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Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A complex of heronries on the western Padana plain, isolated from each other and situated mainly inside small broadleaved woodlands surrounded by cultivated land, especially rice-fields. The main land-uses are nature conservation and agriculture. `Water management' is linked to rice-fields.
There are 12 main heronries: Abbazia Acqualunga, Bosco Basso, Carola, Cascina Notizia, Cascina Villarasca, Celpenchio, Porta Chiossa, Rinalda, Roggia Torbida, Sant'Alessandro, Verminesca, and Villa Biscossi. The site holds internationally important numbers of breeding
Nycticorax nycticorax (second-largest breeding colony in Europe) and
Egretta garzetta. The average total number of breeding herons exceeds 20,000 birds.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats are posed by agricultural intensification and by clear-cutting of trees (mainly illegal, by local people) for commercial reasons or to increase the amount of cultivable land. Most of the heronries are protected as Regional Nature Reserves, but some heronries are located inside game reserves, where the habitat management is sometimes not favourable for the nesting herons. Censuses of breeding pairs are regularly carried out by the Università di Pavia on behalf of Regione Lombardia. Every heronry has a management plan, prepared by Regione Lombardia.
National High
International None42 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia del Bosco Basso, 42 ha). 32 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Carola, 32 ha). 76 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Cascina Isola, 76 ha). 75 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Cascina Notizia, 75 ha). 53 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Cascina Villarasca, 53 ha). 37 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Rinalda, 37 ha). 13 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Roggia Torbida, 13 ha). 173 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia della Verminesca, 173 ha). 122 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Acqualunga, 122 ha). 140 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Celpenchio, 140 ha). 83 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Porta Chiossa, 83 ha). 256 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Sant'Alessandro, 256 ha). 72 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Villa Biscossi, 72 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lomellina and Heronries of Pavia province (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lomellina-and-heronries-of-pavia-province-iba-italy on 23/11/2024.
