IT075
Ortazzo and Ortazzino


Site description (2000 baseline):

Site location and context
A complex of brackish wetlands, close to the mouths of the rivers Bevano and Ghiaia, along the northern Adriatic coast, 10 km south-east of the town of Ravenna. The site includes the mouths of the rivers and the related coastal area including a stretch of open sea, the natural dune system, small lagoons, a pinewood Pinus, maquis, wet grasslands, mudflats and cultivated land. The main land-use is nature conservation.



Key biodiversity
An important breeding site for several waterbirds, and also notable for its migrating waders and wintering ducks and Fulica atra.



Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Birds are disturbed by tourists, especially along the beach where Haematopus ostralegus, Sterna albifrons and Charadrius alexandrinus might otherwise breed. Rapid changes in water-level, due to lack of water management, lead to the loss of hundreds of nests of terns and waders (`Other' threat). Illegal huts are being built on the beach. Research is carried out by Regione Emilia Romagna on those species and habitats that are listed in the EC Habitats and Birds Directives.



Protected areas
National High International High6 ha of IBA covered by State Nature Reserve (Foce Bevano,6 ha). Part of IBA covered by State Nature Reserve (Pineta di Ravenna, 709 ha). 700 ha of IBA covered by Wildlife Reserve (Ortazzo-Ortazzino, 700 ha). 900 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Park (Delta del Po, 59,118 ha). 900 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Valle Gorino, Bertuzzi, Comacchio, Ortazzo, Baiona, 20,400 ha). 440 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Ortazzo e Ortazzino, 440 ha).




Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ortazzo and Ortazzino (Italy). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ortazzo-and-ortazzino-iba-italy on 24/12/2024.