Birdwatching in the Po Delta Park
It’s not just coincidence that the International Birdwatching fair has for some years been held in the River Po Delta Park…
Its patrons are the more than 300 species of birds present throughout the park territory. These numbers maks the Po Delta, together with its services and hospitality, the European capital of birdwatching.
To name just a few of the most important species: the Great Crested Grebe and the Little Grebe, the Slender Billed Gull, the Mediterranean gull and the Sandwich Tern, amongst the Anatidae the Shoveler, the Gadwall, the Greater Scaup and the Shelduck; the Black Winged Stilt and the very rare Collared Pratincole amongst the wading birds; lots of winter birds like the Coot, the Mallard and the Common Pochard. Equally as numerous are the Barrow’s Goldeneye, the Red Crested Pochard, the Glossy Ibis and the Common Spoonbill.
The birds of prey include the Marsh Harrier and the Hen Harrier. There is a good collection of birds from the Ardeidae family including the Greater White Heron, Grey Heron, Little egret, Purple Heron,Great Bittern and Little Bittern and from the Limicola family such as Plovers,Avocets, Ruffs, Snipes, Curlews, Godwits, Redshanks and Sandpipers. The wetland waters are full of fish so there are also Cormorants.
But the true stars of the birdwatching world are the pink flamingoes of which 400 can be found at the Salina di Comacchio, the old saltworks.
