Rarity: CommonPied Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
Unmistakable for its thin, upturned bill, which it sweeps through shallow water to filter out small crustaceans and insects. It nests in colonies in lagoons and salt pans.
Italy
Po Delta
Italy's largest wetland: lagoons, reedbeds and fishing valleys where the Po meets the Adriatic. It is one of the richest places for birds in Europe.
15 species
In real life
The Po Delta is where Italy's longest river meets the Adriatic Sea, between the regions of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. Fresh and salt water mix here in lagoons, reed beds, fishing lagoons and salt pans, and every season brings different birds: more than 300 species have been recorded. Flamingos even nest in the Comacchio lagoons. Since 2015 the delta has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
In The Birders you photograph 15 species here, from the pied avocet and the black-winged stilt, often seen in shallow water, to the glossy ibis, the rarest in the park.
- Rarity: Common
Rarity: CommonItalian Sparrow
Passer italiae
Born from a cross between the house sparrow and the Spanish sparrow, it lives in Italy and nearby areas. The male has a chestnut crown and white cheeks.
Rarity: CommonCommon Tern
Sterna hirundo
An agile fisher with a black cap and a red, dark-tipped bill. It plunge-dives for small fish and spends the winter as far away as Africa.
Rarity: CommonBlack-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Relative to its body, its long red legs are among the longest of any bird. It wades through lagoons and rice fields picking up insects and small invertebrates.
Rarity: CommonGull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Its thick black bill looks more like a gull's. Unlike other terns it rarely dives: it hunts insects, lizards and small crabs in flight or on the ground.
Rarity: RareGreat Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
Europe's most widespread woodpecker, black and white with red under the tail. In spring it drums rapidly on tree trunks to mark its territory.
Rarity: RareTawny Owl
Strix aluco
A night hunter with a large round head and dark eyes. Its long, hooting call is the best-known night sound of European woods.
Rarity: RareGreat Egret
Ardea alba
Europe's largest white heron, with a long S-shaped neck. It hunts fish and frogs by standing still in the water, then striking with a quick jab of its bill.
Rarity: RareEuropean Robin
Erithacus rubecula
A small bird with an orange breast that sings even in winter and boldly defends its territory. It often follows gardeners to snatch up worms.
Rarity: EpicPygmy Cormorant
Microcarbo pygmaeus
Europe's smallest cormorant. It swims and dives to fish, then perches with its wings spread out to dry. In Italy it breeds mainly in the wetlands of the northern Adriatic.
Rarity: EpicWhite-tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
One of Europe's largest birds of prey, with a wingspan of almost two and a half metres. It has a white, wedge-shaped tail and feeds on fish and waterbirds.
Rarity: EpicEurasian Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus
A black-and-white bird with a long orange bill that it uses to prise open mussels and other shellfish. It lives on beaches, rocky shores and estuaries.
Rarity: MythicShort-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
An owl with short ear tufts and yellow eyes that is also active by day. It flies low over grasslands and marshes hunting small rodents.
Rarity: MythicNorthern Bald Ibis
Geronticus eremita
A glossy black ibis with a bald red head. It vanished from Europe in the 17th century and is now the focus of reintroduction projects that teach it to migrate to Italy again.
Rarity: LegendaryGlossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
An ibis with dark plumage glossed green and purple that looks black from a distance. It probes the mud of marshes and rice fields with its curved bill in search of invertebrates.
