Fauna During the year, the area shelters numerous species of water birds, including Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret, several species of Anatidae and waders. The persistence of hunting on the Padule Pond has reduced the numbers of over-wintering species, and land management, which has often meant drying the area in spring and summer, can limit or even stop some species of birds from breeding which will regularly nest there if there is water, e.g. the Dabchick and Black-winged Stilt. A pair of Black-winged stilts was confirmed as nesting in the Parco della Piana (Plain Park) Educational Pond in 1998 whilst it was still under construction. In 1999 Little Ringer Plovers were reported as probably nesting in the same pond. Among the other species of birds nesting within the area or in the immediate vicinity are the Kestrel and Woodchat Shrike. Marsh Harriers and Short-toed eagles have often been seen during migration and in summer. There are many amphibians: the Plain Park ponds accommodate the Green Toad, Green Frogs and Tree Frogs, and the adjacent water canals Crested and Smooth Newts. As for the insects, mention must be made of the recent sighting of the rare Southern Festoon butterfly Zerynthia polyxena cassandra, the presence of some Chaoborid dipterans which are only found locally in Italian lakes, and the Large Water Beetle (Coleopteran) Hydrous piceus.