23 June 2017

June marks the beginning of the brooding period of Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), one of the target species of Life PonDerat. In this month, we carried out a survey to detect active nests in Palmarola, where the main colony was located in 2016, and in Ponza. Our findings are encouraging: in Palmarola we found at least 15 active nests with brooding animals and numerous other cavities hoped to be occupied in the future after the eradication of black rats. In the colony of Ponza 30 nests were occupied by brooding individuals. It is now necessary to wait until the month of September, just before the new-born fledging period, when new surveys will allow us to determine how many couples have succeeded in completing reproduction. Reproductive success of this species is in fact one of the most important indicators to monitor the effects of the black rat eradication.