born at the foot of Urzulei, a village in the mountains, about 30 km from its mouth, and then meet with another tributary from Talana where just a few kilometers further down encounter with another tributary, of which the meeting is called "Is Aggiunturas" Scrolling over hills and plains pristine arrives at the village of Lotzorai as "Rio Pramaera" (originally under the name 'Palmer' or 'PALMAERA') along in the last 500 meters delight the sight of the observer, its extraordinary beauty and naturalness.
The last stretch to the mouth of the river is called with the name of the locality: "Rio Pollu.
FLORA AND FAUNA The Rio Pramaera well as offering various species of fish (including eel, trout, mullet, smelt, bass, and during the summer with the rise of 'sea water even crabs, sole , mullet, sea bream and clams) offers a place catering to many aquatic animals, migratory and not (as herons: herons, egrets, bitterns, purple heron, grebes, coots, gallinules, knight of Italy, moorhens, kingfishers, reed warblers and several species of ducks including mallard, tufted, azzaiole, Cape Verde), which can be observed while conducting their lives calmly walking along the shore of the river under a grove of elms, alders, willows and Oleandri that serve as shelter. An extraordinary spectacle that nature has made available to those who love being in touch with a world that gives so much without expecting anything in return.
Some birds that populate the RIO Pramaera
Grey Heron
The Herons are among the most visible and recognizable birds of the Italian wetlands.
The Grey Heron is a large marsh bird belonging to the family of herons (or Heron). Adults (reaching one meter in height) have the back and neck ash-colored white with black stripes, a long black plume starts behind the eye up and down the neck in a tuft of thread-like feathers. The chest has tufts of white feathers narrow and elongated, the eyes are yellow, beak and feet pale brown. He
majestic flight, with slow, deep wing beats, feet stretched out behind in the body, head and neck received between the shoulders. The beak is yellow, very strong, suitable for pierced in one go fish, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals that feed.
nests in colonies on willows and poplars: the female lays 3-5 eggs in February-March in large nests (which are called with the environment around heronries and houses several species of herons) that are used for many years.
The Grey Heron is the most common among European herons and his number appears on the increase.
Heron:
And 'The Grey Heron is a little smaller and darker, the reddish-brown, streaked with black neck has always kept folded and "S", even when at rest. In flight, the neck is less prominent that nell'airone heron. Rust-brown below, has long ornamental feathers brown-brown shoulders.
prefers dense reed beds, which constructs - always heronry - its nest, it is difficult to establish a good approximation to the numerical difficulty of access to the colonies.
Egret:
The Little Egret is a small white egret (50-60 cm) of moist. Very slim, has beak and yellow feet and legs blacks.
During the breeding season both sexes "show off" the Aigrettes, two long white feathers that hang from the head, and others to cover the back to beyond the tail. The Egret feeds on small fish larvae and crustaceans found in shallow water and open, sometimes it happens that the prey is pierced by the powerful beak and sharp with a sudden movement of the head. 4-5 verdicee hatching eggs. It nests in mixed colonies with other species, building large nests in the bushes or the highest among the branches of willows and poplars.
Moorhen:
The Moorhen Rallidi belongs to the family, is a solid-looking bird (33-34 cm in length), with the plumage of the black body and that of the undertail white. E 'unique to the large red front plate, even the beak is bright red with yellow tip. The legs are green and palmate, with a strip red above the joint and the fingers are very long which allows it to walk easily between the marsh vegetation. Abita
reeds and meadows close to rivers, but is also seen in artificial ponds and even in parks, is in fact a very adaptable bird that content with relatively small areas and tolerates pollution well.
E 'a skilled swimmer, dives but only in an emergency. On the ground goes up and particularly, with the tail that moves up and down rhythmically, to get up in the air needs to take a run. The flight is slow, with legs hanging, often grazing the surface.
It feeds on plants, molluscs and insects.
It lays eggs from March to June 7 to 9 among the reeds or in the riparian vegetation (and even the grass, on the embankments of the rice fields) making 2-4 broods a year.
Bittern:
The Bittern belongs to the family of herons. It 's a solitary bird and reserved very rare in Italy, almost 80 cm in length, with rust and yellow plumage mostly brown, speckled and striped. The eyes are yellow like the beak, while the legs are yellowish green with the joints. He lives almost always hidden in the swamps, deep in the reeds, marsh and swamps.
During mating the male holds concert day and night. The nest houses a brood of 3-5 eggs which the female incubates for about a month. At 14 days, the children are already able to climb on the barrel.
Warbler MAJOR:
It 's a bird about 20 cm long summer, found throughout Europe, preferably living in the reeds near the water, showing a remarkable ability in climbing and gliding up and down from the barrels.
The head is elongated with a flattened face, the upper plumage is dark brown, white and yellow rust inferiorly. E 'is easily recognizable to a clear industry retroculare clear.
always nest among the reeds, creating the typical nest suspended rods embedded in the mo 'pillars.
Another species called common reed warbler, about 13 cm long, is less tied to the barrel, sometimes, in fact, builds the nest (lighter and smaller) even in the bushes on the shore. Similar in appearance to the larger reed warbler, it is distinguished by the absence of industry retroculare but has a white circle around the eyes.
KINGFISHER:
The Kingfisher is a beautiful bird of wetlands, lakes and rivers, which belongs to the family of Alcedinidi.
It 's a bad runner, and a clumsy climber: his only weapon is the patience with which awaits its prey. The name is in fact the particular technique used to get the food, while maintaining long lurking in the branches over a stream fincchè not suddenly dives to catch a fish in its beak strong, like a short sword.
often stops in the air above the water surface in a pose characteristic (a "holy spirit").
little bigger than a sparrow (16 cm), has a very showy plumage: back blue-turquoise color with metallic luster, throat and neck white spot, chest, flanks and undertail red brick. The head is rather large compared to the rest of the body.
Both male and female dig into steep banks watercourses to a meter long tunnels and slightly uphill, eventually, will host the 6-7 white eggs in each of two broods.
coot:
very common and numerous in Rio Pramaera, is a water bird of the size of a duck (about 40 cm), which belongs to the family of Rallidi; have uniformly black plumage with a large white plate on the front that makes it easily recognizable.
The beak is white and her eyes bright red, legs gray-green, long and fingers fitted with membranes to walk on the aquatic vegetation. Fair diver is able to withstand underwater for half a minute, "rowing" with wings. It feeds on aquatic plants, but also snails, insects, larvae and small crustaceans.
During the winter season form large flocks, often with the ducks with which it shares its habitat. It lays 5-16 eggs, incubated by both parents for about 21 days. The small after a few days are already able to follow their parents into the water. If flush run "walking" on water for some distance before he could take flight, always runs toward the cane, which rises from its lively protests.
KNIGHT OF ITALY:
Recurvirostridi belongs to the family of birds, about the size of doves, with their beaks and long legs.
Very elegant, has a livery that makes it unique: the back and upper wing coverts black uniform, his long red legs and a thin, straight beak it uses to scan the bottom of the marshes in search of invertebrates that feed : small aquatic insects and mollusks, although also appreciates spiders and small insects on Earth.
It 'a bird of the bank, and nests in colonies very large and noisy because of the incessant cries that animate during the mating season. Just when he feared the extinction, the knight of Italy has returned to nest in our country and is now quite common to find in many swamps of the peninsula, so that the population Italian breeding (which tends to increase) is the second largest in Europe after the English one.
colonies are more numerous eastern Emilia-Romagna, near the Po delta and the lagoons of Argentario.
Swamphen:
Swamphen Few know, it's one of the most beautiful and colorful inhabitants of Mediterranean wetlands. With his plumage turquoise blue and purple hues that contrast with the pure white under-tail and bright red legs and beak, it looks like a lush tropical marvel over by mistake in the midst of our sober temperate fauna.
The Purple Gallinule is a Rallide as well as more familiar Coot and Moorhen. E 'closely linked to the marshy areas and in particular the dense reeds. Here
nests in nests made of clusters of marsh vegetation and here is his favorite foods: sprouts and seeds of aquatic vegetation and marsh as well as insects, shellfish and dead fish. Its large feet with long toes are highly adapted to walk on floating vegetation in which it does most of his life. It tends to fly low and travel mainly on foot inside the dense reed beds. The strong dependence of the Purple Gallinule on wetlands is at the root of its decline. These environments were greatly reduced, in fact, during the last century as a result of large remediation projects. Where were still suitable habitat, the species is often deleted from the excesses of the hunt. Missing most of its range including peninsular Italy and Sicily, stands alone in North Africa, Spain and Sardinia.
DUCKS:
The Ducks are birds called "water" because it is mainly along the rivers, lakes, marshes and beaches that are suitable for food and shelter to their needs.
These birds have a body structure generally massive and evolved webbed feet to swim fast and long necks in water and highly mobile to rummage rummage in the bottom of the search food. The beak of many species has flattened into a border of horny plates, which traps the insects and plants collected in the water. All
have a sustained and heavy flight, with wing beats infrequent, allowing them to cover long distances without tiring too annuale.Alcune species migration, such sedentary, living year-round in our waters.
A key feature of the ducks is that the two sexes have different colors, the plumage of the males much more conspicuous than the females.
In the breeding season most of the male sports a very colorful and bright plumage to attract and woo the female, the females, however, tend to have a year-round plumage and camouflage uniform, which makes them almost invisible to predators during the long brooding.
In Italy there are two main groups of ducks and surface diving.
The diving ducks are able to immerse themselves in water in search of food, "rowing" vigorously with their feet. They live in deeper waters of dabbling ducks and fly up after a long run after the water.
ducks surface (es.Germano Royal), however, are characterized by the fact that usually do not dive never complete, but you only dive with the front half of the body to the water and scour the bottom with the beak; prefer shallow waters and on land they move awkwardly, and when you fly up from the water, however, do not take a running start and standing up almost vertically. Foraging on the surface of sieving with the beak, which acts as a filter.
MALLARD:
the mallard duck is a surface and is the most common wild ducks, the most popular and is also the most widespread in Europe. It 's the founder of all domestic ducks. Along
about 60 cm, the male has a conspicuous nuptial plumage with dark metallic green head, which contrasts with the big yellow beak, even the neck is green and "separated" from the rest of the body of a white collar. The breast is brown, white tail feathers with a central black curls. The mirror is blue-white, the female has less flashy colors. The legs are bright orange.
lives in marshes, ponds, rivers and canals and even on the sea coasts, but thanks to its great adaptability, it also satisfies the lakes of the parks or gardens.
nests in wetlands and 8-12 hatching eggs for almost a month, during which time the male loses the flight feathers and is no longer able to fly, and assumes a plumage as camouflage. E 'duck sedentary throughout most of Italy, is an excellent swimmer, and also for food is widely adaptable: he prefers "fish" to keep aquatic plants and seeds, but may also graze in the grass and eat crustaceans, insects and scraps of human food.
Little Grebe (Black-necked Grebe):
The little grebe is a water bird (the smallest of the loons, 25 cm), very good at swimming in depth, but not in flight. The
differs from ducks because of the much shorter tail and more pointed beak, as well as by the fingers that instead lobed palmate (ie the membranes around the fingers join together into one "fin").
winter color is reddish brown with a white belly, summer Its back is very dark, with a portion of the head and neck reddish brown, the belly and black with silver highlights, the height of the crop is dark brown; feature is the clear zone at the base of the beak.
His call is a strong trill, often prolonged, rather shy, avoiding the open water.
lives and breeds in ponds, swamps and stagnant water, feeding on insects, larvae, small crustaceans, tadpoles and small fish.
The nest, made of grass and reeds, is as big as a plate floating on the water. Both parents brood the 5-6 eggs for 20 days.
Unlike ducks, loons do not fly often, but deep dive with great ease. Li recognizes the strong red beak pointed, the neck always erect, the template no tail and webbed feet, but not lobed, ie membranes around each finger.
SWAN:
On our left we see a splendid example of the Swan, who until about a year ago cohabit with the other tenants of the place making the environment even more attractive. Unfortunately, however, failed in a seemingly quiet Sunday in late summer because it is assumed by an anonymous hunter.
stroll along the river and see it on the surface of the water while she cleaned her white wings was an unusual sight that evidently aroused some 'green with envy.
We can only hope to see soon another sample.
EVOLUTION
The "Pramaera", in need of such care and attention as all the ecosystems in existence, is at odds with a world that would turn it into a modern marina for the future and to attract, according to many people who certainly yes, would arrive with a luxurious yacht and an apparent desire to spend but when they have already a 'super boat equipped with all the comforts you would stop on the coast just for a quick drink to ice then resume its course in other richer places. Over the
years the structure of the river has gradually become not only because of the climate of the place a bit 'dancer, in fact as far upstream as you open a scene almost surreal, because we realize that first there where the river flowed under a dense vegetation of alders and elms, where he lived undisturbed wildlife and migratory species to nest were now in place there is the nature of civilization with all that may result, at the hands of those who have reinforced the levees with concrete, causing the death el 'immigration of all those aquatic animals that lived there. The
"overbuilding" of the Rio Pramaera was made in order to maintain that some of the river itself and to recover more agricultural land, collecting in the smallest possible space the bed of the river, but over the years, agricultural land can not use most of the silt carried by the floods were less fertile. In 1993, following a torrential downpour lasting about six hours, the river can not 
contain the waters within its bed picking up speed overflowed its banks, sweeping away everything in its path through the valley proving detrimental to both aquatic habitat for humans.
But especially for the dealer that having the river at the foot of his casottino Rio Pramaera, despite being raised swept it away in a couple of minutes with all the fishing equipment that was inside and near. 
Pramaera The Rio, with an outlet to the sea ensures continuity of all animal and plant species that live there and as a backdrop in this long stretch of water. Inside there are two inlets, which are also safeguarded by those who for years has demonstrated a love of nature with all that may entail.
But if we go to rummage in the aerial photographs of just 20 years ago today we realize that the river has undergone many more changes to what you believe.
In the picture we can see another side branch of the river, though for many it is unknown to many tourists had the opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and penetrate through a small boat rowing, with the only worry of having to bow his head each time it passed in the dense vegetation, and that has not changed because of weather conditions, nor to Because of the Consortium of Reclamation in '86 that had the bad idea of \u200b\u200bthe cemented river bed (as you can see in the picture above), but because of the boundless greed of man.
The owners of land bordering the river, not satisfied with their piece of land, with the help of some political friend, day after day, little by little they covered stretches of dry river material (pieces of asphalt) taken here and there from the work of the roads in the country expanding their land unmolested, and then applying sdemanializzazione of trying to prove that at that point the river had never before.
But you know the river is diverted as a boomerang always comes back to its origin. In the picture on the side we see the various sides to damage caused by the flood of '93.
forcing the river to a location required and usual it was forced to repossess his old path breaking its banks and overflowing into adjacent land at the very point where it left off.
are generally defined freshwater fish, though in reality their life is spent in these waters only in terms of its return to the Sargasso Sea, the legendary stretch of calm water and populated with algae, the winds and currents created in the center of the North Atlantic.
The eel usually lives in rivers and streams, in this environment of fresh water are from 5 to 20 years, the time required to reach sexual maturity, after which an internal clock order eels to return to the ocean. Change color from yellow to silvery skin thickens, his eyes grow, change shape before embarking on this trip, they feed until their body becomes composed 1 / 3 of fat and depending on the weather which undergo sex change and they stop eating, their eyes get bigger to take advantage of the light from the depths of the sea and begin their journey.
with their bodies fully renovated leaving rivers and streams to go into the ocean along the Atlantic currents up to the Sargasso Sea. The instinct is so strong that if the ponds in which they live are no outlet head for the rivers crawling through meadows and fields through the orifice of the gills very narrow which helps prevent desiccation. Reached the salt water, sinks and disappear. It is assumed that they return to the Sargasso Sea to mate and then die.
The larvae, called leptocefali rise to the surface and leave the current that transports them to the coasts of Europe, a journey of about three years where you come in spring and in which the first undergo processing in which they called 'Czech'.
is assumed to have taken the name (Czech) the fact that on their arrival at the mouths of these rivers are caught by fishermen with equipment easily as if they were really Czech. When the eel
Females reach larger sizes is called Capito.
a nocturnal, lives in preference to muddy it can also resist for a time out of the water through the gills that can hold excess water.
The largest (up to 70 cm) is the TRUE Mullet (Mugil cephalus). Adult females (6-8 years) are often accompanied by 4 or 5 smaller males that follow it closely.
The smaller instead Labronico mullet (Mugil Labe), which reaches 20 cm. Other common species are the golden mullet, mullet Musina, the mullet chelonian.
mullet I often come out of the water when they try to escape danger. Out of the water even for a brief moment they are able to evade the danger. We often see mullet leap out from a sea apparently calm, but the danger exists somewhere, probably a predator about to attack them attracted by the low number of individuals who constitute the bench.
Sardinian caviar is preserved between the bowels of this fish. And if his flesh is in constant competition with other more valuable fish, Sardinia is a true king. So much value are the eggs (thousands of eggs produced by each female mullet): washed, dried and salted, are transformed into a true delight intense flavor and bitter aftertaste, almost almond: the roe. The Phoenicians were the first to add salt and seasoning bags full of mullet roe. And it is the sea that washes the Sardinia to give to connoisseurs the finest mullet, to be savored bite by bite, slowly.
Also known as sea bass or according to some fishermen Catfish, bass are generally caught at sea, but it happens that the search for new food more appetizing brackish water is drawn through the currents of rivers mouths. Most fish, like sea bass has a lateral line that is important for device effect, including starting in the head and arms at your sides. The lateral line system-innervated by several cranial nerves - is related to the mazes and acts as a receptor of vibrations and pressure. The bass is a coastal species, it beats all the coast is rocky and pebbly beaches that does not disdain the prairies zosteracee.
prefers estuaries and lagoons, penetrating into the rivers by the slow progress often for tens of kilometers from the mouth, sometimes overcoming areas of rapids. Perhaps it is, at least for most consumers, the more valuable species, and most of the national product is resold in the markets of origin lagoon.
RAINBOW TROUT:
Originally 
the coast of the United States, Canada and Siberia, has been introduced in many countries (in Italy in the late nineteenth century) for Sport Fishing and farming. Rainbow trout are also part of the inhabitants of Rio Pramaera. It 's a voracious predator not forgetting those of their species, and feeds both on the surface to the bottom of rivers. Can weigh up to 15 pounds and reach lengths of 1 meter, has an average lifespan of 8-9 years, up to 20 years in captivity.
sensitive to pollution are always looking for the cleanest water in winter rainbow trout will move into deep waters, while in spring the rivers upstream, before easing waiting for tasty summer swarms of insects.
When these are scarce, the trout is brought near the bottom for cac Ciare molluscs, insect larvae, fish eggs and worms. But when the insects are abundant trout tend to ignore any source of food even if easily catchable.
The rainbow trout are more active during the day and at dusk, since hunting down at sight. While the night remains in the deepest pools of rest.
LEECHES
It seems only right to speak also of leeches, whereas in considerable numbers are also part of the natural habitat of the Rio Pramaera.
leeches are parasitic and feed on only blood, which is why they are sometimes called the "vampires" in the world of worms.
Although parasites seem simple, they play an important role in medicine for their anticoagulant properties of the enzymes. This substance has been used in medicine to help victims of heart attacks and stroke by encouraging the breakup of lethal blood clots before they could cause irreparable damage.
use in antiquity, today's hospitals and research laboratories worldwide use more than 50,000 leeches a year.
eat 10 times their weight in one meal, but they may eat only once in many months. Most leeches are aquatic preferring shallow waters rich in vegetation of the shores of ponds, lakes and streams to slow progress. They have few natural predators, but many of them, including the species of medicinal leech, are in danger due to the destruction of their habitat and their guests. The acidic water will damage the leeches, and gradually the water and air pollution acidifies rivers, their populations begin to decline. But although it may be at risk in nature, the medicinal leech is "raised" all over the world.
The leech has two suckers: one for the other anchored to the body of the prey, which is also the smallest of the jaws and is used contains to suck the blood of their host, to move and mounted on a stand. Swim flattening the body and spreading throughout its length waves of muscular contractions.
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