How to record bird populations systematically? And what are the international standards that have to be observed during bird counts? These were main questions of a training workshop for ten EuroNatur partner organisations last week in Radolfzell, organised by EuroNatur and the European Bird Census Council.
Workshop participants went to watch birds in the morning fog.
© Stefan Ferger / EuroNaturThis two-day practical seminar was the kick-off to a series of workshops which will – thanks to the support by the Mava Foundation and EuroNatur donors – be realised as part of the project to protect migratory birds along the Adriatic Flyway. Together with its partners in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania, EuroNatur is working to permanently eliminate bird hunting from the most important resting and wintering grounds.
“Reliable population surveys and hunting controls are a necessary basis for effectively counteracting the recurring bird massacre on the Balkans”, says EuroNatur project leader Stefan Ferger. However, many countries along the Adriatic Flyway are lacking human resources and know-how. The series of workshops over one and a half years shall expand the network of skilled birdwatchers and strengthen hunting controls all over the Adriatic Flyway. “It is essential for us to achieve a common standard in data documentation in order to merge and share the data that we need as an argument for our conservation work”, Tibor Mikuška, Croatian Society for Bird and Nature Protection, sums up the essence of the workshop.
Read more about EuroNatur’s work against bird hunting on the Balkans