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Project of the Month

There are two sides to our Pantani security fences

It is only thanks to the Pantani security fences – which are checked daily by our Bird Guards – and the areas of private land that have not yet been fenced off that the nesting sites of the Greater Flamingo, Little Tern, Black-winged Stilt, Stone Curlew and Common Shelduck remain undisturbed. Hundreds of young birds currently inhabit the two lagoons, the lagoon islands and the wet meadows.

Even in the heat of a Sicilian July, our two lagoons still hold plenty of water. This ensures that Greater Flamingos, Little Terns, Black-winged Stilts, Avocets, Common Pochards and Marbled Ducks can raise their young undisturbed and successfully on the newly created islands.

However, new harmful disturbances and encroachments on our protected area now make the further expansion of our Pantani security fences an urgent necessity. Illegal and often toxic rubbish dumping on the outskirts of our protected areas, unauthorised entry and unauthorised harvesting of our olive and almond trees continue to increase.

Our Bird Guards regularly find injured, poisoned and dead birds, lizards, hedgehogs and even harmless European ratsnakes in these litter-strewn areas.

The 1.40-metre-high security fences with wooden posts, previously approved by the authorities, have proved extremely prone to damage. In consultation with the municipality of Pachino, we are therefore erecting our new security fences for our riverside meadows adjacent to the municipal road from Pachino to Granelli, using two-metre-high fencing, concrete posts and new access gates. In preparation for this, in late spring, school classes, Scouts and volunteer conservationists collected and disposed of incredible quantities of household and commercial waste along our land and the adjacent municipal road.

Our new Pantani security fences fulfil two important functions:
1. They keep bird hunters, poachers and illegal waste dumpers away from our protected areas.
2. At the same time, they protect our Bird Guards, volunteers and the migratory bird and biodiversity conservation area from malicious and criminal attacks.

We have already started work on building 500 metres of new security fencing along a particularly critical section of road. Because of the rocky ground, we had to hire a drilling rig for the job.

We are still short of around 17,800 euros for the ongoing construction of the security fence, including two new security gates.

With a donation of 15, 30 or 50 euros – or any other amount – you can help us to close further gaps in the protective fencing and make our Pantani Migratory Bird Sanctuary even safer from bird hunters, poachers and those who illegally dump rubbish.

Thank you very much for your support!