In the first Corona year, the number of participants in the campaign doubled. Once again this year, the focus is on a popular garden bird.
Berlin (dpa) – Has the blue tit population increased again after the mass extinction last spring? The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) would like to answer these and other questions with the traditional counting action “Hour of the Garden Birds” on the Ascension weekend.
From tomorrow to Sunday, nature lovers all over Germany can take part in the hands-on campaign. You have to watch and count the birds in the garden or park for an hour. The results can then be reported.
According to the nature conservationists, the blue tit had a population drop of 22 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. The main reason for this was a new bacterial infection in Germany, which led to the mass death of the popular garden birds.
“The upcoming census will provide information on whether the blue tits were able to compensate for the losses through successful breeding,” said Nabu federal manager Leif Miller. Unfortunately, it is also possible that the downward trend has continued. “Current reports indicate that the epidemic will strike again this spring – but further north than last year.”
The “Hour of the Garden Birds” is taking place for the 17th time and, according to Nabu, together with the sister campaign “Hour of the Winter Birds”, is Germany’s largest scientific hands-on campaign. Last year, 161,000 people took part in the bird count – more than twice as many as in the previous year, the Nabu announced. Over 3.2 million birds were reported from around 107,000 gardens. A record attendance, said a spokeswoman. In the previous year there were 76,500 participants.
For those who want to practice a little before the start of the campaign, Nabu provides information on the 40 most common garden birds at www.nabu.de/gartenvoegel.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210511-99-548510 / 4
Garden Birds Hour
