Shot of the month
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Easter weekend marked the rain has spoiled our party two days in the park of the Po delta Despite the inclement weather, the charming valleys of Comacchio and the Po di Goro branch have accompanied us during our exit photographs. Trent started out Friday evening, we went to Ferrara, where we paid a quick visit to the town at night strolling among the features of the old city streets. The next morning we moved early to the Comacchio valleys to start our weekend of birdwatching. Fortunately, the gray sky began to unload large amounts of rain by late afternoon giving us only a day's journey on the margins of the shallow waters of the delta. Again at night we visited the town of Comacchio to head north and then to the abbey Pomposa, our first destination the next day. A morning Gorino now we have reached the last village on the banks of the Po di Goro. Hence we have taken the last weekend of hiking we got evocative landscapes and intriguing encounters.
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Since some years I promised to go down to the Emilia-Romagna to visit one of the largest wetlands of Italy. Taking advantage of the Easter break with her friend Veronica we loaded cameras and objectives in the car and we are on the A22 towards Ferrara. Weather forecasts were implacable: two days of rain would not give us the warmth of spring sunshine! There are still discouraging facts and rain-proof jacket with a backpack when we arrived in Ferrara now darkness had fallen. The center, surrounded by 9 km of walls, is one of the best preserved examples of medieval and for that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. Two steps from the Estense Castle, the Cathedral of St. George, the Palazzo della Ragione and other buildings have made us appreciate the beauty of the city of bicycles. A library open on Saturday evening, however, has traced the main theme of our trip: on the shelves we found a nice guide to birdwatching that we missed. The next day started early and shortly after dawn (hidden by a thick layer of clouds), we arrived near Comacchio, the fishing station Foce . Hence we have taken the route that leads to salt. The pink color of the sky was the backdrop to endless parade of birds. If someone asked me a place where biodiversity is still tangible and evident, definitely choose this!
Early sightings started just past the Museum of Comacchio valleys: egrets gulls coral terns and herons were visible in front of us. Our march to the salt flats was slow and often interrupted by new sightings. Flocks of pygmy cormorant and ducks (mallards and sheldrake) we went over the head with holding on the nose. Reached after two hours with saline, our attention was captured by the frantic flight of swallows some while little more than a couple of knight of Italy in the bottom scraped search of food. The main attraction of the day were, however the flamingos : Here lies the greatest Italian colony and we were able to admire many waters before us. On the way back, during a stakeout to photograph some egrets, a pheasant disturbed by our presence, took off from his hiding among the tall grass a few yards from us, making us all jump 'back with fright. We returned the car about noon, making for a while accompanied by a snipe at all afraid, and be refreshed after we moved south, in S. Albert. Hence we started walking towards Volta Scirocco but just beyond the turnoff for the strip of land Boscoforte , the rain began to fall and abundant advised us a strategic retreat to the car. With this we closed the ring around the Comacchio valleys through the valley and returning Zavalea now in the town when the darkness had come. Hot chocolate and a few clicks of Trepponti, the bridge of the police and channels dominated by colored houses and we are again moving northward.
The next morning the first stage, under a torrential rain still is Pomposa Abbey, an ancient Benedictine stronghold: the frescoed walls and wood ceiling makes the interior very attractive and pleasant. When we leave the church, the rain persists, but reduced its intensity and optimistic we move towards Mesola to turn again towards the sea and arrive at Goro. Time uncertain we recommend a stop for breakfast and when we leave the room we can afford not to open multiple umbrella. Once in Gorino leave the car in a parking lot and inziamo path which will lead us in a couple of hours towards the Gorino Lighthouse at the mouth of the Po di Goro. The walk is very interesting despite the mud and, unfortunately, the enormous amount of waste on the course. Catch sight of some egret , the ever-present seagulls and while some heron (heron and white) flies over us over the head, a flock of coots is based off the choppy sea. The most interesting section of trail is the last, after a sighting center of the park now abandoned. They tunnel through brambles and you can see the reeds numerous species of birds. Horizon is a different kind of flight attracts our attention: inforchiamo telephoto and note the typical shape of a bird of prey. Too far to be recognized, we wonder whether it may have been a ' spotted eagle or a Marsh Harrier . When you reach the strip of land across from the lighthouse we rest for a few minutes in religious silence admiring the sky dotted with many birds in flight and then we are moving towards Gorino again. Despite the weather not been the best, weekend in the Po Delta (only in the Emilia's park) was quite exciting for the novice birdwatchers like us and left us with the desire to deepen our passion and return to visit the thousands of specimens found here. For those wishing to organize a walk in the Comacchio valleys or on the branch of the Po di Goro Below are the GPS tracks (GPX file) of the paths we followed:
More itineraries can be found at the official website of the Delta po regional park.
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| 1. | Pedalando Aotearoa - L'isola del Nord (Books/Pedalling Aotearoa) | 736 |
| 2. | Tremalzo tour (Bicycle/MTB itineraries) | 303 |
| 3. | L'antica strada dell'imperatore (Bicycle/MTB itineraries) | 286 |
| 4. | Maza e Ponale (Bicycle/MTB itineraries) | 286 |
| 5. | Malga monte Sole in val di Rabbi (Bicycle/MTB itineraries) | 282 |
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