Riserva naturale speciale Lago di Pergusa, Regional nature reserve near Enna, Italy.
Riserva naturale speciale Lago di Pergusa is a protected nature reserve near Enna that encompasses a salt lake surrounded by hills of the Erei Mountains. The site features observation stations, educational facilities, and walking paths that allow visitors to explore the natural environment year-round.
The reserve was established in 1995 by a law of the Sicilian Region, protecting 402.5 hectares entirely within the municipality of Enna. The lake itself is endorheic, with no true inlets or outlet, and lies in a basin of the Erei Mountains. The surrounding slopes once carried woods; today only a small reforested area remains, managed by the Azienda Forestale.
The reserve's name comes from the village of Pergusa, a frazione of Enna, and the lake sits in the Erei hills. In Contrada Zagaria, part of the old Villa Zagaria of the barons of Geracello now houses an environmental education laboratory run by the Alexander Von Humboldt centre, used for teaching visits.
The managing body has laid out trails and rest areas with huts for watching waterbirds and observing the wetland. In the hilly Contrada Zagaria sector, part of the old Villa Zagaria dei baroni di Geracello houses an environmental education laboratory run by the Alexander Von Humboldt centre. Winter brings the coot, pochard and ferruginous duck; spring the grey heron, little egret and night heron.
The reserve is Sicily's only stopover wetland for migratory birds in the island's interior, which is why species such as the ferruginous duck and, in April 2006, the purple swamphen have been recorded here. The surrounding Erei hills are also nesting grounds for the rare Sicilian rock partridge.
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