Today, World Migratory Bird Day 2022 focuses on light pollution and its negative impact on these species, under the slogan Dark Nights, Safe Migrations.
A day that each year aims to raise awareness of the need for international cooperation to conserve these species, whether aircraft or non-flying, aquatic or terrestrial, year after year in early spring and fall, migrating to other areas of the planet where they meet your nutritional needs.
Due to the valuable characteristics of these birds and their vital importance in the environment, two days of the year are devoted to them, the second Saturday of May and October, coinciding with two great migrations of birds in the world.
In 2018, the United Nations decided that the two celebrations would have one annual campaign and adopted the name World Migratory Bird Day with the aim of encouraging the entire world to spread a campaign of support.
An initiative that includes taking advantage of social networks to upload videos, photos or make a comment about the importance of bird care and protection and promoting the hashtags #DíaMundialdelasAvesMigratorias, #WorldMigratoryBirdDay, #WMBD2022, among others.
A United Nations study, prepared by the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, which has been in force since 1983, indicates that more than 80 percent of the world’s population currently lives under a “lit sky”, and the figure is close to 99 percent in Europe and America North.
Amy Freinkel, Executive Secretary of the aforementioned Convention, explains that we must raise awareness about the problem of light pollution and its negative effects on migratory birds.
Artificial light is increasing worldwide at a rate of two percent per year, a phenomenon that severely damages and confuses migratory birds when they fly at night and causes them to collide with buildings, as well as disturb their internal clocks or interfere with their ability to migrate long distances.
Among the measures that can be taken in this regard is to dim the lights in the buildings, at least during the highest migration peaks in May and October.
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