Katarina Paunovic EuroBirdwatch 2006 in Serbia Zoom In

Crowds join the birds for EuroBirdwatch 2006

09-10-2006

EuroBirdwatch, Europe’s largest birdwatching event, proved a great success once again across the continent. Almost 45,000 people in 32 countries took part and nearly 2.25 million birds were observed.

“It’s great that so many people have experienced nature firsthand at one of our events this weekend,” said Maristella Filippucci, Promotions Officer at LIPU (BirdLife in Italy), who co-ordinated EuroBirdwatch.

EuroBirdwatch is part of BirdLife International’s World Bird Festival and this year’s events have focused on Important Bird Areas (IBAs). IBAs are found in almost every country and their conservation is crucial for maintaining healthy populations of birds.

Adrian Long / BirdLife International Children taking part in EuroBirdwatch 2006 in Italy Zoom In

“It’s great that so many people have experienced nature firsthand this weekend,” —Maristella Filippucci, LIPU Promotions Officer

Statistics for Eurobirdwatch 2006 were as follows:

• The country with the largest number of separate events was Poland, which held 182 events over the weekend
• The country with the highest number of recorded participants was Spain, with 25,000 people
• The country with the largest number of birds sighted was Lithuania, with a tally of 813,945 birds
• The country with the most diverse bird list was Romania, with 200 different species observed
  

EuroBirdwatch 2006 is supported by the Toyota Fund for Europe. Toyota and BirdLife International have an established partnership that involves support of EuroBirdwatch and practical co-operation between Toyota affiliates and their local IBAs.