Questions? +1 (202) 335-3939 Login
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for environmental industry professionals · Friday, March 29, 2024 · 699,732,290 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird

The birds featured on the 2021 World Migratory Bird Day poster represent diverse species that migrate long distances from wintering to breeding sites. Species include the Sandhill Crane, Yellow Warbler, and Turkey Vulture.

The 2021 World Migratory Bird Day was created by Alaskan artist, Sara Wolman.

Two children birdwatching with binoculars.

World MIgratory Bird Day connects people of all ages to birds and their conservation.

Wood Thrush singing on a tree branch.

World Migratory Bird Day raises awareness of migratory birds, such as the Wood Thrush. Its numbers have declined as much as 60% since 1970 in part because of habitat loss.

World Migratory Bird Day 2021 celebrates the beauty, song, flight, and intrigue of migratory birds

World Migratory Bird Day champions bird conservation across the flyways, unifying our voices for migratory bird conservation and serving as a call to action to protect them.”
— Dr. Susan Bonfield, Executive Director of Environment for the Americas

BOULDER, COLORADO, UNITED STATES, May 7, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird!” is the theme of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day, an annual global campaign dedicated to raising awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

From sandpipers and cranes to vultures and hummingbirds, this year’s World Migratory Bird Day explores what makes birds unique. With approximately 10,400 bird species globally and approximately 900 bird species in the United States, birds are ambassadors of the natural world. They help unite us with nature and understand the interconnections among all things. They sing. They fly. They are architects and acrobats. They live in every habitat from urban to wilderness. World Migratory Bird Day is a celebration of the astonishing journeys of these animals, like the roughly 8,000 mile round-trip migration of the tiny Rufous Hummingbird.

This year the campaign focuses on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages around the world. United in a common, global effort, we can protect birds and the habitats they need to survive. It is an invitation to people everywhere to connect and re-connect with nature by actively listening to - and watching birds - wherever they are. It is an opportunity to inspire people around the world to learn about, to love, and to take action to protect these long distance travelers.

The pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for humankind. At the same time, it has also brought a whole new level of awareness and appreciation of birds and the importance of nature for our own well-being. Interest in bird watching has soared. Birds have been symbols of freedom, and during the pandemic, provide a glimmer of light. We might not be able to travel to exotic places such as the rainforest right now, but migratory birds bring a bit of the rainforest to us.

"World Migratory Bird Day champions bird conservation across the flyways,” says Susan Bonfield, Executive Director, Environment for the Americas. The organization coordinates World Migratory Bird Day in the Americas, bringing people and communities together in celebration of migratory birds from Canada to Argentina and the Caribbean. “Our programs are helping to unify our voices for migratory birds and serve as a call to action to protect them."

World Migratory Bird Day 2021 is not only a celebration of birds, it is also an important moment to reflect on our own global relationship with nature and to highlight our collective desire to do more to protect birds and nature in a post-pandemic world. Their spirited migrations and spectacular flights are a symbol of freedom, even during a time when people feel confined.

Globally, World Migratory Bird Day is a collaborative partnership among two UN treaties -the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and Environment for the Americas. The 2021 campaign is also actively supported by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Secretariat and a growing number of other dedicated organizations.

Celebrated across the world on two peak days each year – on the second Saturday in May and second Saturday in October – World Migratory Bird Day is the only international awareness-raising and conservation education program that celebrates the migration of bird species along all the major flyways of the world.

How can you get involved?
Join BirdDayLIVE.com for 3 days of virtual programming. May 7th is a day for youth, families and schools. On May 9th, presenters from across the Americas flyways will share the migratory routes of shorebirds, ending in Alaska at one of the most important stopover sites for Western Sandpipers.

World Migratory Bird Day motivates simple actions to help migratory birds. These include:
- Plant native flowers, bushes, and trees which have been proven to offer more benefits to birds;
- Make your windows visible to birds. They don't see pane glass and collisions with them are usually fatal;
- Keep your cats indoors. Studies reveal that they kill billions of birds each year.
- Say "NO" to plastics. Birds don't recognize plastics and can ingest them or be entangled in them.
- Buy for the Birds, such as shade-grown coffee and chocolate that are grown sustainably, supporting habitats that benefit birds.

About World Migratory Bird Day
World Migratory Bird Day was first held in 1993 by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and Partners in Flight. Environment for the Americas has been coordinating the event since 2005.

About the Partners
Environment for the Americas is a Colorado-based non-profit organization that connects people to nature and bird conservation through research, education, training, and outreach across the Western Hemisphere. It works in communities and develops educational activities and digital and print materials that provide pertinent information about bird populations and their conservation.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1979, its membership has grown steadily to include 132 Parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is an intergovernmental treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds that migrate along the African-Eurasian Flyway.

For more information contact:
Susan Bonfield, Executive Director, Environment for the Americas, Boulder, CO, USA. Email: sbonfield@environmentamericas.org | Tel: 970 3931183
Florian Keil, Information Officer, UNEP/AEWA Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. Email: contact@worldmigratorybirdday.org | Tel: +49 228 8152451

Susan Bonfield
Environment for the Americas
+1 970-393-1183
sbonfield@environmentamericas.org

2021 World Migratory Bird Day Artist, Sara Wolman, promotes the campaign and the importance of protecting migratory birds.

Powered by EIN Presswire
Distribution channels: Education, Environment, Science


EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.

Submit your press release