Hospitable Romagna?Not for the brothers:zero nests on 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 leave them and "settle" elsewhere, perhaps on those beaches in other regions - for example in the nearby Marche or Veneto - which the Municipalities choose to fence off and prohibit transit for periods of the year more sensitive, dedicated to nesting.

From Rimini and Riccione to the Ravenna coast, for a few years up until last summer, it has been possible to see small birds choosing 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 follow them have not yet seen any eggs hatch or any chicks be born.The reason?Not just bad weather, and the classic predators.The problem for the friars 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.

IN RIMINI AND RICCIONE, FRATINI NOT REACHED

The volunteers of the groupLet's save the little brother in Rimini and Riccionand” they launch 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, we haven't had any little brothers, neither in Rimini nor in Riccione”.To avoid the disappearance of the plover on their beaches, the volunteers 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 to hold large events there, as well as respecting the ban on bringing loose dogs.

ALA AND HIS FAMILY HAVE LEFT IN TAGLIATA DI CERVIA: 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 beachgoers 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.

The Corriere Romagna reports the opinions of the experts:from the beaches of Rimini and Riccione "the historic and sedentary couples left in mid-summer 2023 - he says Roberta Corsi Of Asoer, the ornithological association of Emilia Romagna – in March and April two couples were unsuccessful.And there are two males left.Last year we lost two kids on concert nights.To think that for seven years we had 3 couples every year.But hope is the last to die."While for Claudio Mattarozuncles, from the Matelda club of Legambiente, Ravenna, 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."

LOVE OMNIA WIN?THE FIRST COUPLE SPOTTED IN RIMINI

In the meantime, Fratini enthusiasts do not give 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.