Volunteers have been counting breeding birds in Switzerland for 25 years
Published: Tuesday, May 7th 2024, 10:31
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For 25 years, volunteers have been counting Switzerland's breeding birds every year for the Sempach Ornithological Institute in Lucerne. This monitoring program is an important instrument for nature conservation, the ornithological station announced on Tuesday.
For example, it was possible to show that the population of greenfinches in Switzerland has declined by a third over the last 25 years. In contrast, the population of other species such as the pine tit has remained stable, according to the Swiss Ornithological Institute.
It is only thanks to the systematic surveys carried out year after year that threatening developments such as the sharp decline in greenfinches can be distinguished from harmless short-term fluctuations, such as those in the fir tit population.
Every year since 1999, volunteers for the Monitoring of Common Breeding Birds (MHB) have systematically counted all the birds they see or hear during the breeding season on 267 square kilometers spread across the entire country. According to the ornithological station, an impressive amount of data has been collected. The MHB collects information on almost 130 breeding bird species.
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