The administrations that have followed one another in recent years have tried everything to ward off the pigeons that nest among the thousand-year-old stones and the slits in the walls and towers, leaving guano everywhere. Over the years, the administrators have installed anti-dove nets, traps to capture them and have also placed the bollards, the pins that protrude from the walls and which should have made these places uncomfortable for the pigeons. But nothing to do. The dark doves do not want to desist from the occupation of the Soavese walls. THE EXPERT. Massimiliano Longo, zoophilic guard of Soavese, proposed to the municipal administration an alternative way, which he considers effective: the introduction of the peregrine falcon, natural competitor of the pigeon.
The peregrine falcon is part of the Falconidae family, it is a diurnal bird of prey that is greedy for pigeons, moreover an ancient dish, especially medieval, even for men, now rare. Some specimens of peregrine falcon, a bird widespread all over the planet, also hover over the Soavese hills, so it is a native bird of prey. With the collaboration of the Enpa, the National Animal Protection Agency, and the Garda Natura Onlus association, the administrators and Longo have studied how to house the hawks in Soave, in order to undermine the annoying pigeons. THE NEST.
At the beginning of January, Longo and Ramiro Rodriguez, president of the Garda Natura non-profit organization and wildlife technician, mounted an artificial nest on a tower along the surrounding walls, now ready to welcome a pair of peregrine falcons. «In case no hawk arrives, we will bring some pullets (chicks) of the bird», Longo explains, «which we will initially feed until they create their own habitat. We will also install a web cam aimed at the nest ", continues the zoophile guard," thus connecting to the Municipality site, you will be able to see how the peregrine falcons live on the Soavese towers, a first experiment here in the Verona area ". «This project for the defense of urban biodiversity is important for relieving cities and countryside from chemicals that then end up in the soil and aquifers. Products with which pests of fruit trees are killed », Rodriguez and Longo explain.
"Unfortunately, in the past, reckless disinfestations have been carried out that have removed, if not completely disappeared, the natural antagonists of insects, such as bats, which are no longer seen, not to mention swallows, birds that feed on mosquitoes: thus that the mosquito has been proliferating ». OTHER USEFUL BIRDS. «Even the birds of prey have moved away, important because they feed not only on pigeons, but also on rats, otters and snakes», the two experts conclude. The municipal administration has in fact introduced the bat boxes, that is wooden boxes where bats can nest and return to reduce mosquitoes. But there is also a project to reintroduce the barn owls on the hills planted with vines. This is the "Tyto Alba" project, scientific name of the barn owl, a nocturnal bird of prey, which loves to nest among the vines. Barn owls feed on infesting rodents, such as rats and otters: the latter have become a real "plague" (Arena).
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