23 April 2012 - On 13 May 2012, as part of the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), a day for discovering bird migration will take place on the study site of Pointe de Grave at Le Verdon sur Mer in Gironde (lien à la version française).

WMBD is a global awareness campaign held annually to promote the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats worldwide. It was initiated in 2006 by the Secretariats of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention) and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), two international treaties on migratory wildlife under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Year 2012 is also the 100th of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO). To celebrate this anniversary, ornithologists and friends of birds are invited to participate to this event.

Pointe de Grave is located at the northernmost tip of the Médoc peninsula, between Bordeaux and the Atlantic Ocean. This unique geographical position in France makes it a site of great ornithological interest, especially during the spring migration when “funnelling” of winds concentrates birds migrating both along the coastline and along the interior via the south coast of the Gironde estuary, to avoid crossing the water.

Among the most notable migratory species are several species of raptors, including the Eurasian Hobby (Pointe de Grave is the premier site in Western Europe to observe migration of this species in springtime), White Spoonbill, Turtle Doves, up to five species of Swallows, a multitude of black Martins and European Orioles. Many other species (seabirds, shorebirds and passerines) may also be observed.

Migratory raptors are important for many reasons, including acting as ‘sentinels’ to indicate the current status of ecosystem health, and as cultural and traditional symbols. Migratory birds often face serious threats across their ranges, such as habitat degradation or loss, death or injury through collision with power lines, and illegal hunting. Due to their migratory nature, effective conservation of these species requires cooperation and joint action by the various countries visited by these species on their annual journeys from breeding areas to wintering grounds and back.

At the invitation of the French Government, the 5th Meeting of the Parties to AEWA runs from 14 to 18 May 2012 in La Rochelle, with the theme of “Migratory waterbirds and people – sharing wetlands”. As a welcome to this event, Pointe de Grave will receive a delegation of participants for a migration discovery tour on Sunday 13 May.

The local organization of the event at Pointe de Grave will be provided by the Delegation of the Aquitaine LPO as part of its Regional Observatory of Migrating Birds, in collaboration with the Interim Coordinating Unit for the UNEP/CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MoU).

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

For more information on LPO, please visit http://lpoaquitaine.org/

Jean-Paul Urcun
LPO Aquitaine
Observatoire Régional de la Migration des Oiseaux
Tel: +33 5 59 65 97 13

For information on the UNEP/CMS Raptors MoU, please visit http://www.cms.int/species/raptors/index.htm

Nick P. Williams (MSc. Ecology)
Programme Officer (Birds of Prey – Raptors)
Tel: +971 2 6934 624
Mob: +971 502 605 569