IT020
River Sesia heronries


Site description (2000 baseline):

Site location and context
The site lies along the Sesia river and its tributaries, on the west Padana plain, north-west of the town of Vercelli. The main land-use is nature conservation. The site was listed in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989) as subsites 1-3 of the IBA `Heronries in the catchment of the upper Po and Sesia Rivers' (former site IT005).



Key biodiversity
The site includes four large mixed heronries: Garzaia di Carisio, Garzaia di Vettignè, Garzaia di Villarboit (Torrente Druma), and Garzaia di Oldenico/Parco Naturale Lame del Sesia.



Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threat is the change from `wet' to `dry' cultivation in the rice-fields around the sites.



Protected areas
National High International None91 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Carisio, 91 ha). 10 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Garzaia di Villarboit, 10 ha). 52 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Reserve (Isolone di Oldenico, 52 ha). 500 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Park (Lame del Sesia, 845 ha).




Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: River Sesia heronries (Italy). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/river-sesia-heronries-iba-italy on 27/12/2024.