18 January 2021
15.01.2021 - For the third consecutive time, Kosovo joins the activity - International Waterbird Census, in which participants voluntarily will be ornithologists, bird watchers, environmental NGOs, independent experts, and nature enthusiasts.
This activity, which takes place in the middle of January each year, this year will be conducted on the dates 16-17 January 2021 and will include around 10 different wetlands across the country.
The Institute for Nature Protection, operating under the Ministry of Economy and Environment / Environmental Protection Agency, has launched and coordinated this monitoring activity since 2019, and it is in coordination with Wetland International, which coordinates this international activity.
The census offers an overview of the populations of Wild Water Birds during the winter period, including species such as Ducks, Swans, Wigeons, Coots, Grey Herons, and other birds closely associated with wetlands. The census is often carried out in cold winter conditions and is a difficult process, especially in areas where birds take shelter due to disturbance or in larger wetlands/lakes with many counting points, where counters must hurry to complete the census on time to be as accurate as possible. Despite the mentioned difficulties, thanks to this process which started very late here (initially in 2019, assisted by the AOS Association in Albania), Kosovo has relatively good data on the populations of wintering water birds in the country.
Let us hope that the weather during this weekend will not hinder the implementation of the Census and we expect massive voluntary participation in the service of protecting and preserving wetland birds, wetlands, and biodiversity in the country.