The end of May is coming and the “ringers” are working 24 hours a day on the island of Ventotene, part of the Pontine Islands. Italy is a natural bridge between Europe and Africa through the Mediterranean, and it is one of the most important geographic areas in Europe for the migration of birds. The island of Ventotene is extremely important for all the migratory species coming from Africa. In fact, the island of Ventotene is the first piece of dry land that the migratory birds find after a flight of more than 500 km without interruption, so placing their body under a big stress. Therefore it’s easy to imagine how much attractive is this island for these birds, as an opportunity of rest and potential feeding. Ventotene is part of the project called “Small Islands”, begun in 1998 and near to be 20 years old. The project has been commissioned by the Wild Fauna National Institute (INFS) and aimed to the census and the ringing of all the species that pass through the island. This reportage shows the job that this people carry out taking care of such project: the monitoring of the catching nets, placed in the highest and most isolate parts of the island, the capture, the census and finally the freedom of the species. The capture happens through very light nets which are placed in the vegetation; they are so thin that become invisible to the birds which, in this way, are captured. The bags are made of cotton in order to let the birds remain calm and isolated from the surrounding atmosphere while they are brought to the ringing station, where a lot of important data are collected. And finally the placing of the metal ring, which has a number and a postal address stamped on it: this gives an “identity” to the migrant bird and it allows to follow all its movements based on successive signallings of the same individual.
