Raptor Migration - Strait of Messina

We are very excited to see the Spring migration from Africa. We will observe from the northern mountains on the west side of the Strait.

Strait of Messina channel: c.20 mi (32 km) long and from 2 to 10 mi (3.2-16 km) wide, separating the Italian peninsula from Sicily and connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Reggio di Calabria, in SW Italy, and Messina, in NE Sicily, are the main ports. A ferry crosses the dangerous waters of the strait from Messina to Villa San Giovanni. The currents, whirlpools, and winds of the strait, which still hamper navigation, gave rise in ancient times to many legends about its dangers to navigators.

According to one legend Circe, jealous of the sea god Glaucus' love for Scylla, changed her from a beautiful nymph into a horrible doglike creature with six heads and twelve feet; according to another, Amphitrite, jealous of Poseidon's love for her, transformed her into the ugly monster. Scylla lived on the rocks on the Italian side of the Strait of Messina, where she seized sailors from passing ships and devoured them. On the other side of the strait was the whirlpool Charybdis. Odysseus in his wanderings passed between them, as did Jason and the Argonauts.