New breeding of Eurasian Dotterel Eudromias morinellus in the Italian Alps

Eurasian Dotterel Eudromias morinellus is a summer visitor to northern Europe, but occurs more patchily farther south, with Europe accounting for less than half of its global breeding range. It has an extremely large range with an European breeding population relatively small (<42,000 pairs), but was stable between 1970-1990. Spain hosts the largest breeding population of Southern Europe (Gutiérrez 1997; Valle & Scarton 1999). Over the Alps the species is threatened of extinction due to its small population size. The main breeding alpine population settled in Austria with a maximum of ten reproductive pairs since 2003. In Switzerland after two breeding events recorded in the Grisons in 1965 and 1998, three more broods occurred in 2012 and 2013. In Italy the main reproductive population, varying from 1 to 6 pairs, is located in Abruzzo’s Apennines whereas from 1974 to 1994 several breeding events were recorded. Last breeding was confirmed up to 1994. In the Italian Alps breeding was suspected in few instances, but it was only confirmed in 1978 (one pair plus another possible one in South Tyrol) and 1994-95 in Lombardy region (one pair in Upper Valtellina).