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Birding from El Marsam
"where the birds and birders gather"
Let your birding plans for central Italy take flight from El Marsam.
We wish to thank our friend and birder, Jim Coleman,
for sharing his birding journal and his research with us.
For the visiting birder to Umbria and Tuscany in central Italy, the farmhouse bed-and-breakfast at El Marsam, overlooking the historic town of Umbertide, is an unexpected surprise. The hilltop villa perched among local vineyards and olive groves, yet easily accessible from Rome, Venice, or Florence via modern motorways, is itself a birding destination. The residence of two American expatriates takes its name from the Arabic, “where the artist works.” Yet, it could easily be called “where the birds and birders gather.” At a recent visit to El Marsam, which just happened to coincide with the tale-end of spring migration (2006), my wife and I were thrilled before we even drove through the gate as European bee-eaters swarmed over the nearby vineyards and rested (only briefly) on power lines along the small, one-lane road to our destination. We quickly found many other birds around the farmhouse and in the woods behind.
Our first morning at the Studio, a private guest room attached to the main farmhouse, began at 5 AM, when the nightingale began to sing in the arbor outside our front door. Sunrise at 6 AM brought a host of other songbirds to the morning choir: common blackbird and chaffinch were up and about. The bee-eaters resumed their daily patrols over the vineyards and European serins, collared doves, goldfinches, tree sparrows, and coal tits made themselves known. The seemingly ubiquitous hooded crows, common magpies, common swifts, and common starlings were always around, but did not distract from the overall assemblage. Single morning surprises were European hoopoes and green woodpeckers.
For birders, or more conventional tourists to Italy, El Marsam makes for a much needed and relaxing break after mingling with the crowds and tour buses in the larger cities a half day’s drive away. Umbertide is close to the geographic center of Italy and is near a wide variety of birding habitats ranging from the nearby Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic seashore in the form of coniferous forests, mixed hardwood areas, rural fields, vineyards, and orchards, lakeshore, and urban parks.
Three areas lie within a 50 km circle of Umbertide and an additional seven close to or within the 100-km circle. Detailed maps are essential for efficient navigating to most of these places. Michelin offers an excellent web site for planning any trip to Italy < http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/direct/map/Italy-map>.
The three areas within the 50-k circle are:
Lago Trasimeno
Lago Trasimeno, the site of a famous lakeshore battle between the Carthaginians of Hannibal Barca and the Roman legions of Consul Caius Flaminius, is a short one-hour drive from Umbertide. Several local roads combine to circumnavigate the lake, the largest in south central Italy and the fourth largest in the entire country. Begin your visit in the vicinity of the old battlefield (not preserved), where a small park, beach, marina, and wharf afford access to the lake. This area can be reached by taking the S416 from Umbertide to Tuoro sul Trasimino and continuing on this road (or its extension) south of the main highway and past the railway to a car park. This area is good for great crested grebe, little bittern, moorhen, and various passerines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene
Leave the car park and return to the highway. Proceed to the east (right), taking either the coastal road when available or the E78? exiting for Monte del Lago. Continue on the coastal road to San Feliciano and the car park for the lake boat. Here you can walk along the reed beds and look for warblers such as the reed warbler, great reed warbler, sedge warbler, and moustached warbler. Purple heron, squacco heron, little egret, water rail, and little crake may also be present.
Return to the coastal road and continue clockwise around the lake to Castiglione del Lago located on a small peninsula, which juts out into the lake. Roads within the village and tracks north of the village may provide views of the lake from a variety of perspectives. As with all birding activities, always respect private property and access restrictions and requirements.
Additional information is available from Where to watch birds in Italy by Lega Italiana Protezione Uccelli (1994) (pages 122 - 123).
Lago di Montepulciano
A few km southwest of Castiglione del Lago is a much smaller lake, Lago di Montepulciano.
This lake on the border between Tuscany and Umbria is a nature preserve ) with extensive marshes. It is an important spring stopover for migrants from Africa into Europe, as well as a wintering area for water fowl http://www.parks.it/riserva.lago.montepulciano/Eindex.html
http://sira.arpat.toscana.it/sira/MedWet/MDW_IT51309201.htm http://freeweb.supereva.com/montepulciano.freeweb/index.htm
The Montepulciano oasis is part of a regional nature sanctuary network which provides protected areas for birds to nest, rest during migration, or winter over before flying to northern Europe. The lake attracts gray herons, little egrets, squacco herons and the great white egret. The purple heron, bittern, and little bittern can sometimes be found in the reed thickets along the large margin. The reed beds also host warblers such as the reed warbler, Savi's warbler and the larger great reed warbler, with its frog-like croaks and squeaks. Along the lakeshore, you may find the bearded tit, the penduline tit, Cetti's warbler, the fan-tailed warbler and especially the sedge warbler. Out in the lake, you should see great crested grebes, who are members of a flock of the largest nesting couples of these grebes in all of Tuscany. Winter brings a large number of ducks and other water fowl from northern Europe. Winter also bring birds of prey in the marsh hawk, and several different owls, including the common owl, marsh owl, and fish owl.
The reserve is located a few km east of Montepulciano in the southern part of Val di Chiana. It is managed by Lega Italiana Protezioni Uccelli (LIPU) and is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 9-13 and 15-19. For additional information telephone 0578/767518 and 0347/7296194.
Along the old road between Castel Rigone and Umbertide where it traverses the forest.
An alternative return route to Umbertide leaves the Lago Trasimeno lakeshore and heads towards Trecine and Castel Rigone, a medieval hamlet. Where the road, Via di Pini, cuts through the coniferous forests between Castel Rigone and Umbertide, forest birds can be sought.
Seven areas of interest lie between the 50 and 100-km circles and we are happy to share detailed information with our guests about these areas, with directions from El Marsam, and links to pertinent websites and a list of great reading material for your planned birding excursions. This, as well as the above information has been carefully written and generously shared by avid birder, Jim Coleman.
Copyrighted material - all rights reserved - Jim Coleman/El Marsam B&B
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Copyright © by Ginda Simpson - El Marsam B&B in Umbria - Italy - All rights reserved - |
