French Riviera the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the Mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the mistral blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the Sahara. (See Winds of Provence.) Rain can be
Sirocco (parrot) thousands of people. Sirocco appeared at Zealandia wildlife sanctuary in October 2011 and at Maungatautari Ecological Island in 2012. In 2015, he visited Zealandia again for another six week residence. As of Sirocco's 20th birthday on 23 March 2017, his whereabouts were unknown to the team of scientists tasked with performing routine health checks. On 7 February 2018, a release from the Department of Conservation announced that Sirocco had been found and fitted with a new transmitter. In 2009, zoologist Mark Carwardine and television presenter Stephen Fry visited Codfish Island as part of a series for the "Last Chance to