Hospitable Romagna? Not for the plovers: zero nests on the beaches for the first time in 12 years

The little waders no longer choose to live and raise a family on the beaches between Ravenna and Riccione. The historic couples have gone away. It's the fault of the increasingly intrusive presence of man (shows on the beach included)

RIMINI – On the beaches of Romagna, great loves no longer blossom between the fratini, the small waders of the Italian beaches. Indeed, there are more and more specimens who choose to move and “settle” elsewhere, perhaps in those beach areas of other regions – for example in the nearby Marche or Veneto – which the Municipalities choose to fence off and prohibit transit for the periods of most sensitive year, dedicated to nesting.

From Rimini and Riccione to the Ravenna coast, for some years it has been possible to see small birds that choose to live on free beaches, in protected areas, but also in bathing establishments. Unfortunately, however, from the spring nesting period to today, early June, the volunteers and ornithologists who constantly follow them are disheartened this year because they have not yet seen pairs at work, much less the hatching of eggs and the birth of young ones. . The reason? Not just bad weather, and the classic predators. The problem for the monks is precisely us humans, too present, too rude, disrespectful of the minimum rules of coexistence (such as keeping their dogs on a leash on marked beaches) and incapable of choosing “sustainable” ways of cleaning the beach.< /p>

IN RIMINI AND RICCIONE, FRATINI NOT REACHED

The volunteers of the group “Let’s save the fratino in Rimini and Riccione” raise a real cry of alarm: “It hasn’t happened for 12 years that we haven’t had any active nests in this period and above all not to have any friars, neither in Rimini nor in Riccione”. The volunteers, to avoid the disappearance of the plover on their beaches, are once again asking for the protection of its habitat – the beaches of the Marano area, in particular in front of the former Bolognese colony, where the Beach Arena with its concerts is held every summer – not allowing large events to be held there, as well as respecting the ban on bringing loose dogs.

A TAGLIATA DI CERVIA ALA AND HIS FAMILY HAVE GONE: THEIR DUNE IS NO LONGER THERE

A year ago the presence of a nest on the beach of Tagliata di Cervia, in the province of Ravenna, had fascinated tourists and beach goers who had become fond of the little family. Today, after a mechanical cleaning of the beach, the sad observation that the dune where the brotherhood community lived no longer exists and that Ala’s family (name given to his mother) has not been sighted since last March.

TheCorriere Romagna reports the opinions of the experts: from the beaches of Rimini and Riccione “the historic and sedentary couples left in mid-summer 2023 – says Roberta Corsi ofAsoer, the ornithological association of Emilia Romagna – in March and April two pairs failed and there were two males left. Last year we lost two chicks on concert evenings To think that for seven years we had 3 couples every year. While for Claudio Mattarozzi, of the Matelda club of Legambiente, Ravenna, there remains the bitterness of “not having tried to make this presence a mascot and an attraction with a coastal project that involved operators, institutions and tourists with targeted cleaning activities. Instead, with mechanical cleaning, the beach becomes like a billiard table without leaving any possibility for the plover to camouflage”.

AMORE OMNIA VINCIT? THE FIRST COUPLE FINALLY SPOTTED IN RIMINI

In the meantime, Fratini enthusiasts are not giving up and continue to monitor the beaches. Just a few days ago, in Rimini, on the beach in front of the former Bolognese colony, the footprints of a pair of plovers, male and female, were spotted. In them lies the hope that the brother here will not become just a memory.