Oasi La Valle at San Savino

The Oasi Naturalistica La Valle at San Savino is a wetlands on Lake Trasimeno, in an area noted for the reeds that grow there. It is one of the most important wetlands in Europe where they study bird migration, sustainability and all things concerning birds that live or visit the lake. They also monitor the vegetation in the water and on the land and other wildlife that inhabits the wetland area.

We arrived after 5 pm and hoped to see the birds beginning their night rituals. Unfortunately for us we had a large amount of rain a few days ago and the water levels in the lake were too high to allow us to walk out on the 500 metres boardwalk through the reeds and the water vegetation. We were told that the birds were also unhappy with the water levels.

An interpretive display covered many of the main features of the conservation park. An interesting part was the touch screen which showed a photo and a drawing and also gave the bird sound for each bird, according to the season they can be seen.

Despite this we had a very interesting time. We were sent off with excellent binoculars to walk along the paths to the bird hides. The birds were keeping their distance and all were very busy feeding, but I did manage to get a few photos.

There were a couple of opportunities for arty shots too.

We are planning to return in a couple of weeks when we hope the water level will have fallen, and we will go in the morning.