The Big Birding Day (BBD) 2021 is here!
The Big Bird Day 2021 is on Saturday 4th December! How to Participate in Big Bird Day? Go birding anywhere you are in Uganda on Saturday 4th December 2021;
Big Birding Day short for BBD is a national birding activity in Uganda that combines avian conservation with awareness and tourism development.
This year’s BBD takes place on on Saturday 4th December 2021 when from midnight to midnight ornithologists and hobby birders will once again swarm Ugandas best, and also the lesser known sites to collect sightings and audible identifications of as many of the 1.061 species confirmed to have been recorded in the Pearl of Africa.
The aims of this annual event are to use bird conservation to help promote domestic tourism in the country and to promote Uganda as a global birding destination and also bridge the information gap by linking up all bird watchers, tourism promoters, and conservationists with each other and the rest of the world in an exciting event.
The Big Birding Day (BBD) is an annual activity organized under a theme and this year’s theme is “Birds as indicators of Ecosystems Resilience to Climate Change”.
First launched in 2009 by Nature Uganda and conservation partners, the #BBD this being the hash tag on Twitter for the event besides #VisitUganda or Big Birding Day has since evolved into a major conservation and domestic tourism event, held annually and promoted by safari companies, safari lodges, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the National Forest Authority (NFA).
The Big Birding Day 2021 will be organized in three events on the 2nd, 4th, and 12th of December 2021.
The event will kick off with a Big Birding Day launch followed by the Birding exercise all over the country and will climax with the African Birding expo where the winners of the event will be announced and celebrated on 12th December at the National Botanical Garden in Entebbe
The Big Birding Day launch was held on online on 2nd December in form of a public talk and the guest speaker talked about the “Impact of Covid-19 on wildlife trade” Please visit our website on www.natureuganda.org for this presentation.
Thereafter, participants were requested to register their respective teams for Birding and share their sites with NatureUganda.
Birding will be conducted in all parts of the East African country. These birdwatching sites are selected to represent the different vegetation types of Uganda and thus different species in these habitats are expected to be recorded.
A tally center is set up at NatureUganda office in Kampala to receive all records from all participating sites.
Results from the birding event will be received at the tally center beginning as soon as teams start leaving the birding sites.
The strategy is to receive, compile and analyze all the data and come up with a summary from all the participating sites.
Everyone is therefore invited to take part in this exciting bird-watching race from your home, gardens, or favorite birding destination. Join teams and individuals all over the country who will be going out birding this Saturday 4th December 2021.
Uganda Wildlife Authority has supported the annual Big Birding Day event through free Park entry for the Birding teams to all national Parks and Wildlife reserves inclusive of guides and boat hire to birding groups in all Parks and Wildlife reserves on the Big Birding Day, organizing birding groups at Park or reserve level to participate in the birding on the December 4th among others.
All the Uganda 10 National Parks, 12 Uganda Wildlife Reserves and 14 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Uganda participated
Nature Uganda encouraged participants in The Big Birding Day (BBD) 2021 to share their bird sightings with the tally center at NatureUganda Secretariat on Email: info@natureuganda.org, jonathanonongo@natureuganda.org, or Whatsapp your list to +256779423958 and contribute new knowledge on Uganda’s Birds.
NOTE:
- Register your team/s and share your site and the participants with NatureUganda
Please note that we have not organized any means of transport to these birding sites. You are therefore encouraged to use your means of transport.
- Nature Uganda Members birding in and around Kampala city birdwatching sites will converge at the Uganda Museum at 7:00 am.
Follow #BBD hash tag on Twitter for the event besides #VisitUganda or Big Birding Day
For more details about best hotel accommodation options in Uganda and to book, click here. Special rate room blocks are still open and available.
