Intercontinental Bird Migration in the spotlight in Bonn

Bonn, 25 April 2016 – On Saturday, 23 April, the local branch of the nature NGO, NABU (BirdLife Partner in Germany) organized a birding tour in English and German guided by the local bird expert, Mr. Frank Wissing: a 1.5km excursion in the Rheinaue to gain more knowledge on migratory birds, their journey and to watch them in one of their stop-over sites. The bird walk was registered on the World Migratory Bird Day website as one of this year’s events (http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/).

Despite bad weather conditions, a group of enthusiasts met at 7.00am and spotted a substantial number of species, many of them singing and flying so low that they could be seen clearly. Among the species recorded on this occasion, were: the Willow Warbler, the Garganey, the Common Swift, the House Martin, the Blackcap, the Barn Swallow and the Wood Warbler.

The Rheinaue Recreation and Leisure Park was established in 1979 on the occasion of the National Horticultural Show and has become a landmark of Bonn and a favourite recreational area, located in the heart of the city. With its 160 hectares, the park is nearly the same size as downtown Bonn.

As the participants of the event witnessed, the Rheinaue is a good location to spot many beautiful migratory birds resting in this natural area during their annual migration.

You can find further information and other related events on the NABU Bonn website at: http://nabu-bonn.de/front_content.php?idcatart=388

For more information about World Migratory Bird Day, please visit http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/

This article was written by Luigi Capano Raineri during his internship at the Common Information Management, Communication and Outreach Team of the UNEP/CMS and UNEP/AEWA Secretariats.