A few steps from one of the largest industrial centers in Italy stands a place where nature has remained uncontaminated. Ideal habitat for thousands of birds who choose this place to nest and spend most of the year there. In Sicily near the triangle of Priolo, Augusta and Melilli, in the province of Syracuse, it rises la reserve "Saline di Priolo", established by the Sicilian Region in 2000 and managed by Lipu. A place so beautiful and lonely that this year it has been chosen from beyond eight hundred pairs of flamingos for nesting. This place is considered the only nesting site in Sicily for this species. Let's find out more about the reserve and this fascinating phenomenon. And above all, you can visit it if you want.
The Saline di Priolo reserve in a site full of industries
It certainly makes no small impression to think that the reserve Saline di Priolo is located in an area of eastern Sicily well known for its industrial center. Here in fact over the years the local economy has grown thanks to the companies that have chosen this triangle for oil refining. In fact, before the installation of the industrial pole, the salt pan and the coastal dune habitat extended for several kilometers. Places so beautiful as to be praised by Virgil, Ovid, Thucydides. Today the reserve is located in a large wetland area. In the area, 216 species of birds are registered, about 40% of all those observed to date in Italy. The reserve Saline di Priolo was established precisely for the safeguarding and maintenance of the faunal wealth of the area. A paradise of biodiversity, therefore, to be protected.
Eight hundred pairs of flamingos have chosen the Saline di Priolo reserve
What happened this year is unbelievable. As the site managers explained, 2020 was a record season. In fact, compared to 2019, the number of couples at saline di Priolo this year has doubled, going from 453 in 2019 to 809 this year. To favor this phenomenon undoubtedly the tranquility and silence of the period of lockdown caused by the health emergency. "Once again - explained Fabio Cilea, director of the Priolo Saline Nature Reserve - nature has recognized the important work done by Lipu in Saline di Priolo. Proving that what it needs is the right peace of mind and so, when this occurs, it repays us with truly exceptional events.". Forty-seven pairs have nested in the artificial islands, most of them built their nests on natural banks. On April 17 the observation of the first hatched eggs, on May 9 the first chicks.
In 2019 the reserve hit by a devastating fire
The nesting of flamingos restores hope to a site hit by a major fire last year. The rebirth of the Saline di Priolo reserve took place thanks to the resources invested by some of the companies in the industrial center and with the collaboration of the Administration of the Municipality of Priolo.
What species of birds can be admired in the reserve
Among the many activities that the managing body the Lipu promotes there is undoubtedly that of bird watching, the possibility of being able to see the bird species in the area with special initiatives and above all respecting their habitat. Numerous also the workshops and educational activities promoted, such as guided excursions, environmental education initiatives for schools, surveillance, research, censuses and monitoring of the fauna and flora of the reserve. There are also educational information boards and a naturalistic library. Among the species that have chosen the reserve are the Greater tern, ducks such as the Ferruginous Duck, the Shelduck and the Shoveler. And then flocks of several thousand waders, hundreds of ardeidae, thousands of terns, and numerous other species.
