Davide Bottacini

I am in Monaco for a meeting on lionfish and I had to visit the local public aquarium. Seeing a live nautilus was a treat! It might be the first in my life.

Predator and prey. A common buzzard showing us her nictitating membrane, a structure that birds of prey use to protect and moisturise their eyes.

From a rice paddy in... Greece! The last place where I was expecting rice paddies...

Unusual friendships at the water surface.

A memory from last year in Santorini, Greece. Not much wildlife over there, but I could entertain myself watching a group of chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) feeding at sunset.

By far, my favourite grouper in the Mediterranean Sea: Mycteroperca rubra. I hadn't seen them in a decent size for a while and the other day we had three checking us out from the blue, as they usually do.

An Eleonora's falcon from my last trip to Crete; a common sighting there in the right season.

A (sleeping) Mediterranean parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense). This species is typical of the warm waters of the southern and eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea but has been expanding its distribution to more northern locations as part of a phenomenon called 'meridionalisation'.

A sea becoming tropical: we are used to seeing more non-native fishes than native ones here in the eastern Mediterranean, but the yellow bar angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus) is a first for me too. Kudos to our students that spotted it first.

A very, very special encounter the other day, one that I was not hoping for anymore...

Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus).

I like diving the most when it gets sciency...

Pretty cool animals, these garganeys! When their head is not underwater looking for food...

The largest magnolia tree in the Netherlands is blooming!

I was looking for ducks the other day, but I found someone else...

Nice! How deep were these pictures taken?

Twig catfish feeling very... twig during a water change.

Fresh back from Athens, where we had interesting discussions on lionfish in the Mediterranean with various experts and stakeholders.

Last night was fermentation night.

A tribute to our only natural satellite.

logo of the 1st Mediterranean lionfish conference in Gournes, Crete, 15.-17.5.2025. It shows a cartoon lionfish looking to the left above text

We are organizing the 1st European Lionfish Conference in Crete 15.-17. May 2025.
Join us! Everybody working on or interested in lionfish is most welcome.
A joint effort of Wageningen University and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research:

www.wur.nl/en/research-...

A Sighting of the Indian Ocean Surgeon Fish Paracanthurus hepatus in Eastern Provence (North-Western Mediterranean Sea) Two Indian Ocean surgeon fish Paracanthurus hepatus individuals were observed near Saint-Raphaël (Provence, France, north-western Mediterranean Sea) in the late summer of 2024 in Posidonia oceanica se...

'Dory' (actually, two Dories...) was found in the Western Mediterranean Sea. A good reminder to never release our pets into the wild, regardless of whether we have them in an aquarium at home or on a super mega yacht of whatever sort...

A lovely surprise from my twig catfish (Farlowella vittata) this morning.

Yes, thanks for reminding me that I don't get a free laptop if I buy a laptop stand... :)

Pseudodax moluccanus, a colourful memory from the Red Sea.

Memories from last spring: a black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) from the Netherlands.

One of the main characters of a session of ibis watching in the Italian countryside. Exotic African sacred ibises (Threskiornis aethiopicus) are getting more and more numerous every year!

Hi! Sure, go ahead! Cheers :)

OK, Bluesky! It's probably time to introduce myself here as well: I am Davide, a fish enthusiast studying the invasion and predation ecology of lionfish at Wageningen University. You’ll see me post about fishes, my life in The Netherlands and other interests of mine...