PROPOSTA DI UNA IMPORTANT BIRD AREA PER LA MIGRAZIONE POST-RIPRODUTTIVA DEI RAPACI NELLA SICILIA CENTRO-OCCIDENTALE

Proposal of an Important Bird Area for the post-breeding migration of birds of prey in the west-central Sicily. The study of the migration of raptors in Sicily, mainly on the Egadi, Pantelleria andUstica islands and even more on the Sicilian side of the Strait of Messina, has allowed to collectdecades of data and shed light on many aspects related to phenology, influence of winds, age and sexdistribution for many migrating species. There are no studies or observations, or at least they arerather scarce, in the intermediate areas of these two zones. Almost nothing is known about theimportance of some areas of the Sicilian hinterland for the autumn migration of raptors also as for-aging zones before reaching the wintering quarters. The aim of this paper is to highlight the imporance of this area located in the municipality of Monreale (Palermo), in the site called contrada Gal-litello. Regrettably, the greatest flow of migrants in the post-nuptial period overlaps with the open-ing of the hunting season, in an area without protection and on which several wind power projectsare pending. Given the numbers of raptors surveyed in the area, it is hoped that serious forms of pro-tection will be established, including the identification of a new Important Bird Area and the iden-tification of priority areas to which conservation obligations under the 'Birds' Directive apply