BirdLife Cyprus has been running long-term bird monitoring schemes for well over a decade, with some programmes ongoing since the 1980s. Unfortunately, however, the coverage of such monitoring schemes has been largely limited to part of the island.
Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology recently published its annual State of Birds. In this report, the most important current developments are listed in concise items, compiling knowledge and trends of 200 breeding and 204 migratory and wintering bird species. This information is based on data collected by volunteers throughout the country.
The Albanian Ornithological Society (AOS) has taken an important step in bird conservation by launching the International Census Plot for Breeding Birds as part of the Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (CBMS). This initiative, implemented for the first time in Albania, aims to establish a sustainable long-term bird population monitoring framework.
One of the objectives of the LIFE EBP Reinforcement project is to increase the quantity and quality of bird observations from SE Europe. Therefore, we took this opportunity to set up a regular EBP meeting in the core area in Podgorica, Montenegro. The meeting lasted for three days, from 28 to 30 October 2024, and was held in the building of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. Our Montenegrian partners, CZIP, took care of the logistics.
The European Bird Census Council has set up a Small Grant Fund (SGF) to support national bird monitoring activities, particularly in Europe’s low- and middle-income countries. In 2024, the EBCC Board selected three projects as priorities for support. The projects come from three countries and request nearly 30,000 euros in total. As the EBCC’s resources are insufficient to fund all projects selected for support, we kindly ask individuals or organisations to donate and help us support the projects.
During 2010–2018, 798 students from nine European countries participated in the combined field and online teaching program in bird identification arranged by Nord University. The research method was an online bird identification test (www.birdid.no) at the beginning of the study, an online test and a field test (point count) at the end of the field teaching period, and an online exam at the end of the study. The results showed great progress from the beginning to the exam at the end of the study, measured on the 61 students who completed all four tests in 2018.
The 23rd conference of the European Bird Census Council (EBCC) "Bird Numbers 2025: Synergies in monitoring for conservation" will be held from 31 March to 4 April 2025 in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The conference will be organised by the University of Latvia with support from the Latvia Ornithological Society. The abstract submission is now open. The deadline for oral presentations is September 30, and for poster presentations – January 15, 2025.
Martin Abbas Hellicar, a highly respected and beloved advocate for the environment and one of BirdLife International's most committed conservation leaders as the Director of BirdLife Cyprus, tragically passed away on June 15, 2024. Today, we bring three memories of this unforgettable man and friend from his colleagues.
On 13 May 2024, researchers from the EBCC and BirdLife International published a new paper about European bird population estimates. The article can be openly accessed in the journal Bird Conservation International. Population sizes collated in the European Red List of Birds (ERLoB), and the abundances compiled in the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 are compared at country and continental levels to find ways to improve the process of estimating bird populations in Europe.
EBCC is inviting new applications to the Small Grant Fund, which aims to support national bird monitoring activities by EBCC partner organisations in low—and middle-income countries in Europe.