Being BirdLife Affiliate Partner, Uzbekistan Society for the Protection of Birds (UzSPB) takes part in WMBD campaign from 2011. Under the aegis of Spring Alive members and volunteers of UzSPB conducted educational activities and birdwatching events dedicated to the World Migratory Bird Day 2015 on IBAs in Uzbekistan in the framework of the project «Developing mechanisms for conservation and sustainable use of the main ecosystems in Uzbekistan». The venues for WBMD 2015 were IBAs «Dalverzin hunting management area», «Ayakagima lake» and «Amankutan pass». The territories represent desert, mountains and wetland ecosystems of the country and have a great value for migratory birds as stopovers, places for feeding and rest. WMBD campaign was used to promote the importance of these territories for migratory bird species.
Uploaded photos show how the date was celebrated on the territory of Dalverzin where 26 people participated. In their number were rangers of the territory, members of «Phasianus» student birdwatching club as well as UzSPB staff. The agenda included student reports about history and theme of the campaign, presentations about Catcher, Night heron, Greater spotted eagle and Sand martin migrating through this IBA.
Next, everyone was invited to take part in a game called «Migration of the Sociable lapwing» - a small bird which is endangered, and listed in IUCN and the Red Data Book of Uzbekistan. It nests in open meadows in Kazakhstan and southern Russia and migrates south across Central Asia to Pakistan and North-West India, as well as via the Caucasus and South-West Asia to the Horn of Africa.
The rules of the game involved members of the «Phasianus» student club becoming Sociable Lapwings migrating from India to Kazakhstan in 6 stages. At each stage, volunteers from the hunting estate staff and UzSPB members gave them a card with a set of instructions, i.e. move forward, backwards, stop, and leave the game, depending on a number of factors that affect migration, e.g. the concerns of fishermen, anthropogenic influences, poaching, adverse weather and others. Elements that help the migration process were also included among the cards, e.g. good food, a place to nest, favorable weather conditions, as well as protection and help provided by local residents. The results of the game revealed that only one Social lapwing from 8 completed its migration. This aroused great interest among those who took part and made them stop and think about the difficulties faced by migratory birds.