International Waterbird Census, 50th time

This video, in Spanish, is about counting waterbirds in Paraguay.

The Dutch SOVON ornithologists report that on 23-24 January, for the fiftieth time there will be the International Waterbird Census in the Netherlands; and in many other countries, from Iceland to South Africa.

In January 1967, when this census was for the first time in the Netherlands, about 650,000 bird were counted. They included 200,000 mallards; 60,000 coots; 55,000 greater white-fronted geese; and about 45,000 each tufted ducks, wigeons and barnacle geese.

In January 2015, with many more people counting, some 5,500,000 bird were counted. Including 759,000 greater white-fronted geese; 648,000 wigeons; 589,000 barnacle geese; and 314,000 mallards.

From Wetlands International:

The International Waterbird Census (IWC) has run since 1967 and today covers over 25,000 sites in more than 100 countries. In each country national coordinators work with a network of professional and amateur counters to provide waterbird counts to the IWC. In total, more than 15,000 people submit their data annually, making this one of the largest global monitoring schemes largely based on citizen science.

There are 4 separate regional schemes of the IWC that represent the major flyways of the world. Click on the links below to learn more about the regional websites and to contribute to the IWC in your part of the world:

Africa-Eurasia

Asia-Pacific

Caribbean

Neotropics

50 Years of the International Waterbird Census – Let’s Make it Count!

2016 marks the 50th count of the IWC and is an important moment to celebrate the achievements of the global partnership of national and local agencies, organisations and individuals who volunteer their time and efforts as national coordinators and volunteers to collect the information.

Linked to this event, Wetlands International will launch a global campaign to inspire and promote action for the conservation of wetlands along the world’s flyways. We invite all governments, experts, organisations, companies and volunteers to work with us and step up efforts to conserve wetlands for waterbirds. Read more.