Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds
  SmartBirds

Common Bird Monitoring

What do the birds around us tell us | How can I contribute | How to join | Results

Common Bird Monitoring

What do the birds around us tell us | How can I contribute | How to join | Results
© Miroslav Slavchev

What do the birds around us tell us?

The birds around us are a clear indicator for the state of the environment that we live in. It is up to us to pay attention and to do our bid for preserving nature according to the messages they send us.

© Miroslav Slavchev

Why are birds a reliable indicator for the state of the environment?

They are found everywhere.
They are sensitive to changes in the environment that they live in.
They reflect changes in the state of other animals and plants too.
A lot of bird data have already been collected and data collection should continue.
They are popular among people.

How can I contribute?

We rely on people like you so that we can cover the great diversity of habitats and species in the country. You simply need to choose a site and visit it twice a year – once in May and once in June. In case you have trouble identifying the species of birds, you can enlist in the free practical identification courses that are organized by the BSPB.

The regular count of the birds around us is very important for the monitoring of changes in their status.

© Boris Belchev
© Georgi Gerdzhikov

What is the name of the initiative?

Let’s count the birds around us, or Common birds monitoring.

The initiative is a count and recording of all the birds a participant has observed in their chosen site. The recorded observations are analyzed and are used as an indicator for the state of biodiversity in Bulgaria. The results also help the sustainability assessment of land management policies in Bulgaria and in Europe.

The count of the birds around us is an initiative that is organized across Europe. By participating you become a part of the community of volunteers from all over Europe that go out each spring to count birds. In Bulgaria the monitoring programme was launched in 2004 for the entire territory of the country.

© Georgi Gerdzhikov

What are the collected data used for?

Based on the collected data and their analysis measures are taken for managing our immediate environment in order to improve the living conditions not only for birds but for all animals, as well as for humans. Thus, through the preservation of the environment for birds, we care for our own environment.

What do I have to do to join the common bird monitoring?

Contact us at monitoring or

fill in the form

you can learn more about the initiative at Participation | Common birds monitoring (bspb.org)

Why should I count the birds around us?

in order to find out what is happening to our nature;
in order to find out about increases and declines in the numbers of birds, and the reasons for these trends;
because the status of the birds reveals the ongoing processes in the environment that they share with us, humans;
because the results of the count point at the measures to be taken for the protection of nature in Bulgaria and in Europe too.
© Bogdan Boev

Benefits from your participation in the initiative:

you contribute to the collection of current information about the status and the distribution of birds in the environment that we share with them;
you contribute to the identification and confirmation of threats to birds and biodiversity, as well as to the selection of adequate nature conservation actions;

you can see for yourself the effect of the taken nature conservation actions.

Results of the initiative

With the help of hundreds of volunteers like you we prepare the following materials:
reports on bird trends in Bulgaria and in Europe: Reports | Common birds monitoring (bspb.org);

assessments of bird trends in Europe (in English, with contribution from Bulgaria) based on species and on geographical region

;

A scientific publication on the trends of Bulgarian birds after Bulgaria became a member of the European Union.

Atlas of the Breeding Birds in Bulgaria – the observations from the monitoring sites formed the basis for the Atlas.
© Sv. Spasov