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A Network of European Wetlands |
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| Places to Visit > Birdwatching > Po Delta Park > To know more |
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BIRDWATCHING IN THE PO DELTA
Some two thousand years ago the Po Delta did not exist. It is a relatively young land formation on what was once a large bay on the west of the Adriatic Sea. Only when the three mighty rivers, the Po, Adige and Reno started to deposit their silt at the rivers' mouth did the formation of the modern Delta commence. It is the Po, Italy's longest river, charged with melt waters from the Alps, winding its way south-eastwards across what is now northern Italy, towards the Adriatic, that carries with it vast quantities of rich, fertile silt. This has created, over a period of some two millennium, a huge delta of natural waterways, lagoons, and flood plains.
Upon this scene man has set to work and manufactured, over the centuries, a network of canals and dykes, the resulting drainage producing farmland, rice fields, fishing harbours and holiday resorts.
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The Regional Park of the Po Delta covers an area of some 52,000 hectares and is divided into six "stations". Each station is concerned with a range of features that include landscape, environment, wildlife and heritage. In recent years, birdwatching has become a significant pastime for many visitors to the Delta and steadily the number of facilities have grown. These now include trails, observation towers, birdwatching hides, information centres and a growing number of publications devoted to the birds and other wildlife of the region.
Although a visiting birdwatcher cannot expect to find any species unlikely to be seen elsewhere in Europe, there are several interesting populations of breeding, wintering and migrant birds. |
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| Internationally the Po Delta holds important numbers of breeding Little Terns (the largest concentrations in Europe); the only nesting population of Pygmy Cormorants in western Europe (100 pairs and increasing); and the only European site where the Lesser Crested Tern regularly occurs.At times of migration, the Adriatic coastline acts as a significant guiding line, funnelling migrants from northern Europe southwards on their autumn migration and back northwards in the spring.In recent years birds such as Honey Buzzard have not only appeared with increasing regularity as migrants but are now staying to nest in some of the Delta's woodland areas.In winter months the immense concentrations of waterfowl, often exceeding 55,000 individuals, include several of the scarcer European species such as Ferruginous Duck and Red-crested Pochard; whilst the traditional wintering flock of Greater Flamingos has started to summer and nest in the protected sites available to it. |
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A significant part of the Delta is designated under the International Ramsar Convention on the protection of wetlands, whilst other areas are scheduled as Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Community Importance under the European Union Directives on Birds and Habitats.What makes the area so attractive to a wide range of bird species (over 300 species in the last 50 years, nearly half of which nest within the Delta) is the tremendous variety of habitats to be found within the area.These include historic sand dunes and their classic Mediterranean bush vegetation; well established forests of umbrella shaped Stone Pines; salt works, both abandoned and still in production; flooded deciduous woodlands with dense stands of alders and willows; open lagoons of shallow water with rich aquatic life supporting huge amateur and commercial fisheries; sandy beaches and river mouths, not all developed for the tourist industry and the shallow muddy lagoons and flooded meadows where large numbers of wading birds feed on the dense populations of aquatic invertebrates.
Birdwatching is easy in the Po Delta.There are large numbers of places to stay happy to cater for the visiting birdwatcher, whilst the local cuisine specialises in excellent Italian food and wine.There are many sites where a full day can be spent observing an abundance of wildlife.There are professional guides that can be contacted if needed and there are tourist information offices at many locations that can provide all the information required for a highly successful visit.
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Community Initiative LEADER+ - Section 2 - Action 2.1.2 "Transnational Cooperation" |
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