This area extends over 150 hectares in the territorial borough of Penne. It is an artificial lake formed by creating a barrier dam on the river Tavo, and it is one of the few in Abruzzo offering an ideal environment for water birds.
The reserve, WWF oasis, administered by Coop. Cogecstre, has numerous elements: a Centre for Environment Education that organizes study camp for children, a nature trail with bird life observation huts, a Centre for the sheltering of wounded animals, a handicraft laboratory and a botanical garden, a Naturalistic Museum that illustrates nature and lake environment, two aquariums that recreate the faunal environment of the river and lake.
From the 160 bird species reported, 41 are not migratory, 31nesting including the nycticorax, the Reserve’s symbol, and 88 migratory.