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CARVIGNONE FOREST PHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATORY
in collaboration with the Adamello Regional Park and the Municipality of Cevo BS

INTRODUCTION
Through a cultural journey that is leading to greater awareness of wild species as an invaluable resource, with a unique and unrepeatable biological, evolutionary, and aesthetic value, some circuits have developed, especially abroad and to a lesser extent also in Italy, consisting of small structures that allow for targeted and easy wildlife photography and observation of birds and mammals, but above all without disturbing the animals being observed. This activity is offered to an increasingly large audience of enthusiasts who become the "engine" of a small economic sector that over time allows for the management of the structures. Generally, these are small camouflaged hides, set up with various techniques, placed within plots of a few dozen square meters which, in turn, are located in protected areas closed to hunting and more generally to human disturbance. In order to attract wildlife and make it visible, a small food supply is provided, especially in the winter period, through the construction of feeding points disguised in the surrounding environment. Often, adjacent to the hides themselves or in the immediate vicinity, watering points are set up, which are fundamental for wildlife observation (see box).

The Carvignone forest from above before thinning interventions

Goshawk

Great spotted woodpecker

Siskin

These furnishings, built with natural materials such as decaying logs and dead plants, encourage many species to approach and make themselves visible to the birdwatcher or photographer who, hidden in the specially structured observatory, can make targeted observations and take photographs.
In 2019, we submitted to the Municipality of Cevo (BS) and the Adamello Regional Park a project for the creation of a structure aimed at the purposes indicated above, and in 2020 an agreement (convention) was signed for its setup. At the same time, an easily accessible but very suitable area for the project's purposes, owned by the Municipality of Cevo, was identified: the forest of Carvignone. A long time ago, right here there was a "roccolo," that is, a system for capturing birds that, attracted by bait and calls, ended up by the thousands trapped in nets set up by bird catchers. This practice, abandoned for decades at least in this location, suggested the suitability of the site for observing and photographing wildlife. The abandonment of the "roccolo" itself and the drastic reduction of agricultural activities in past decades have favored, thanks also to intensive reforestation policies carried out almost exclusively with Norway spruce (Picea abies), the return of the forest. Today, a dense spruce forest has replaced the vegetation that would have spontaneously been present, namely a mixed forest of broadleaf and coniferous trees.

Cruise Females

The Carvignone forest is in fact located at an altitude of about 1000 meters in a transitional vegetational area between broadleaf and coniferous forests. The project therefore immediately included the start of redevelopment interventions, first and foremost the thinning (limited only to the project area) of the dense and degraded Norway spruce stand. The thinning, carried out at the beginning of 2021, of a considerable but still partial number of Norway spruces, is now encouraging the regrowth and spread of spontaneous trees and shrubs that over time will create a highly diversified environment, rich in transition zones (ecotonal zones) with greater potential to attract wildlife and with an improved ecological structure of the Carvignone forest in the coming decades.

For further information, please refer to the section on vegetation.

Some chestnut trees present at the beginning of the nature trail among firs and larches.

Sparrowhawk

Today we can present to the public the completion of the structures as the result of a long process of evaluation and preparation. Now begins a phase of monitoring and "testing" the effectiveness of what has been accomplished. For the purposes of the project, it was very important for us to set up an educational trail, structured especially for school groups (but also for other categories of visitors), that can bring primary and lower secondary school students closer to wildlife and, more generally, to the natural environment. Along the trail, we have provided educational aids, such as explanatory signage and interactive tools that will be gradually implemented and will accompany the public during their visit, in line with the same ethical criteria adopted for the photographic hide.

Alpine accentor

BOX

Regarding the provision of food resources to wildlife, there is often a discussion about the ethics of this practice, on which we can all find common ground: as a principle, wildlife should not be fed. If this practice is carried out extensively and massively, it certainly leads to a certain dependence, especially for some species, with negative effects on certain populations. For example, the practice of feeding deer during the winter season can cause changes in the movements that the species is induced to make due to adverse weather conditions. This negatively affects the natural cycles according to which only the strongest individuals survive and pass on a "quality" genetic heritage to their offspring. If we truly love nature, this must be a cardinal principle. In the case of photographic hides, food "baits" are just a stratagem used only at certain times and in very small quantities that in no way replace spontaneous food resources. This does not in any way affect seasonal movements (migrations) and the populations of the species. Not only that. During the breeding season, the same resident species present (such as tits and woodpeckers) no longer frequent the disguised feeders, become much more wary, and spontaneously prefer the food they find in nature.

Long-tailed tit

Willow tit

video and photo gallery

In this gallery you can find videos and photos taken with devices that are automatically activated by the passage and presence of wildlife near the wooded area involved in our project, both during the day and at night. We currently have a camera trap provided by the Park and a video trap purchased by Immagini D'Ambiente which, through a phone SIM, remotely sends photographic previews and, at the same time, records 1-minute Full HD videos. This system allows us to constantly monitor the area where the permanent photographic observatory will be installed. In this way, in addition to detecting and recording the presence of wildlife, we can focus on various issues such as the disturbance caused by the presence of stray domestic animals in the project area.

PHOTO