The Eurasian spoonbill Platalea leucorodia in Sicily between 1972 and 2018, distribution and ecology

The observations of the Eurasian spoonbill made in Sicily between 1972 and 2018 were collected and analyzed. The presences, initially scarce and referred to a few sites, have consolidated over time, and gradually have affected an increasing number of sites. The observations were concentrated in the coastal salt pans and exsalt pans systems, secondarily in the mouths and in inland waters, below 100 m a.s.l.. The greatest number of Eurasian spoonbill was found in the migration period, both post and pre-reproductive; in the summer the lowest values. The average number of birds per flock, compared to subsequent years, from November to January did not vary significantly, while it was variable in the remaining periods of the year. In the main sites, the fluctuations in the number of individuals are discordant; this suggests a distribution conditioned by local environmental factors, although no correlation was found between the amount of rainfall and the number of individuals. The increasing presence of the Eurasian spoonbill in Sicily is greatly influenced by the increase of the breeding populations in Central-Eastern Europe, and the simultaneous improvement of the environmental conditions of wetlands in Sicily, following the establishment of a network of protected areas. Sicily, interested by important migration flows, plays a key role for the stopover and hosts important wintering flocks of national relevance.