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The visiting path in Punte Alberete is a pedestrian ring-route of about 2 km, starting from the car park on the SS 309 Romea road, near the Fossatone canal. In its first stretch, it crosses a primitive flooded wood of Ashes and Willows; then it continues along the most open part of the marsh, among reed-beds and wet meadows, up to an area equipped with shields and a bird-watching hut.
Here it is possible to observe many extraordinary species nesting in the marsh. Night herons and Squacco herons fly off the Willows, while Purple herons take wing from the thick reed beds; the open parts of the marsh are peopled by Ferruginous ducks and Red-crested Pochards, protagonists of fantastic courtship flights in spring. In front of the hut it is common to observe Pygmy Cormorants and Glossy Ibises looking for food in the clear waters. At the end of the route, it is possible to go a little further northwards to reach Valle Mandriole, a lagoon equipped with a tall panoramic tower which dominates the big heron site situated among the reeds and white poplars.
San Vitale Pinewood and Pialassa della Baiona
The visiting route, starting from Ca’ Vecia inside the San Vitale pinewood, follows a pedestrian path about 4 km long. In its first stretch it goes through the pinewood, suddenly opening to the beautiful Pirottolo low land, a tongue of water and reed beds creeping among Stone Pines. Beyond it, the wood becomes more and more thermophilous as it approaches the Pialassa della Baiona lagoon. A bank crosses the lagoon and skirts Chiaro del Comune, a brackish pond which represents a halting place for many passing birds and a nesting site for Shelducks, Red-crested Pochards and Gadwalls; many other birds regularly get to this site looking for food, such as Pygmy Cormorants, Glossy Ibises and Spoonbills.
On the opposite side, in the Polalonga lagoon, Mediterranean and Slender-billed Gulls, Common and Little Terns, and Gull-billed Terns nest on special artificial hills. The return route crosses another peculiar brackish wetland, known as buca del Cavedone, which creeps into the pinewood linking the Pirottolo low land to the Pialassa della Baiona lagoon.
Map of the Birdwatching Path
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