International Bird Day (01/04)

Every year on April 1, International Bird Day is celebrated — is an international environmental holiday. Its goal is — to preserve species diversity and bird numbers.

It originated in the US state of Pennsylvania as a children's holiday in 1894. Soon, having gained popularity thanks to the media, it began to be held en masse in all US states, then came to Europe.

On March 19, 1902, the «International Convention for the Protection of Birds Useful in Agriculture» was adopted, which was signed by more than ten states. It came into force on December 12, 1905. On October 18, 1950, the «International Convention for the Protection of Birds » was signed in Paris, replacing the previous document for most of the — member states, it considered all types of birds, and not just those that are useful for agriculture.

Currently, International Bird Day is taking place within the framework of the UNESCO biological program «Man and the biosphere» in many countries around the world.

The history of the development of Bird Day in Russia is interesting. The idea of helping birds fell on fertile soil. Already at that time, bird protection was organized in Tsarist Russia; by the beginning of the 20th century, several dozen organizations were already involved in this matter. These include the — ornithological committee at the Russian Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants, the Permanent Environmental Commission at the Russian Geographical Society, and the Russian Society for the Patronage of Animals, founded in 1865.

Children's organizations — so-called May Unions for the study and protection of birds were also opened in cities. They were created on the basis of schools and united children nine to eleven years old who wore the — flying swallow emblem on their hats. In 1910, school teacher Pyotr Buzuk founded the country's first Society of Nature Conservators in the village of Khortitsa, the symbol of which was a bird's nest. Society members fed the birds and hung nests for them.

On this day, adults and children improve the habitats of waterfowl, hang new feeders and birdhouses (Photo: viicha, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

After the revolution of 1917, children's May unions ceased to exist, but the idea of bird conservation was taken up by Yunnat organizations. In the summer of 1924, the first and only All-Union Congress of Youths in the USSR was held, at which Nikolai Dergunov, a teacher at the Central Biological Station, proposed re-establishing Bird Day. Since 1926, this date has been celebrated in the USSR as an official holiday. In 1927, Bird Day was held in all districts of Moscow, about 5 thousand children took part in it. In 1928, the number of participants reached 65 thousand children; they hung more than 15 thousand birdhouses.

The annual celebration of Bird Day was interrupted by the Great Patriotic War, but in 1948 the movement was revived. The holiday gained even greater scope; in 1953, 5 million Soviet schoolchildren were involved in it. But by the 60–70s of the 20th century, the celebration of Bird Day had faded away again.

The holiday was revived in 1999 — thanks to the Russian Bird Conservation Union, founded in 1993. In the first year, 500 people took part in Bird Day in Moscow alone; they hung more than 500 birdhouses. In 2000, the Moscow government joined in organizing the holiday, adopting Bird Day as a citywide event. And today it is the most famous of the «bird» holidays.

Also, by this date, the Russian Bird Conservation Union annually elects «Bird of the Year». This title can be given to a species or systematic group of birds common throughout most of Russia, easily recognizable and in need of human attention and help. Campaign «Bird of the Year» helps remind Russians about the problems of wildlife conservation.

By the way, the date of the holiday was not chosen by chance: just at this time, birds are returning from the warm regions. On this day, adults and children improve the habitats of waterfowl and hang new feeders and birdhouses.

Ornithologists warn: if birds disappear, an environmental disaster will occur (Photo: Richard Fitzer, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

Ornithologists warn that if birds disappear, an environmental disaster will occur, and its consequences for humans may be unpredictable. In their opinion, extermination will cause irreparable damage to biological diversity.

An indicator of the unfavorable situation with birds can be the number of species listed in the Red Books at various levels. Of the approximately 10 thousand species of birds of the world fauna, more than 1,200 species, or every eighth species of birds on our planet, are included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Let us remind you that twice a year another very famous «bird» holiday is celebrated — World Migratory Bird Day.

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