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The site was identified as important in 2002 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	breeding	1996-2001	1-6 breeding pairs	A1, C1, C6
Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris	LC	winter	1999-2001	10-24 individuals	C6
Common Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus	LC	breeding	1999-2001	20-24 breeding pairs	C6
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea	LC	breeding	1995-2001	7-21 breeding pairs	C6
Black Kite Milvus migrans	LC	breeding	1999-2001	15-16 breeding pairs	C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2002) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1984	Palude Brabbia	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	19
1984	Riserva naturale Palude Brabbia	Riserva naturale regionale/provinciale	19
1984	Riserva naturale Lago di Biandronno	Riserva naturale regionale/provinciale	5
1995	Palude Brabbia	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	17
1995	Lago di Biandronno	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	5
2000	Palude Brabbia	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	17
2000	Lago di Varese	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	67
2006	Alnete del Lago di Varese	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	8

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Wetlands (inland)	Standing freshwater, Rivers and streams, Water fringe vegetation, Fens, transition mires and springs	83
Forest	Broadleaved deciduous woodland, Alluvial and very wet forest	10
Artificial/Terrestrial	Highly improved re-seeded landscapes, Arable land, Perennial crops, orchards and groves, Forestry plantations	3
Grassland	Humid grasslands, Mesophile grasslands	2
Shrubland	Scrub	2

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	52
water management	50
nature conservation and research	48
tourism/recreation	30
urban/industrial/transport	5
agriculture	3

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Brabbia peatland, Lake Varese and Lake Biandronno (Italy). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/brabbia-peatland-lake-varese-and-lake-biandronno-iba-italy on 22/11/2024.