Description
Following the canal that runs alongside the road to Aquileia, one reaches Belvedere, an interesting agricultural centre between the lagoon and the fields leading to Aquileia. There are several traces of ancient dunes both towards the east, in the area of Centenara, and to the west towards the island of Volperassa and the dune of S. Marco, site of a small cemetery accessible at times marked on a gate along the unmetalled track leading to the electrical substation. The small sandy hillocks are home to strips of pine forest and thermophilic vegetation. The proximity of very different habitats makes the area very rich in birdlife, and in particular in birds of prey, waterfowl and large flocks of wood pigeons.
Places of interest
This is the part closest to the lagoon of the territory of Aquileia. Unlike the surrounding areas, the ground is naturally higher and this fact...
Vegetation
Frequent in the sea at a depth of less than 5 metres and in lagoons, especially where there are fresh water inlets. It colonises tidal flats,...
A tree species common along the rivers and coasts especially on sandy soils. Offering a fine form, it is used to line boulevards and decorate...
Like the white poplar, it is common along rivers and coasts, but is less tied to sandy soils. A hybrid variety is grown in poplar groves for the...
Frequent in many areas even away from water. Together with poplars, it is one of the main species in riparian forests and floodplains.
Frequent in lowland woods where it prefers the wettest locations. Found along rivers and near springs. Quite resistant to salinity, it also grows...
A shrub and small tree, it is resistant to drought and salty soils as mentioned by D’Annunzio in the poem “la pioggia nel...
A halophyte species, it forms populations in salt marshes and in the areas used to trap fish in the presence of moderate salinity. Widespread in...
A halophyte species forming extensive spreads on sandbanks and very noticeable during the summer flowering.
A halophyte species found on sandbanks and on the reclaimed land of Lisert where it covers extensive areas.
Another halophyte species, this is the first terrestrial plant to colonise the highest tidal flats, enduring long submersion.
This North American species has spread widely in floodplains and along the coasts. It is an exotic, infesting species that greatly modifies the...
A North American species common in cultivated areas and along rivers. Used for poles and firewood.
It appears in cultivated woods of pine and has spread widely in natural fashion on the Karst plateau, and is present also in the coastal pine...
Traditions
The lagoon area and surroundings are characterised by zones below mean sea level, which need the use of pumps to drain rainwater from the area...
On the islets, the “mote”, which still bear the ancient names from Grado, the fishermen lived in huts of marsh reeds. Now few live...
Habitats
In the last century, vast areas of the lagoons and surrounding marshes were drained to obtain new agricultural, industrial and urban land. To...
The lagoon system of FVG extends between the mouth of the Isonzo and that of the Tagliamento. Compared to its “big sister”, the...
One of the largest and most vital underwater meadows of the Gulf lies in front of the mouths of the Isonzo. These are plants with ribbon-like...
Birds
85-100 cm, sexes similar. White plumage, yellow beak which becomes black in the breeding season. Present throughout the year, it does not, however,...
84-102 cm, sexes similar. All year round, nesting in colonies in lagoon groves and other wooded areas inland. Nesting has been noted since 1999. Very...
45-52 cm, sexes similar. Present throughout the year. It reproduces in some lagoon groves associated with other species of herons. Nesting has been...
70-90 cm, Sexes similar. Present from late March to September, nesting in colonies in lush reeds in the lagoon of Marano and the restored areas of...
45-55 cm, marked dimorphism, the male is grey with black wing tips, the female brown, and both have a white rump. Present during migration and...
34-38 cm; this is the smallest duck. Mainly a wintering species, some pairs do nest here and concentrations of teal can be observed in freshwater...
19-21 cm, sexes similar. There is a grey variety and a rufous one. It is a small owl with ear tufts and a characteristic and insistent song. Present...
23-28 cm, sexes similar. With well-camouflaged streaked brown plumage, it has a long beak and a characteristic zig-zag flight. Present from July to...
10-11 cm, sexes similar. Yellowish plumage streaked with dark. Characteristic song: zip-zip-zip emitted in flight. It frequents coastal areas with...
37-43 cm, sexes similar, light grey upperparts, white in the lower parts, with a black cap and a tuft on the head, the beak black with light-coloured...
46-56 cm, with characteristic white speculum. Mainly a wintering species, but some pairs nest here. It frequents freshwater wetlands, the mouth of...
140-160 cm, white, grey in juveniles, tubercle at the base of the beak, most evident in males. Present throughout the year, numerous at river mouths...
10-11.5 cm, sexes similar. A small tit with characteristic white patch on the nape. Present all year, it nests in the pinewoods of the Carso and...
23-28 cm, sexes similar, greyish. It is the most frequent nocturnal bird of prey and can be observed in agricultural areas often near the buildings...
51-62 cm, an elegant duck with long neck and, in the male, long central tail feathers. A wintering species, it frequents tidal flats, the restored...
38-43 cm sexes similar, grey with white wing bands. Present throughout the year, it commonly nests in the groves of the lagoon islands and in...
22-32 cm, marked sexual dimorphism: the male is much larger and in May sports a typical nuptial plumage that is brownish with lighter underparts. It...
77-94 cm, sexes similar. Like pelicans and boobies, they have the 4 fingers joined by a membrane to facilitate swimming. The species is present...
33-36 cm, sexes similar. There is a grey variety of cuckoo and a red one. It has pointed wings vaguely reminiscent of a bird of prey but the head is...
15-16 cm, the male with grey head and white throat in the cinerocapilla subspecies, yellow belly, long tail with white outer feathers. During...
43-55 cm, marked dimorphism, with the male more colourful while the female is dark with pale-yellow head and shoulders. Present throughout the year,...
38-45 cm, sexes similar. Uppers grey-brown in juveniles, white underparts barred, pointed wings and fast flight. Present throughout the year, it...
42-50 cm, the male with a characteristic white spot on the wing coverts. A very numerous wintering species from September to March, some individuals...
36-42 cm, sexes similar. Sooty black in colour with white beak and frontal shield. It runs over the water to take flight. Present throughout the...
35-39 cm, sexes similar. In February, it gains the dark brown cap for the breeding season, which it then loses in July-August. Present throughout the...
37-40 cm, sexes similar. Compared to the black-headed gull, the beak is more massive and coral-red, it has a black head – during nesting – and...
52-58 cm, sexes similar. Grey upperparts, white lower parts. Present throughout the year and abundant, nesting in the lagoon, on the roofs of houses...
27-31 cm, sexes similar. Dark with tail in part white and red and yellow beak. Present throughout the year, it nests in freshwater and brackish...
55-65 cm, sexes similar. White plumage with long feathers on the neck and back during the breeding season. Present throughout the year round, nesting...
40-46 cm, sexes similar. It is smaller than the black-headed gull. Present from November to April, numerous in some winters, it frequents the sea,...
50-60 cm. With marked dimorphism, this is the ancestor of the domestic duck. Present throughout the year, it is very adaptable, frequenting both...
31-37 cm, the male with a grey head and tail, rufous upperparts, the female with rufous barred tail. Present throughout the year, it nests in the...
96-119 cm, sexes similar. Grey with black and white head and the tips of the wings black. It flies with outstretched neck, unlike herons which fly...
25-29 cm, sexes similar. A very colourful bird, it has a distinctive flight suited to capturing large insects in flight. It perches on leafless...
29-35 cm sexes similar, dark uppers, with speckled chest and lower parts red. Present from April to October, it nests in the riparian forests along...
45-55 cm, sexes similar. It is present throughout the year and nests in colonies, associating with various species of herons in some groves of the...
17-19 cm, sexes similar. Blue upperparts, red underparts with large, dark beak dark and very short tail, which in flight makes it resemble a...
37-41 cm. The male has a characteristic white stripe from the eye to the nape. A migratory species, it is present from March to September. It...
44-52 cm; the male this a distinctive white chest. Mainly a wintering species, some pairs breed here. It frequents wetlands with low salinity and the...
58-65 cm, sexes similar, the adult black and grey, the juveniles brown. Present from spring to autumn, rare in winter. It nests in colonies...
30-34 cm, sexes similar. Grey above, whitish beneath, slightly upturned and relatively large beak. Present throughout the year, scarce from mid-May...
24-27 cm, sexes similar. Grey-brown uppers, lighter beneath with evident white bar on the wings, darker in breeding season; red beak and legs....
17-21 cm, sexes similar. Characteristic black belly and rufous uppers, grey in winter. It is the most numerous wader during wintering and forms large...
18 to 20.5 cm light brown uppers. white on the lower parts. The wings have a narrow light-coloured bar and are often blocked briefly in flight....
26-29 cm, sexes similar. Grey plumage, black and white on the under parts during the breeding season. Grey in winter with characteristic black...
48-56 cm, sexes similar, plumage varies widely, generally brown with light patches. Present all year round, most numerous even in the largest lagoon...
23-26 cm, sexes similar. Grey under parts, brown stripes on uppers, long, curved beak. Present throughout the year, it is more numerous in winter and...
17-21 cm, sexes similar. Black upperparts, red throat and whitish belly. Present from March to April and from September to October, it nests in rural...
52-58 cm, the male with dark green head and white neck, the female with reddish head. Present during wintering, it is frequent during the spring...
34-37 cm, sexes similar. Light grey upperparts and white underparts, with black cap and red beak. It is the classic tern, frequent from April to...
63-75 cm, sexes similar. In winter the plumage is dark grey above, whitish underneath; the beak is more massive and held flat compared to the...
55-67 cm, sexes similar. In winter, the plumage is grey, and whitish underneath. Present in winter at sea and in the deepest areas of the lagoons....
24-28 cm, sexes similar. Well-camouflaged, recalling a carpet of dead leaves. Of crepuscular and nocturnal habits, it can be observed in flight while...
46-51 cm, sexes similar. Grey upper part, whitish beneath, while in its nuptial plumage it reveals obvious tufts on the head and below the eyes....
28-34 cm, sexes similar. Grey and off-white in winter, in March it has a black neck and a yellow tuft behind a red eye. Present from August to April,...
22-28 cm, the male yellowish and black on the head, back and wings, the female similar but with brownish instead of black. It is the smallest...
69-81 cm, sexes similar. Camouflaged plumage. Present during wintering and migration. It nests here occasionally. Frequents freshwater wetlands with...
29-33 cm, sexes similar. Plumage light beige with black collar. Present all year round, often associated with human settlements in cities, towns and...
23-29 cm, sexes similar, brown in winter, black with rufous cheeks in the breeding season. Present throughout the year, it nests in freshwater...
25-29 cm, sexes similar, orange plumage striped with black, erectile crest on the head, flickering flight. Present from April to September and fairly...
15-16.5 cm, sexes similar. Reddish brown upperparts, and light in underparts. Present from April to September. It nests in coastal and riparian...
13-14 cm, sexes similar. Reddish brown plumage, loud, crackling song, especially when a human intrudes on the territory of a male. Present throughout...
55-65 cm, white in appearance with a dark red beak with tubercle in the male. Present throughout the year, it frequents areas subject to tide and...
