SmartBirds
The Bulgarian Society for the protection of Birds celebrated the World Migratory Bird Day in the Sofia subway! Short video presenting the Egyptian vulture and two other emblematic migratory birds – the Red-breasted goose, and the Lesser spotted eagle was projected twice an hour from Friday to Sunday (8 and 9 October). The short video was seen by almost 750 000 people.
The initiative has aimed to acquaint the subway passengers with one of the most extraordinary as well as dangerous events in the birds’ life – migration! The three subway lines in Sofia represented the flyways of these three emblematic species– their routes, stopover sites, the starting points, and final destinations that they use every year, as well as the threats that the birds faced during their flight for survival. Poisoning, electrocution, poaching, habitat loss are threats that make migration almost the “mission impossible” task.
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. This year the campaign will focus on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages around the world in their shared desire to celebrate migratory birds and to unite in a common, global effort to protect birds and the habitats they need to survive.
The 2021 World Migratory Bird Day theme is an invitation to people everywhere to connect and re-connect with nature by actively listening to – and watching birds – wherever they are. At the same time, the theme appeals to people around the world to use their own voices and creativity to express their shared appreciation of birds and nature.
Birds can be found everywhere: in cities and in the countryside; in parks and backyards, in forests and mountains, and in wetlands and along the shores. They connect all these habitats and they connect us, reminding us of our own connection to the planet, the environment, wildlife, and each other. Through their seasonal movements, migratory birds are also regularly reminding us of nature’s cycles.
As global ambassadors of nature, migratory birds not only connect different places across the planet, they also reconnect people to nature and to themselves like no other animals on the planet.
The celebration was organized by the “Egyptian vulture New LIFE” project, „LIFE for Safe Flight” Project, „LIFE for Eagle‘s Habitat” project.
