Hunting and Fauna: Salerno, Federcaccia and ATC Salerno 1 together promote a project concerning the study of the migration of the Thrush.
A study to determine the beginning of the pre-nuptial migration of the Thrush, useful not only for establishing the future hunting calendar, but also for understanding the climatic and environmental changes of the territory. It is the innovative ATC Salerno 1 project, financed with funds from the hunters' shares, proposed by Federcaccia Salerno and, tested not only in Campania on the Lattari Mountains, but also in Calabria, Lazio and Puglia. The study will end at the end of March and is curated by researchers from ISPRA, the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research of Bologna, in particular by Sergio Scebba and Michele Soprano belonging to the Inanellamento Limicoli Group (GIL of Naples).
Birds represent excellent tools for monitoring and understanding environmental changes: in the province of Salerno, the project includes a study on the migration of Thrush, a species subjected to strong hunting pressure to the point that it is estimated, in a very approximate way, a culling in Italy of 4-6 million head each year. The beginning of the pre-nuptial migration is set for the second ten days of January, a deadline beyond which, therefore, hunting is no longer allowed. “However, it should be specified - explains the president of Federcaccia Salerno, Luigi Spera - that the indicated period is not in line with the data of the other Mediterranean countries. It is therefore evident the need to collect data as close as possible to reality that will allow us to identify with a good approximation the real start date of the pre-nuptial migration ".
The study consists of a capture and ringing activity: a saddle has been identified on the Lattari Mountains in the municipality of Tramonti at a height of 751 meters above sea level which, due to its geographical position and proximity to the sea, is affected by intense migratory movements. The data collected so far seem to confirm the thesis according to which, at least until the first ten days of February, there is no migratory movement of thrushes. In the coming decades, with the rise in temperatures, a significant increase in catches is expected, due to the passage of birds moving towards the nesting areas, which should indicate the real beginning of spring migration.
"An interesting study, which possibly will also be replicated in the next two years - explains the president of ATC Salerno 1, Guglielmo Storti - and that demonstrates how hunting is increasingly modern and a bulwark for maintaining natural balance". Satisfaction was expressed by the provincial councilor for hunting, Amelia Viterale: "Today the hunting way, through the structures in charge, is giving a strong hand to scientific research, aware of the duty to conserve the species for future generations, with passion and ethics hunting. The fate of everyone, not just hunters, is linked to the knowledge and conservation of the multitude of migratory birds that cross our skies every year ”.
4 February 2013
Hunting Federation