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Bird Watching

Caption

The Po Delta is characterized by an extraordinary ornithological heritage with over 370 species of aquatic, resident, migratory, and passage birds which can be observed in any corner of the territory.

Via delle Valli Sud [4]
Large lagoons where you can sight thousands of ducks, stilts, and mud-dwelling birds in any season. The stretch from Porto Levante to Po di Maistra is equipped with sighting towers and observation points.

Oasi di Ca' Mello [7]
Managed by Veneto Agricoltura, it is equipped with a sighting tower. The Bearded Tit can be seen in this area.

Valle Canelle [2]
At the crossroads between the SP road of Rosolina Mare and Via delle Valli, on the right, there is a heronry with Purple and Grey Herons. If you go along Via delle Valli - beginning not far from there - in summer you can sight Greater Flamingos.

Po di Maistra [4]
This river, which was the main branch in ancient times, is considered the most spectacular branch of the Po Delta for the richness and variety of the avifauna populating it and for the presence of an extraordinary riparian arboreal heritage.

Censuses of Ducks and Ichthyophagous Birds in the Po Delta

Censuses have been entrusted from the Province of Rovigo and Veneto Agricoltura to Associazione Faunisti Veneti, expert in the field of wildlife research.
Lagoons and branches of the river Po are thoroughly eyed with telescopes and binoculars. About 30 operators are working contemporaneously in different sites. Censuses regard ducks and cormorants, herons and mud-dwelling birds, seagulls and birds of prey. That is, all the multicolored and squawking world of birds of our wetlands. Moreover, the most important areas are monitored also with the use of boats. In some cases, the areas have also been overflown with a small aircraft, thanks to the collaboration with the Provincial Police and Ente produttori di selvaggina (Authority of Game Producers).
The quantity of species and individuals recorded in the Delta of Veneto is striking. In winter there are over 130,000 birds, most of which is also represented by species of interest for hunters. Among these, the Wigeon must be mentioned. There are also particularly rare species or species which are considered original by scientific literature. For instance, the Flamingo, the Spoonbill, the Avocet, or the Bittern and the Ferruginous Duck.
This huge quantity of birds has been attracted by the complexity and beauty of the Delta, a natural theater offering diversified environments and great nourishment opportunities. Of course, lagoons play the most important role in attracting aquatic birds. However, a large number of ducks also populate the Po flood plains and the coast in front of the sandbars.

Since February there has been an ongoing monitoring of the nesting herons colonies (heronries) in the area of the Po Delta. This census belongs to a broader project of the Park Authority, entrusted to Associazione Sagittaria (www.associazionesagittaria.it), aiming at gathering information on these important species. In these weeks, we are carrying out the census of the hundreds of couples of grey and purple herons, little egrets, night herons, etc. in the 9 heronries of the Delta, mainly situated in the forests along the river Po and in canebrakes.
For the first time, two new nesting species have been observed in Po di Mastra heronry, that is Pygmy Cormorant and Spoonbill, thanks to two local ornithologists (Emiliano Verza and Danilo Trombin). They noticed the birds during the monitoring activities dedicated to the heron colonies.

With 2008, the surveys for the New Atlas of the Nesting Birds in the Po Delta come to an end: this project has been carried out together with two research associations, Sagittaria and Faunisti Veneti. This atlas, that will be probably published in 2009, aims at updating the knowledge regarding the avifauna in the Po Delta, previously studied in the Atlas published in 2003.
The ornithological panorama characterizing our territory is dynamic and surprising. New species have colonized the territory during the last decade: among them, the Peregrine - today with two nesting couples - the Collared Pratincole, a very rare bird, and the Spanish sparrow, a characteristic species of Southern Italy; other species are characterized by a steady or increasing population, like the Bee-Eater, while others are disappearing as nesting species (Chaffinch, Sand Martin, and Bearded Reedling).

Latest sights May 2008

• Danilo Trombin discovers a NEW COLONY OF NESTING PYGMY CORMORANTS: with a few dozens of couples, especially in Valle Morosina, along the river Adige, together with many herons
• STERNIDAE: 100 couples of GULL-BILLED TERN many couples of LITTLE TERN in Valle Sacchetta
• a CRANE in the inner lagoons of Porto Viro, what is it doing here at the end of May? Also a GLOSSY IBIS
• MUD-DWELLING BIRDS: as usual, several territorial REDSHANKS, a BLACK-TAILED GODWIT, groups of GREY PLOVERS and DUNLINS
• two GREAT EGRETS with black beak
• Hundreds of FLAMINGOS in the same place in Valle Pozzatini
• Valle Pozzatini: a MEDITERRANEAN GULL, with less couples than the previous year; finally, the SANDWICH TERNS, with about a dozen couples, have come back to nest in the area

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

http://www.birdlife.org.uk/
http://www.ebnitalia.it/
http://www.lipu.it
http://www.guidebirdwatching.blog.tiscali.it