Today we mark World Migratory Birdday. This global campaign aims to raise awareness about migratory bird species and the need for international cooperation to protect them.

This year the day falls on the eve of the 15th meeting of the member states of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will be held in Kunming, China, 11th-15th October. A key part of the agenda is the Global Framework for Biodiversity Conservation after 2020.

October 9th is celebrated under the auspices and with the partnership of two international environmental treaties to which Bulgaria is party - the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals - Bonn Convention (CMS) and the  Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).

This year’s theme is “Sing, fly, soar like a bird!” and focuses on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages on the planet in the shared desire for protection and celebration of migratory birds. Hundreds of events in all corners of the world are registered on the CMS website https://www.cms.int to mark the day. People will also use their creativity and the universal language of song and dance to express and share their appreciation for birds through social media.

Migratory birds in the world, also in Bulgaria, are threatened by habitat loss, poaching, poisoning, pollution, as well as collisions with man-made objects, such as glass-covered buildings and the on-ground power grid. Climate change adds additional pressure by seriously affecting their habitats, which they need for reproduction, rest, and recovery during migration. Climate change also affects the annual cycle of some birds - its influence on the time of migration and breeding causes lack of correspondence to the seasonal availability of food.

Another known threat to migratory bird species is light pollution, which disorients birds that fly at night, leading to collisions with buildings. Outside Bulgaria, there are already registered cases of mass mortality due to this reason.

Of the 11,000 bird species on the planet, approximately 2,000 species migrate. Some of them fly over huge distances - such as the Arctic Tern and the Bar-tailed Godwit, also found in Bulgaria, which fly over distances of 11,680 km without stopping between Alaska and New Zealand.

Bulgaria is one of the important countries in Europe for migratory bird species. The largest migration route for our country is the Black Sea migration route Via Pontica. The other main migration route is along the gorge of the Struma River, Via Aristotelis. Of particular importance in Bulgaria are the wetlands along the Black Sea coast, which birds use to rest and spend the night during migration. Migratory species pass through different countries, which is why in some cases a coordinated international effort is needed to protect them.