Visitors Center of Andreis (PN)

Opening time

Exhibition “Birdlife of the Park” – Birdlife Area

The area of ​​the aviaries is located above the village of Andreis: within them are hosted several species of birds: hawks, buzzards, owls, hawks, a goshawk and a golden eagle. Some of these have suffered injuries that do not allow them to return to freedom. The Visitors Center is hosting an exhibition on birds of the Park and a bird exposition with different types of birds.

“The Birdlife of the Park” and its relationship with the environment and man are the guidelines of this Visitors Center, which is hosting an exhibition, a teaching hall and a projection and conference room. Connected to the Andreis Visitors Center there is “The Birdlife Area” of the Park, a rescue center for all wounded birdlife. The exhibition on birds opened in 2001 is very interesting and it includes an ornithological collection of over 200 naturalized specimens representing the different species of birds found not only in the park but in the whole region. The Birdlife Area of Andreis is one of the realities of the Natural Park of the Friulian Dolomites. It is characterized by the teaching room, the naturalistic laboratory, the nature trails of Mount Cjavac, the hill of San Daniele, the recovery and acclimatization aviaries for injured birds and the from the veterinarian clinic.

The recovery center for the injured birdlife

The animal victims of accidents or debilitating diseases do not accept any kind of medical treatment: before, during and after any treatment, their answer is always escape. This explains how difficult it is to treat them and how can be limited the recovery attempts on these “no- collaborative patients”. However, a rehabilitation center is based not so much on the number of guests hosted but on the educational message that it spreads, aimed to reduce the many causes (almost always of human nature) that produce disability. Until a few years ago a wounded animal was doomed to end up stuffed, caged or sold, today, thanks to the work of structures such as the Birdlife Area of Andreis, they can hope for a more dignified fate.

See the charts of hospitalized birds of prey

 

The aviaries are divided into two buildings:

  • one consists of four cages that house irretrievable types of hawk;
  • the other is constituted by a single cage, very large, in which are introduced the healed birds that need to acclimate and practice before being released.

The aviaries are at the heart of the recovery center. Birds housed within them, largely types of hawks, suffered injuries that do not allow him to return to freedom. Anyone passing quietly near the cages, can closely observe the birds of prey. The approach to the aviaries should always be undertaken with caution, and avoid touching the nets, so that the birds do not get frightened and start to fly, ruining their plumage. We can see at close range the golden eagle, the buzzard, the peregrine falcon, the kestrel, the sparrow hawk, the goshawk and the tawny owl. The chance to see these beautiful birds represents a valuable educational opportunity. With a little attention, then you may also see along the paths, these beautiful animals free in their natural environment. The release of recovered birds is a very exciting time which generally takes place publicly, near the aviaries or in other places.

The teaching room and the naturalistic laboratory are located in the nearby Visitors Center. With the support of the nature guides and experts, thematic displays, video projections and slides, these structures will enable groups of visitors to explore the ecological contents of the environment, observable successively along the nature trails.

The veterinary clinic is on the ground floor of the village building and it is used when you need to medicate and treat injured birds or other animals picked up in the park.

The path of Mount Cjavac is equipped with proper signage and it is described in detail in a guidebook available at the town hall of Andreis. The trail can be covered in about three hours, it is accessible to everyone and it has several alpine environment habitats.

The hill of San Daniele’s path is intended especially to schoolchildren. Shorter than the first, it presents very important natural, sylvan-pastoral and architectural signs.

The Ethnographic Museum of Andreis summarizes and highlights the origins, characteristics and particularities of the village, including as part of the observation the local spontaneous architecture, represented by typical stone and wood houses.