The protection of an important alpine ecosystem where many bird species, including the Dotterel, stopover during post breeding migration.
The project aims to enhance the protection of an area of alpine grassland and a small peat bog at an altitude of about 2450 m asl within the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Natural Park, which is an important stopover site for the Dotterel Charadrius morinellus and other bird species during post breeding migration.
Such conservation efforts are needed due to the proximity of the Assietta road (Strada Provinciale 173), which is very busy particularly during the post breeding migration period and is hence a potential source of disturbance.
Another important aim of this project is to collect information on the avifauna of the study area through monitoring and ringing activities, and to obtain data on the numbers of Dotterels frequenting the area, including determination of the sex and age of the observed individuals during the migration, that typically spans the period from 20 August to 15 September. During the ringing sessions, researchers from the Park will apply colour rings with alphanumeric codes that will be used to study migration and the species’ behaviour in the stopover site (i.e. group compositions and days of permanence).