Mediterranean wilderness on the Aurunci

These mountains are also home to the Raven (Corvus corax) with its deep all-black plumage loud, abrupt voice echoing over the local valleys and barren peaks while flying. Its deep voice is the signal for its partner in the huge nest of thick sticks, grass and heather hidden on the sheer rock face meaning “…it’s fine, I am coming to give you a break, and you can open your wings and have your lunch now”. In fact, few seconds later a black silhouette silently plunges into the void and announces its presence flying high and with loud echoes over the valley replays “…I’m coming and I am hungry”.

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It will then eat the meal the partner has brought somewhere far from the nest while its companion heads towards the nest after patrolling the area for few minutes. When the silence reigns again, the excursionist can enjoy other aspects of Mother Nature and new emotions wait among the insects flying gently from a flower to another in the bushes under the warmness of a vernal sun triggering the air of new scents of wild plants. Large violet carpets of wild sage smell nicely and give colours to these mountains in June-July;

the Mediterranean bush consisting of low evergreen shrubs and abundant herbaceous plants is abundant of wild plants with an intense, nice scent such as the Common Salvia (Salvia officinalis), wild oregano (origanum vulgare), Winter savory (Satureja Montana), Mediterranean Creeping Thyme (Thymus longicaulis) and the Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum).

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The latter is similar to a lavender plant with its beautiful, soft grey leaves. It grows bright yellow clustered flowers in June to September. Common are also the bushes of White Rock Roses with their delicate white corolla, a real feast for the insects. Following one of the mountain pathways among colours, scents and imposing hanging rocky peaks it is quite common to watch colonies of common House Martins (Delichon Urbica) nesting in their natural environment of rocky cliffs.

At the end of April they are still busy building their nests. Today this species lives in close touch with humans by nesting in villages and towns but here in these mountains of Lazio still offers their native natural environment and these colonies are still found here on the Aurunci and on the Simbruini Mountains. During the winter time even in coldest months these rocky gorges have other visitors like the busy Wall creeper (Tichodroma muraria).

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The Wallcreeper is a unique and stunning bird of these gorges and often found high up on the snow line in the springtime. It is elusive and not easy to spot in these vast landscapes, but sometimes visits large, old village buildings in the winter and it looks always busy looking for insects and spiders whiles flying hesitantly, fluttery almost butterfly-like over short distances with its rounded-shaped wings. Its mid-grey plumage with bright red patches gives him a perfect camouflage against rocky backgrounds with flowers.

Higher up on the peaks’ summit the Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) the Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) are also occasional visitors, e especially in periods when the snow whiten the mountains. In many areas of the park different environments alternate and other species change with them. Typical are the ample grassy plateau broken by woods of beech tree. This is where the sight of both mountains and sea blend together to create the unique enchanted Aurunci’s landscape of Mediterranean wilderness in southern Latium.

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