World Migratory Bird Day(WMBD) is annually observed across the globe on two peak days each year (second Saturday in May and in October) to create awareness of migratory birds and the importance of international cooperation to conserve the migratory birds and their habitats.
World Migratory Bird Day 2021 was celebrated on 8th May and 9th October 2021.
- World Migratory Bird Day 2020 was celebrated on 9th May and 10th October 2020.
- World Migratory Bird Day 2022 will be observed on 14th May and 8th October 2022.
The theme of the World Migratory Bird Day 2021 is “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird!”, which focuses on the phenomena of bird song and bird flight.
World Migratory Bird Day is a United Nations(UN) backed campaign organised by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and the non-profit organization, Environment for the Americas (EFTA).
Background:
i.In 1993, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology initiated celebrations of the ‘International Migratory Bird Day’ (IMBD) in the United States of America.
ii.On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of AEWA in 2005, the AEWA Secretariat initiated the Migratory Waterbird Days (MWD).
iii.AEWA and CMS launched the first ever Migratory Bird Day on the weekend of 8-9 April 2006.
iv.In 2017, CMS and AEWA announced an innovative partnership to increase awareness of migratory birds.
v.This partnership united the IMBD and MWD as a new joint campaign “World Migratory Bird Day” organised twice a year, in May and October.
Why May & October?
The two days recognise the cyclical nature of bird migration and the different peak times of migration along the world’s flyways.
2 day meeting of Central Asian Flyway countries:
i.The two day Online Meeting of 30 countries (including India) under the Central Asian Flyway(CAF) region started on 6th October 2021.
ii.The CAF region covers the area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans.
iii.Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India addressed the meeting and highlighted the importance of conservation of migratory birds.
Migratory birds:
i.Around 1 in 5 of the world’s 11,000 bird species are migratory birds, the one that regularly crosses the national borders between breeding and wintering ground.
ii.India is a winter home for most of the Siberian birds such as the Siberian Cranes, Greater Flamingo, and Demoiselle Crane
iii.Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan; Chilika Lake, Odisha; Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala; Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu are some of the habitats of migratory birds in India.
