I track the movements of the mysterious storm bird

“I’ve always felt a connection with the ocean. I completed my PhD, on seabirds’ movement decisions, at the University of Milan in 2022. The following year, I joined the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) at Ozzano dell’Emilia, Italy, as a researcher. In this photograph, taken in 2021, I was on an expedition that forms part of a collaborative project between ISPRA and the University of Milan. Its aim is to track the sea movements of European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus).

My colleagues and I had travelled to the caves on Foradada Island off the northwestern coast of Sardinia, which is a popular nesting site for the birds. It’s hard to get there: you arrive on a small boat, before climbing through the cave in the picture to reach the main chamber. Here, field assistant Danilo Pisu (on the right) and I are fitting petrels with tiny GPS loggers before returning them to their eggs. The birds have a distinctive smell, which everyone describes differently. To me, they have the slightly dusty scent of an old book.

For thousands of years, humans have lived around the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, and because of this it’s heavily polluted. We wanted to find out where the storm petrels range over the sea, and why, so that we could protect them better in this area.

We found that the birds are attracted to parts of the sea where the water churns from currents meeting far below the waves. This creates a phenomenon that brings plankton up to the surface.

Out of all the birds I have studied, these are the most interesting. They have a history of myth and mystery. In nineteenth-century folklore, seafarers believed them to be the spirits of dead sailors, who brought storms to ships. In reality, the birds were seeking shelter near the boats in bad weather. Having a deeper understanding of them makes them even more special.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.