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Wintering waterfowl. Bay of Tallinn

 

There should be nice winter weather to spend the weekend pleasantly in nature.

 

The international waterfowl census takes place already for half a century and Estonia also participated in starting the event. In the census information is collected about the wintering areas of waterfowl and changes in abundance and the status of waterfowl are monitored.

 

By now the largest and most wide-reaching bird monitoring programme in the world has developed from that initiative. More than a hundred countries participate each year. On the basis of information collected in this census nearly 5 millions of square kilometres of wetland has become protected, thousands of internationally important bird territories have been designated, the status of a great number of water and shore bird settlement areas  have been clarified and steps have been taken  to protect the species. Most recently for instance an international working programme, very important for us, for the protection of eiders was approved last year.

 

In Estonia the first mid-winter waterfowl census took place in 1957.  Ten year later we were among the countries that agreed on common rules and started a monitoring that lasts until today. Internationally this is coordinated by the Wetlands International in the Netherlands, in Estonia by the Estonian Ornithological Society.

 

Beginning in 1996, the midwinter waterfowl census is part of the national environmental monitoring which is directed by the Keskkonnaagentuur. It is one of the most popular bird monitoring projects in Estonia.

 

To take part you will have to find yourself a suitable area at an ice-free coastal or inland water body and count all waterfowl. The aim is to carry out the count in all countries on the core weekend in January (this year January 16^th-17^th ) but all observations made in January are taken in account.

 

Please enter your census observations in the e-Biodiversity database: LINK

 

Or post them to the Estonian Ornithological Society at the address:

Veski 4, 51005 Tartu

 

The report from last year’s midwinter waterfowl count can be read here:

LINK

 

See the ice charts of the Estonian Weather Service:

LINK 1

LINK 2