The Marciana, Elba, will be the first to have a link to the planning rules that encourage the nesting of swallows and swifts (28/05/10).
"A decision of a Commune pro swallows and swifts is not something every day - said Frank Zanichelli, the manager of the national park - The Marciana, whose territory included in the National Park yesterday a new building regulations which tends to restore the old tiles with the tiles in the front row just opened to allow admission to the swallows which use cavities for reproduction. We are proud as a park that the town of Marciana has made a real choice for the environment. "
" In biodiversity there could be no better signal from a municipality included in the scope of the national park that gives a positive example at all. The populations of swallows and house martins in the park are in fair condition while the Swifts just because of the closure of their breeding sites are falling sharply in the past. Consider that a pair of these birds can catch 6000 insects every day of which 90% is made up of flies and mosquitoes ... Swallows and swifts, which we could define natural insecticides, are critical not only for the ecological balance but also for the protection of human health. "
The mayor of Marciana, Anna Bulgaresi (PDL) explains the reason for this good initiative planning: "The building transformations are the main cause of decline of the species that nest in the city for centuries on the buildings of man, With this decision our town, perhaps the first in Italy, wants to give a positive signal to many other governments with little effort to protect our will and our swallows swifts. The fact that the resolution was approved with bipartisan vote means that work well for environmental protection is to overcome prejudice and ideological barriers to finding consenso della gente».
L'iniziativa fa seguito al censimento organizzato nel 2009 dal parco e da diverse associazioni ambientaliste che ha fatto emergere il comune di Marciana come uno delle aree più amate dalle rondini e dove ancora si può trovare la rarissima rondine rossiccia.
Il principale animatore del censimento, l'ex presidente della Lipu, Francesco Mezzatesta spiega che «Il Rondone (Apus apus) è una specie che vive sempre volando (addirittura dorme in volo) e, per via delle lunghissime ali e delle zampe corte, non è in grado di posarsi a terra per raccogliere fango e costruire un nido come fanno le rondini ma quando deve nidificare cerca cavità nei muri o sotto le tegole dove penetrare e formare the outline of a nest cemented with saliva, then reaches out to the entrance of the cavity dropping into the void without having to take off from land. "
" This is why the municipality has decided that in future renovation of the roof tiles are no longer closed. E 'was also voted to adopt a series of technical measures to maintain open access to nests of Swallow (Hirundo rustica) and to facilitate the construction of the nests of House Martin (Delichon urbica) under the eaves by the use of rough plaster " .
"In recent years across Europe Swifts have dropped dramatically (40-50% in Great Britain) number for that new buildings and especially the restructuring of old, we practice the closure of all the holes along the walls and roofs. Holes where the birds access every year after 15,000 km of migration coming from places of wintering in Africa. "
From: Tutelafauna.it
Photos: 1
Swallows to nest.
Topino 2.
3 Rondoni following a storm chasing insects that fly up.
4 Balestruccio feeds young at nest.
