Torri del Benaco - Lake Garda 2^nd – 14^th May 2009

by Bob Shiret

Introduction

My wife is a non birder so our holidays tend to be sightseeing/walking type holidays. This year we chose Torri del Benaco (Torri) on the shores of Lake Garda and I took along camera/binoculars in case there was anything to see. As you will see in the report the wildlife in the area vastly exceeded our expectations to the extent that I would view Torri as one of the premier places in Europe for a varied holiday combining sightseeing/walking/nature. The holiday was booked through Inghams lakes and Mountains and we stayed at the Al Castello, a small family run hotel with excellent home cooked Italian food, good service and accommodation. Interestingly after a few days we realised we were the only people in the hotel who were first time visitors, which probably says more than any kind words of mine. Please note that all photographs are copyright protected so please ask before using.

The Place

Torri is a small resort about half way up Lake Garda flanked by Olive groves and protected woods. It is very “Italian” and not overtly geared to tourism. A regular car/passenger ferry service operates to the other side of the lake and a reliable bus service provides a service to the eastern lakeside towns.

Torri Castle and harbour

Birdlife Lakeside Environs

The usual Swifts, Swallows and House Martins were everywhere, Great Reed Warblers and Reed Warblers were around the small reedbeds between Garda and Bardolino. Two Purple Herons were seen in the air at Riva along with four probable Golden Eagles at high level drifting over the mountains.

Great Reed Warbler                                                                       Purple Heron

Black Kite were seen on two occasions from our excursion coach on the Western side of the lake near Limone. Interestingly Red Crested Pochards were common plus one Tufted Duck sighted, according to my field guide these ducks do not occur here!

Red Crested Pochard 

Alpine Chough can be found at the top of the cable car ride at Malcesine, be warned it is very cold up there! One Hoopoe was seen in a Sirmione Park.

Birdlife in Olive Groves / Woods around Torri

Probably the best way to explain the overall impression of this unspoilt area is that this is how I imagine an English wood would have sounded fifty years ago! Nightingales were very common as were Cuckoos, Turtle Doves were heard regularly and Redstart were common.

Redstart 

On one occasion when we found Golden Oriole I was both exhilarated at hearing so many different birds but frustrated at not knowing what all of them were. Serins were common as were Whitethroats. Nutcracker, Green and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker plus Wryneck were identified, along with other Woodpeckers that weren’t!

Serin                                              Whitethroat

Spotted Flycatchers were common and a Collared Flycatcher was seen.

Spotted Flycatcher

 Black Kite, Buzzard and Goshawk were seen along with two Kestrels. A Black Redstart was seen in the town and a White Wagtail was photographed from our balcony.

Black Kite  (distant record pic)                                                          White Wagtail

Warblers :- positively identified were Garden, Orphean, Willow, Wood, Grasshopper along with Chiffchaff and Goldcrest. However there were three more warblers heard, one quite common that as yet remain unidentified (by me!).

Butterflies

On our walks we found many different types of butterflies pictured below, also seen were Red Admiral and Orange Tip which were both common. Thanks to Robin Griffith for help with identification.

                            .     

                         Speckled Yellow Moth                                                                Green Hairstreak                   

Meadow Brown                                                                          Speckled Wood

Grizzled Skipper                                                                     Chequered Blue   

              

                            Painted Lady                                                                   Common Blue                    

         

                Black-veined White                                                                     Large Wall Brown              

       

 Wall Brown                                                                                 Comma

  

Southern White Admiral                                                             Scarce Swallowtail

Other Wildlife

Green Lizards are common and Pine Martins live in the woods, although we did not see any. As a fisherman myself I had to include the picture of this 20lb Carp from a bridge in Peschiera.

Walking

The walks in the woods/olive groves are of the easy/moderate variety and the views of the lake and surrounding mountains are really beautiful. Our Inghams rep had a Torri walking guide, the tourist office by the harbour also has them. It was a fifteen minute walk from our hotel to olive groves/woods. Walks can also be extended by catching a bus to Garda/Bardolino and walking back to Torri from there. Around Lake Garda, further north at Limone/Malcesine it is more mountainous and the walking is more suited to mountain hikers. Lower down past Bardolino the terrain flattens out and more urbanization occurs.

Views from Torri walks

Sightseeing

Lake Garda itself is a very beautiful place to explore independently by bus or ferry. Venice, Verona and the Dolomites are all within reasonable distance and we went on three trips with Inghams that were reasonable value with their “half price” card.

Island on Lake Garda

Costs

Two weeks half board plus flights/ transfers cost under £600 each. A decent bottle of wine costs £9 in the hotel and a beer £2.50. Buses are cheap, cable car at Malcesine is not at £18, probably worth it though!

Travel Tips / Summary

This is a holiday the whole family can enjoy, perhaps not young children. The temperature during our stay was 65/70°f with little rain, which suited us fine. Light walking shoes at least required on some rock strewn paths. For keen birders brush up on birdsong before travelling!