Spring comes alive with migrating birds

Tue, Feb 12, 2013

Spring Alive

The eighth edition of Spring Alive, a BirdLife International educational campaign that focuses on the observation and tracking of migratory birds, will be launched in February and continue until 21 June.

Spring Alive attracts participation from Europe, Central Asia and Africa and tracks the arrival of five well known and common spring migrating bird species: White Stork, Barn Swallow, Common Swift, Common Cuckoo and Eurasian Bee-eater.

The participants follow spring as it arrives across the continent and record their observations online at www.springalive.net. BirdLife Partners across Europe and Central Asia from February on, and Africa from September on, will organise a series of events to welcome the arrival of spring and the bird migrations it brings with it. Birdwatchers, experts, children and families, teachers, everyone is welcome to enjoy the events and games, all mixing fun and education with activities such as field trips, species information and photo contests.

Last year was launched the innovative spring “bird reality-show”. For the first time anyone could follow the fortunes and everyday habits of two Swift families via live webcams. Every Spring Alive participant is also invited to write his own “Spring diary” online.

Caroline Jacobsson, Head of Communications and Marketing at BirdLife Europe says: “For most of the children participating in Spring Alive it is the first contact with nature and an opportunity to have fun by observing birds while learning more about them.” She continued ”The observation of birds migrating between Europe and Africa provides a unique occasion to create an understanding that birds cross many borders during their journey “.

The Spring Alive 2012 edition was the most successful in the project’s eight year history with more than 173,140 registered bird observations. BirdLife Europe hopes that the 2013 edition will be even more successful, bringing in new countries and reaching a wider audience.

The project would not be possible without the support of The Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA), Spring Alive’s main sponsor. MCFEA aims to encourage the appreciation and conservation of flora and fauna with an emphasis on endangered species. The campaign is also financially supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB; BirdLife in the UK).