Bonn, 2 August 2011 - An amazing 205
registered events in 64 countries worldwide made
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2011, which was celebrated
on 14-15 May 2011,
an absolute record breaker!

WMBD is
a global initiative devoted to celebrating migratory birds
and for promoting
their conservation worldwide. It is jointly organized by
the Secretariats of the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory
Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).

The WMBD 2011 campaign has
also received support from UNEP, BirdLife International,
Wetlands
International and the Partnership for the East
Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAFP) and was made possible
through a voluntary contribution given to the CMS and
AEWA Secretariats by the German Federal Ministry for
the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

From Argentina to Palau and
from Canada to India, school children, teachers, conservationists,
politicians, clubs, wildlife conservation organizations,
journalists and many other dedicated groups and individuals
around the world joined World Migratory Bird Day 2011 by
organizing events which brought people together to raise
awareness about migratory birds and the loss and degradation
of their habitats. World Migratory Bird Day 2011 also stimulated
growing
media interest,
with hundreds of news articles related to WMBD published
around the world and a number of statements

received from key WMBD supporters.

The theme for World Migratory
Bird Day 2011, which focused on the negative effects human
activities are having in migratory birds, their habitat
and the planet's natural environement was 'Land
use changes from a bird’s-eye
view'.

The CMS and AEWA Secretariats would like to once again
take this opportunity to thank all WMBD organizers for
supporting World Migratory Bird Day 2011 and making it
such a great success. We hope that we will be able to welcome
all of you back next year to celebrate WMBD 2012 on 12-13
May 2012!



We have received reports on a large number of WMBD events
this year and have made them all available on the WMBD
website.

Please also visit the WMBD Event Map which
provides a full overview of the events which took place
around the world!

EVENT MAP

To give you a taste of what WMBD is all
about, here is a small random selection of some of the
WMBD events which took place this year:

South Korea:

The
East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Secretariat
invited
Incheon city officials with
their children (80 participants in total) to a waterbird
watching and education programme. Half of the day was designed
to promote awareness of tidal flats in the region of Incheon
as an important habitat for migratory waterbirds and to
stimulate public efforts to conserve them for the future.
After a lecture about waterbirds and threats along their
journey, highlighting the theme “Land use changes
from a bird’s-eye view”, participants visited
Namdong Reservoir and Yeongjong Island to observe nesting
Black-faced Spoonbills and different shorebirds.

For more information about this event
please visit: http://www.eaaflyway.net/partnership-news.php

Kenya:

Staff
members from the BirdLife International Africa Secretariat
in
Nairobi celebrated WMBD 2011 together with
members of Nature Kenya, Olorgesaile Environment and
Wildlife Conservation Group (OEWCG) and staff of the
Olorgesaile Prehistoric Site. This site, a bird watcher’s
paradise, was also the venue for the event and functions
as an important habitat for many bird species that are
using the Great Rift Valley Flyway. This year’s
WMBD theme was very appropriate for this area, because
for the last few years it has been suffering from degradation
driven by the high demand for charcoal and fuel wood.
The highlight of the event consisted of a birdwalk within
the Olorgesaile area followed by speeches, talks and
discussion sessions lead by staff members from the different
participating organizations.

For more information about this event
please contact: BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat,
Mr. George Eshiamwata, george.eshiamwata@birdlife.org

Rwanda:

The “Association
pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda (ACNR)” in
collaboration with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and
the Rwanda Birding Association
(RBA) organized a joint WMBD event which included a round
table discussion on migratory birds, their habitats, their
conservation and aspects of eco-tourism. The discussion
was broadcasted live on Rwanda Television and a press release
on World Migratory Bird Day 2011 and the events in Rwanda
was sent out to the media. The highlight of the event
was a birdwatching excursion with more than 100 participants.
At the end of the event participants were invited to write
down their personal impressions, ideas and wishes concerning
WMBD on small paper bird sculptures. To give the event
an even bigger impact, all paper birds were afterwards
collected and put together in the shape of one big bird,
which was hung up in the RDB entrance hall, where more
than 1000 people pass by every day.

For more information about this event, please contact:
Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda
(ACNR), Ms. Julia Ritsche, info@acnrwanda.org

Iraq:

Nature
Iraq, the BirdLife International partner in Iraq, organized
several activities on the occasion of WMBD 2011.
The events varied from bird identification trainings to
lectures on soaring birds and the role of Iraq for their
protection. The latter was broadcasted by the media. Additionally,
the Iraqi celebrations included an exhibition and a talk
given by Dr. Azzam Alwash (CEO of Nature Iraq) on the Mesopotamian
Marshes as one of the key sites for migratory birds in
Iraq.

For more information about this event,
please contact: Nature Iraq, Mr. Korsh Ararat, korsh.ararat@natureiraq.org

India:

In
India, several WMBD events where organized by WWF India
in collaboration with other partner organizations in high
altitude areas of Ladakh and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.
The organizations invited students to take part in painting
and slogan writing competitions both related to this year’s
WMBD theme. The core activity of the WMBD celebrations
in India were two birdwatching trips - one of them with
110 participants - to the Shey marshes and Muradpur close
the
Rajouri River.
Students learned about various scientific techniques for
studying birds, about International Flyway Conservation Projects
and were able to watch many different migratory bird species.

For more information about this event,
please contact: WWF India, Mr. Pankaj Chandan, pchandan@wwfindia.net

Bangladesh:

Destitute
children in Dhaka, Bangladesh, were invited by “Bird
Lover” and the “Center for Environmental
and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS)” to
celebrate WMBD 2011 at Gulsha Lake. The programme started
with a talk about migratory birds and was followed by
an open discussion which was mainly led by the children
raising many interesting questions. The programme also
included a bird quiz and video show about a Ramsar site
of Bangladesh and a birdwatching activity in Koriel.
At the end, the children received small presents and
prizes and closed their WMBD celebrations with singing
songs. It was the first time that the 35 children,
aged 4 – 15 years learned about migratory
birds and World Migratory Bird Day.

For more information about this event, please contact:
Bird Lover, Md. Sharif Hossain Sourav, nature.sourav@gmail.com

Syria:

In
Syria, World Migratory Bird Day was celebrated on 14
and 15 May 2011 demonstrating the particular importance
of Labboul Lake for migratory waterbirds. Children from
an orphanage joined the activities of this celebration
by drawing pictures of migratory birds known in Syria.
The celebration was organized by the Society for the
Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) at the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Al Baath University and the Directorate
of Children Culture of the Ministry of Culture. Many
articles and interviews were published in local and national
newspapers, magazines and TV channels.




For more information about this event, please contact:
Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), Dr.
Darem Tabbaa, spana@net.sy

Peru:

The “Asociación
Scouts del Perú -
Región Scout XX” carries out several activities
for children in the Wetlands of Pantanos de Villa - a
Ramsar site and resting place for migratory and endemic
birds, throughout the year. For WMBD 2011, the organization
together with PROHVILLA (a decentralized agency of the
Municipality of Lima which protects the Wetlands of Pantanos
de Villa) implemented a series of educational workshops,
service activities, a kids camp (ECOCAMP), an environmental
photography competition and several field trips to observe
birds of the Wetlands of Pantanos de Villa and other
areas inside and outside the city of Lima.

For more information about this event, please contact:
Asociación Scouts del Perú - Región
Scout XX , Ms. Rosa María Yacarini Herencia, rosamaria_yacarini@hotmail.com

World Migratory Bird Day 2011 has also
generated significant interest on the Facebook Fan Page
and Twitter.

We would like to thank the WMBD followers
for their contributions and would like to encourage them
to carry on the discussions until the 2012 campaign picks
up at the end of this year.

For more information about World Migratory
Bird Day, please visit the WMBD website at: www.worldmigratorybirdday.org

or contact the AEWA Secretariat at:

contact@worldmigratorybirdday.org