EuroBirdwatch19 - Together for migratory birds

GONHS has issued an invite for people to join in its celebration of BirdLife International’s EuroBirdwatch this Saturday, in order to discover the fascinating world of bird migration.

During this time of the year, millions of migratory birds leave Europe, flying to their wintering places in the south.

The event will be celebrated by GONHS and other BirdLife Partners across Europe and Central Asia, from Uzbekistan to Portugal and from Norway to Greece.

“The overall aim of the EuroBirdwatch is to raise awareness for the needs of migratory birds at breeding areas, flyways and stop–overs, and in their wintering grounds in the Mediterranean and Africa,” said a statement from GONHS.

Birds face too many threats during migration. The most serious are climate change, intensification of land use and illegal killing.

“Every year 25 million birds are killed in the Mediterranean region, during their migration from Europe to Africa Luckily, all hunting of birds is prohibited in Gibraltar, which provides a safe haven for migrant species,” said a statement from the society.

There is a campaign for protection of migratory birds in the Mediterranean area flightforsurvival.org and GONHS invite the public to visit the website.

This year, 43 national partners of BirdLife International in Europe and Central Asia will be participating in the event and engaging with the public in order to educate them about bird migration.

At the end of this event, the numbers of all observed birds and participants are counted and reported via the national centres to the European centre.

In 2019, SOS/BirdLife Slovakia is acting as the European Centre to process data. The results will be continuously updated on web page www.eurobirdwatch.eu and on Facebook facebook.com/EuroBirdwatch.

GONHS activities will include a bird walk up Engineer Road, starting opposite the old casino at 8am, bird ringing at the Jews’ Gate Field Centre following the walk, a bird of prey display at Commonwealth Park at 11am and seabird watching from Europa Point as from 3pm.