Description
The Sant’Andrea feeder channel, known as “Trincea” (trench) by the locals, is an artificial channel that is part of the Litoranea Veneta waterways connecting the S. Andrea and Buso basin with the Lignano lagoon. The shoal adjacent to the channel hosts large numbers of waterfowl, especially the Eurasian curlew. The western end of the channel leads to Ponta de Mezo and the Marano channel, connecting the town with the sea via Porto Lignano, passing through Bocca dei Tre Canali, where the channel leading to the sea intersects with the one continuing west and Marano channel. The area is very popular with both pleasure and fishing boats. The last section of Marano channel has been straightened and entering it one can still see the original course on the right flowing between shoals and what remains of some traditional peasants’ houses. The lusher vegetation and the appearance of tamarisks reveal the presence of ancient embankments.
Traditions
The “cason” huts found in the lagoon have an extremely ancient origin and are still to be found in the lagoons of Grado, Marano and...
Habitats
Areas normally above the water in a lagoon are called barene or salt marshes and are characterised by halophilic vegetation typical of...
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...
The areas regularly submerged by the high tide that are revealed when the sea retreats are called the tidal flats. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, these...
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...
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...
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...
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...
48-57 cm, sexes similar. Brownish with a long curved beak. Present throughout the year but does not nest. Forms flocks during high tide on sandbars...
37-45 cm, sexes similar. Brownish with curved beak, shorter than the curlew, and with characteristic dark streaks on the head. Present during...
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...
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...
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...
17-19.5 cm, sexes similar. The largest of the plovers. It is similar to the smaller plover but more massive with bolder markings and a-coloured wing...
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,...
52- 60 cm, the upperparts dark, white underside, long wings. Present during migration, especially in April-May and August-September. Relatively...
120-145 cm, adults with a typical red-pink plumage while the young are grey. Present throughout the year but with very numbers ranging from a few...
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...
21-25 cm, sexes similar. This is the smallest of the terns, and has a very high rate of wing beats. It fishes with continuous hovering movements...
15-17 cm, the male with a rufous neck and black stripes visible on the top and sides of the chest. The female has the same pattern but in grey....
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...
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...
68-78 cm, sexes similar. It has a short tuft that appears in adults in winter and early spring. Present throughout the year, it becomes rare in...
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...
22-26 cm, sexes similar. Dark grey on the wings and blackish body, with pointed wings. Present from April to September, does not nest. It frequents...
64-78 cm, characteristic black stripes on the abdomen and white front. A wintering species, it forms numerous flocks, sometimes associated with other...
74-84 cm, grey, in flight, the light-coloured wing coverts are obvious. This is the progenitor of the domestic goose. Present throughout the year, it...
51-58 cm, dark plumage, black in the male, with distinctive white speculum. Present during the winter and migration at sea and in the deeper lagoon...
30-34 cm, sexes similar. Grey above, whitish beneath, slightly upturned and relatively large beak. Present throughout the year, scarce from mid-May...
28-31 cm, sexes similar, iridescent black uppers, white under parts with characteristic tuft on the neck and rounded wings. Present throughout the...
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...
18-31 cm, sexes similar. Light grey uppers and white lower parts, the beak shorter than the similar sandpiper. Present from August to May, it does...
18.5-21 cm, dark and mottled with lighter colour on uppers, lighter underneath. Present from March to September, rare in June, does not nest. It...
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....
33-41 cm, sexes similar. Grey brown, with whitish underparts during wintering, red in breeding season. Long and slightly upturned beak. Present...
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...
Bucephala clangula (local names: moro, moreto, quatro oci) 40-48 cm, the male with a black head and characteristic white patch below the eyes....
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....
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,...
29-33 cm, sexes similar, blackish breeding plumage, after which it becomes whitish below and grey on the upperparts, thin beak and orange legs. It...
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...
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...
