Description
This stretch of coastline contains the long, wide Lignano beach, the vast majority of which is part of the tourist resort. A section of the foreshore still includes a number of dunes and areas of pinewoods. More, heavily eroded dunes are present at the mouth of the river Tagliamento. The best preserved areas are to be found at Pineta di Lignano, where damp, low-lying areas are present with saw-sedge, rushes and dunes dotted with black pine, holm oak and steppe vegetation, including Stipa veneta, a local variety of feather grass. There is an interesting range of Mediterranean fauna, such as the Sardinian warbler, co-existing with mountain species, for example the coal tit.
Places of interest
Described by Ernest Hemingway as the Italian Florida, Lignano stands on the eastern side of the Tagliamento estuary and consists of three distinct...
Traditions
In front of the river mouths or lagoon inlets there are some broad sandbars built up from sediment deposited as a result of the decreased speed of...
Lignano used to be known as “Pineda di sinistra” (left-hand pinewood), while Bibione was “Pineda di destra” (right-hand...
Habitats
Upstream of the lagoons, there used to stretch a vast forest of oak, hornbeam, elm and ash trees that took on the current range of flora about...
These form the natural separation between lagoon and sea. Unlike the salt marshes, which are muddy or silty, the barrier islands are sandy and...
At the mouth of the Isonzo and in the lagoon of Marano there are large areas of delta with strips of riparian forest and large reed beds that give...
The coastline that once upon a time (until the 1920s) used to change naturally in response to the rise and fall of the sea level and sedimentation...
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
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...
30-35 cm, sexes similar. Dark above and white lower parts. Aggregates in flocks offshore from spring to autumn; it does not nest here and its...
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...
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...
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...
15.5-18 cm, sexes similar. Beige upperparts with black stripes on the head and chest, white beneath. Present from March to September, it nests along...
15-16 cm, the male with grey head and white throat in the cinerocapilla subspecies, yellow belly, long tail with white outer feathers. During...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
13-14 cm, male with black head and red eye, the female brown with grey head. Present throughout the year, it nests in warm coastal scrubland between...
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 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...
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...
85-97 cm, sexes similar, the adults being black and white and juveniles all black: this is the largest seabird normally observed in the...
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. Plumage light beige with black collar. Present all year round, often associated with human settlements in cities, towns and...
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...
