The World Migratory Bird Day is observed annually on the second Saturday of May each year. It is celebrated each year to spread awareness about the need for conserving migratory birds and their habitats. It seeks to spread the message of the importance of these birds, the threats faced by them, and the need for their conservation.
Theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2019
Each year, the United Nations announces a special theme for this day.
The theme for the World Migratory Bird Day 2019 is “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution.” This theme seeks to underscore the detrimental effects of plastic on migratory birds and their habitats.
Plastic is one of the most baneful materials as it does not disintegrate or degrade. Rather, its lifecycle lasts anywhere between 20 and 500 years and it causes much harm to migratory birds. This year’s theme intends to highlight the deleterious effects of plastic on such birds and their ecosystems.
The theme for 2018 was ‘Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation’ and for 2017 was ‘Their Future is Our Future.’
History of World Migratory Bird Day
The first World Migratory Bird Day was observed in 2006. It was an initiative of the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
Isn’t this a wonderful day to spread awareness about these natural miracles of the world? And miracles they are, because they are able to navigate across thousands of kilometres without any GPS, overcoming many perils and threats on their way.
