to a relaxing exploration of the romantic Tuscan countryside. We’ll do some casual birding along the road and visit the medieval villages for which this landscape is so justly famous, and punctuate the day with a leisurely lunch. We’ll also be certain to take in a wine tasting or two at some of the area’s renowned vineyards. Night in Albinia. Day 6: Just outside of Albinia, Maremma Regional Park preserves a dazzling range of habitats, from 100 miles of unspoiled coastline to the Uccellina Mountains and the fields, Mediterranean scrub, rocky slopes, pine woods, marshes, and sandy dunes attract an equally impressive diversity of birds. Though our leisurely walk will merely scratch the surface of this splendid park — recognized by the Italian League for the Protection of Birds as one of the country’s top ten birding localities — we’ll hope to encounter such species as Common Buzzard, Short-toed Eagle, Common Kestrel, European Turtle-Dove, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Subalpine Warbler, Corn Bunting, Greenfinch, and Serin. The marshes at the mouth of the Ombrone shelter Purple Heron, Pied Avocet, and Cetti’s Warbler, while spring wader migrants can include Marsh and Curlew Sandpipers and Temminck’s Stint. After lunch, we’ll move a few miles north to Diaccia-Botrona Natural Reserve. These extensive wetlands, protected under the Ramsar Convention, can be a good site for Eurasian Spoonbill, Squacco Heron, Little Grebe, Western Marsh Harrier, and Water Rail. Night in Albinia. Day 7: We’ll drive a quarter of an hour from Albinia to Porto San Stefano, where we’ll board the ferry to Giglio Island, which glistens in the Mediterranean a scant ten miles off the Argentario Promontory. The seascape itself will capture our attention during the one-hour ride, but there will be birds to see as well and we’ll look especially for Shag, Great Cormorant, Scopoli’s and Levantine Shearwaters, Audouin’s Gull, and Caspian Tern on our crossing. The mountainous island’s dozen miles of smooth granite cliffs are cut by bays, coves, and sandy beaches, and the landscape bursts into riotous colour every spring when its more than 700 species of plants bloom. The island’s tiny port city was first occupied by the Romans, who left behind a first-century villa. A remarkably well-preserved 12th-century castle perches nearly 2,000 feet above the sea. We’ll take advantage of the island’s extensive system of gentle paths as we explore the culture and the nature of this southernmost member of the Tuscan Archipelago. This will be our final night in Albinia. Day 8: We’ll drive north this morning to Siena, Florence’s great historic rival. The Piazza del Campo, perhaps the finest surviving medieval square in all of Europe, is dominated by the massive Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, which houses a rich store of Gothic art and ornament, first among many equals the famous 14th-century pulpit by Nicola Pisano. After lunch we’ll continue to Florence, the city that more than any other created the Italian Renaissance. We’ll spend the afternoon exploring Florence and its artistic treasures, visiting the magnificent Uffizi Gallery, where every turn brings us to paintings and sculptures that are iconic in western culture. Night in Florence. Day 9: In a real sense, all of Florence is a museum, filled with world-famous works of art. We’ll spend the entire day here today, visiting the cathedral, the baptistery, and Giotto’s belltower, and perhaps a selection of the city’s elegant Renaissance palaces. We’ll also hope for a walk in the beautiful (and often bird-filled) Boboli Gardens. Night in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. Day 10: Castelnuovo lies at the heart of the lush Garfagnana region, nestled between the high Appenines and the Apuan Alps. The mountains of northern Italy remain surprisingly wild, though we’ll be fortunate indeed to glimpse a Wolf (Brown Bear no longer occurs in this area). Among our more realistic hopes today in the Appenines are such high-elevation and forest species as Golden Eagle, Alpine Chough, Firecrest, Serin, and Common Crossbill. Woodpeckers are notably diverse here, with good chances to see all three of the 'spotted' species and Green Woodpecker. Though we’ll be on foot for much of the day, the trails will be easy and our pace slow as we relish the forested landscapes and their birds. Night in Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Day 11: The massive Apuan Alps are famous for their deep canyons, steep slopes, and striking marble, quarried since antiquity. Rising to over 6,000 feet, these dramatic peaks hold such desirable (and often elusive) high-altitude species as Alpine Accentor, Wallcreeper, and Red-billed Chough. Alpine Chough, Alpine Swift, Crag Martin, Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, or Tawny Pipit are more likely in the mountains’ highest reaches, while mixed forests and open pastures can produce Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Woodlark, Ring Ouzel, Golden Oriole, or Hawfinch. We’ll enjoy a festive farewell dinner on this our last night in Castelnuovo Garfagnana. Day 12: This morning we'll drive to Pisa to connect with an onward flight home. The ground arrangements for this tour are organised by our American associates WINGS.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated August 2009.
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