These coming weeks millions of migrating birds will leave Europe and fly to their wintering places in Africa. BirdLife Cyprus invites people to take the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of bird migration during Eurobirdwatch on 2 October 2016.

EuroBirdwatch is an annual event which takes place on the first weekend of October (1 – 2 October, in 2016), comprising hundreds of organised activities in Europe and is the largest joint action of the BirdLife Partnership. EuroBirdwatch aims to spread the message of bird migration and how important it is to protect bird habitats, breeding areas, stopover sites and flyways and to raise public awareness of wild bird conservation.

In 2015, EuroBirdwatch included events in 41 countries in Europe and Central Asia, where more than 24,000 people took part in more than 1,000 events. All of these people (both adults and children) observed the fascinating migration of 4.3 million birds to their wintering areas in the South. For the migrating bird species the existence of suitable breeding areas, saving stopovers on the flyway and appropriate habitats in the wintering regions are vitally important.

This year BirdLife Cyprus, along with the national partners of BirdLife International of 36 countries in Europe and Central Asia invites people to observe the birds and hear interesting facts about bird migration and threats birds face during their journeys. During the activities of EuroBirdwatch, the number of birds and participating people are counted and reported via the national centres to the European Birdwatch Centre 2016, which this year is BirdLife Switzerland.

This year’s EuroBirdwatch in Cyprus will take place on Sunday 2 October 2016 where we will be watching the autumn migration from different sites giving you a unique opportunity to see raptors, soaring birds, cranes, bee-eaters and other species as they travel over Cyprus during migration. Note: Binoculars and bird guides will be provided by BirdLife Cyprus.

You can choose one of the following meeting points and join us to count birds:

1. Athalassa Park, Nicosia. 09:30 – 12:00, Leader: Martin Hellicar, Mobile: 99907893. Meet at the park’s south parking area (Latsia entrance).
2. Akrotiri Peninsula, Limassol. 09:00 – 12:00, Leader: Stavros Christodoulides, Mobile: 99425050. Meet at Phassouri Reed-beds.
3. Paphos Plain, Paphos. 09:00 – 12:00, Leader: Alan and Lynn Crane, Mobile: 99276310. Meet at Lark’s Corner, Mandria seafront.

For more information please contact Elena Markitani on 22 455072 or email elena.markitani@birdlifecyprus.org.cy.