An egretta garzetta, or little egret, looks for a bite this afternoon, with Murano as a distant backdrop. Hunted extensively in the 19th century for their plumes--used to adorn hats--they became extinct in several regions of Europe. But since coming under the protection of conservation laws in 1950 they have made a comeback and are no longer considered in danger of extinction.
Though the above image was taken near the island of Certosa, they can now be seen in the city of Venice proper--sometimes on Riva degli Schiavoni, for example-- which a native Venetian told me was never the case when she was growing up 30 years ago. Back then you'd have to venture out into the lagoon to see them. But, she says, decreasing numbers of fish in the lagoon at large have forced the egrets to risk coming into closer contact with humans.
Strangely I saw one of these today too. We live on the banks of the Thames estuary and the estuary itself is a haven for many birds. They look so elegant don't they?
ReplyDeleteThey can look as if they're in formal dress, Andrew! At least one of them, however, is rather lacking in manners and has a fondness for relieving him- or herself in great white splats all over the dark blue canvas cover of our little boat. The nearby boats (or their covers) seem to hold no appeal at all for this bird. I know the type of bird it is because it also has left behind its distinctive muddy prints. So: elegant looking by human standards, but not always so elegant acting by the same measure. (And those splats are rather surprisingly hard to get off entirely.)
DeleteWhile cycling on Sant'Erasmo I came across 2 hunters, guns slung over their shoulders, and stopped to ask in halting Italian if it was safe to go on (since I live in an area where wild boar hunting is popular). They looked surprised and told me they were shooting germani". My eyes popping out of my head, I repeated "germani", having visions of them taking potshots at German tourists. It flashed through my mind that, to an Italian hunter, there's not much difference between a German and a Brit.
ReplyDeleteThey quickly replied "Ente" "anatra" so I realised they were shooting ducks (even if I would prefer to see them left in peace). It was only much later that I realised that "Ente" is the German word for duck so they must in fact have taken me for a German.
Anyway I went on to say that I hoped there weren't shooting the white birds I'd been observing further back and they gave me their name " garzelle" and assured me they did not shoot them. A friend later told me cynically that the reason is that their meat is not good to eat. What a pity that all birds don't have inedible meat!
That's a funny account, Rosalind: it sounds like your goose would have been cooked, so to speak, if they were taking aim at Germans, as they seemed to mistake you for one (or, on the other hand, German may have been the only foreign language they knew). but you're right, being not good to eat might be an important trait for the survival of a species--though, until recently, it hadn't helped the "garzette", as they were killed merely for that little panache of theirs.
DeleteMy mistake: that should read "garzette".
ReplyDelete