19 February 2022

We have placed camera traps to monitor the presence of rats in Ventotene . Every time, when we download the photos to the computer, it’s a moment when we hold our breath. Clearly the image of a rat is the last thing we want to see. In the meantime, however, you can collect images of the local fauna (like this or this)  and also, sometimes, interesting information. For example, this European woodcock Scolopax rusticola that spent the winter in Ventotene. And often she stopped by to fix her plumage right in front of one of our camera traps. The presence of this species during the winter on the Pontine islands is not so frequent while it is easier to see it during the migration periods. The European woodcock is a migratory species. Usually, it breeds in northern Europe or in central Asia even if some couples sometimes nest also in the eastern Alps.
We put together a short video playing a bit with all the poses that this woodcock has taken in front of our phototrap.