Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A lowland wooded area on the west Padana plain, with small freshwater wetlands and cultivated areas, along the valley of the Ticino river, a tributary of the River Po. The main land-uses are agriculture, nature conservation and recreational activities.
There are three main heronries: Cascina Portalupa, La Zelata and San Massimo, all of which were listed in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989) as subsites 3-5 of the former site IT023, `Heronries close to Pavia and the catchment of the Fiume Ticino'. Counts for
Nycticorax nycticorax and
Egretta garzetta refer to the period 1990-1995.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are from agricultural intensification, industrialization and urbanization. All of the site is covered by a management plan. At Parco del Ticino, a project to reintroduce Eurasian otter
Lutra lutra, roe deer
Capreolus capreolus and European pond turtle
Emys orbicularis (globally near-threatened) is ongoing, and there are censuses of wintering ducks and
Phalacrocorax carbo, and of breeding herons.
National High
International NonePart of IBA covered by Regional Nature Park (Valle del Ticino (Lombardia), 90,640 ha). 6,136 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Park (Valle del Ticino (Piemonte), 6,136 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ticino river (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ticino-river-iba-italy on 23/12/2024.
