PADULE ORTI-BOTTAGONE REGIONAL NATURE RESERVE

Behind the Sterpaia Coastal Park, near to Piombino, the WWF Orti-Bottagone Oasis is a paradise for pink flamingos and many other animal and plant species. A regional nature reserve of 126 hectares formed by a saline marsh dominated by salicornia plants, the “Orti”, and a freshwater marsh, the “Bottagone”, a thick reed bed interspersed with waterlogged meadows, tamarisk groves and cultivated fields.

The oasis is a fundamental for migratory birds that use the various wetlands, as well as being an important nesting site for rare and very rare species. Alternating in different periods of the year, the are approximately 260 species, including:

• Wintering: teal, widgeon, shoveler, lapwing, shelduck, flamingo, grey heron, great white heron, little egret, bittern, hen harrier, snipe, curlew
• Nesting: bittern, little bittern, marsh harrier, kestrel, osprey, black-winged stilt, lesser grey shrike, moustached warbler, penduline tit, bearded reedling, common redshank, great reed warbler, reed warbler, corn bunting, common stonechat, water rail, little grebe, little ringed plover, Coot and common shelduck
• birds of passage: black-tailed godwit, ruff, ringed plover, dunlin, sandpiper, spoonbill, harrier eagle, osprey, long-eared owl, bee eater, redstart, whinchat, and wagtail. Of all the wonderful inhabitants of the oasis, the most outstanding is the pink flamingo which finds an ideal habitat in the saline ponds of the Orti, thanks to the central position of the reserve on the main migratory routes followed by the species (Tyrrhenian, Sardinia-Corsica, trans-Apennine).

In addition to admiring the magnificent wading bird, visitors can take part in the annual monitoring of rings on “Feni-Day“, when professionals and enthusiasts read the codes on the rings applied to flamingos from birth, in order to reconstruct their migratory movements and thus contribute to their protection.

Two interconnecting Nature Trails leave from the Visitor Centre and can be explored with binoculars and boots during a day’s visit. The first is the Orti Nature Trail (saline water area) along which there are 2 observatories and 1 lookout tower for bird watching activities: flamingos, many species of ducks, waders and herons and osprey, as they fly over the water intent on their prey. The flora comprises short, dense carpets of salicornia, alimione and algae as the primary source of food for many animals. The other, the Bottagone Nature Trail (freshwater area) has a tower for birds that overlooks the large cane thicket (the largest in the Province of Livorno) and ponds and then continues along a walkway on stilts across the wet meadow area and ends at the Ornithological Station.

The WWF Oasis Padule Orti Bottagone participates in the reintroduction project for the Osprey, a protected species that nested on the reserve for the first time in 2019. It is a site of community interest, a special protection area and since 2013 it has been the Ramsar Wetland Conservation area of international importance.

In addition to guided tours by appointment, educational in-depth courses for schools, environmental laboratories, nature fields and special access for photographers and birdwatchers are available. Special day events can be organised and will be published on the Oasis Facebook page.

Sito web
www.wwf.it

E-mail
ortibottagone@wwf.it

Photo © Stefano Benucci