World Migratory Bird Day 2021: Theme, History, and Importance of the day

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is the only international awareness-raising and education program that celebrates the migration of bird species along with every one of the major flyways of the world – celebrated globally on two peak days every year – on the second Saturday in May and the second Saturday in October. On Saturday, 8 May individuals everywhere in the world will observe World Migratory Bird Day 2021, a global campaign that expects to raise awareness of migratory birds and the requirement for international collaboration to conserve them.

World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on two peak days every year (the second Saturdays of May and October) to feature the requirement for worldwide cooperation to guarantee the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats globally. Registered events to mark World Migratory Bird Day 2021 will incorporate bird celebrations, education programs, media events, quizzes, competitions, and film screenings.

First held in 2006 to promote the conservation of migratory birds and to check the negative publicity they were receiving across the world, because of worries about their role as likely vectors of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 – presently usually referred to as bird flu. From that point forward World Migratory Bird Day has acquired popularity with more than 2,000 events organized in more than 100 countries since the campaign’s origin.

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness-raising campaign featuring the necessity for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global effort and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological significance, and the requirement for global collaboration to conserve them.

Every year individuals throughout the world take action and organize public events, for example, bird festivals, education programs, exhibitions, and bird-watching excursions to observe WMBD. Every one of these activities can likewise be undertaken whenever on the year since that nations or regions observing the peak of migrations at various times, however the main days for the international celebrations on the second Saturday in May and in October.

World Migratory Bird Day is organized by a collaborative partnership among two UN treaties – 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). The 2021 campaign is additionally being actively supported by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Secretariat and a developing number of other dedicated associations.

World Migratory Bird Day 2021 Theme

“Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird!” is the theme of the World Migratory Bird Day 2021, an annual global campaign dedicated to raising awareness of migratory birds and the requirement for global collaboration to preserve them.

This year the campaign will focus on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as an approach to inspire and associate individuals of any age throughout the world in their shared desire to celebrate migratory birds and to join in a common, global effort to ensure birds and the habitats they need to survive.

The 2021 World Migratory Bird Day theme is an encouragement to individuals wherever to interface and re-connect with nature by actively listening to – and watching birds – any place they are. Simultaneously the theme appeals to people throughout the world to use their own voices and inventiveness to express their shared appreciation of birds and nature.

Birds can be found all over: in cities and the countryside; in parks and backyards, in forests and mountains, and wetlands and along the shores. They interface every one of these habitats and they associate us, helping us to remember our own connection with the planet, the environment, wildlife, and one another. Through their seasonal movements, migratory birds are likewise consistently helping us to remember nature’s cycles.

The current year’s theme “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like A Bird!” focuses on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as an approach to inspire and associate individuals of any age throughout the planet in their shared desire to protect and celebrate migratory birds. The day likewise serves as an update that migratory birds are in serious decrease, and need international action to guarantee their survival.

On their journeys across the planet, birds face various threats like habitat loss and unlawful hunting as well as different dangers like poisoning, and impact with man-made objects, for example, glass-covered buildings and powerlines. Climate change is another significant danger to migratory birds including additional pressure on birds by unfavorably influencing the habitats they need for breeding, resting, and feeding.

Many special events are scheduled for nations along all significant bird flyways to mark the day. A great line-up of free online programming on a scope of topics identified with migratory birds, their migration, and international efforts to conserve them are likewise being offered by some of the leading bird conservation and nature education associations in the world.

CMS and AEWA are the just intergovernmental treaties of the United Nations that work for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats, uniting nations to try to address the numerous threats to their survival.

Around 2000 of the world’s 11,000 bird species migrate, some covering gigantic distances, similar to the Arctic Tern and the Bar-followed Godwit, which flies separates as much as 11,680 kilometers non-stop between Alaska and New Zealand.

The flyways of migratory birds range different nations and incorporate the main routes the birds follow, generally in a north-south and south-north direction twice every year, as they look for the best chances for breeding, resting, and refueling en route.

The artwork being used for the global campaign portrays a small selection of migratory birds which travel along with three of the significant flyway systems found in the world: The Americas Flyway, the African-Eurasian Flyway, and the East-Asian Australasian Flyway.

Year after year, many events occur to observe World Migratory Bird Day in numerous nations across the world. Each event is extraordinary in its own specific manner and as diverse and creative as individuals and associations included. The following are a few things you can do to get included:

Events checking World Migratory Bird Day 2021 will generally be ‘migrating’ online, as numerous nations are still vigorously influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous virtual talks and a wave of online collaborations dedicated to migratory birds are relied upon to occur in numerous nations, with educational programs being offered virtually by numerous associations including schools, museums, parks, zoos, libraries, wildlife refuges, and wetland centers.

WMBD is officially celebrated on the second Saturday of May in Canada and the US (May 8th in 2021), and the second Saturday of October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean (October 9th in 2021). Notwithstanding, every day is Migratory Bird Day, and you can celebrate birds and host events any day of the year!