“Bird Day” will be celebrated in the “Anastasie Fătu” Botanical Garden of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iasi, but previously also in the so-called “Delta of Moldavia”, in Larga Jijia. On Sunday, March 31, from 10 o’clock, there will be an ornithological tour in the Moldavian Delta, mainly watching water birds in their nuptial customs. On this occasion, there will also be an ornithological photographic exhibition, made by the artist Gabi Sandu. Then, on April 1, also from 10 o’clock, in a new tour, the birds of the city are followed in the spring.
“We mark this national day through a series of activities. We will do practical applications so that we can see as many birds as possible. On Sunday we will go to the Moldavian Delta, then on Monday we will make a tour to the Botanical Garden, to see the birds that populate the green spaces in the cities”, declared Prof. Dr. Carmen Gache, biologist.
The complete calendar of activities
In the event that the weather conditions do not allow the tour from April 1st, the conference-presentation “Birds – travel by air” will take place inside. Later, on April 5, in Pogor Park and at the “Vasile Pogor” National Museum of Romanian Literature, at 10 a.m., the conference-presentation “Spring in the world of birds and Vasile Pogor Park” will take place.
The following day, on April 6, in the organization of the Codrii Iasilor association, at 9:00 am, the ornithological clock-tour “Trail in Codrii Iasilor” is scheduled on the thematic route.
The last event will take place on April 7, in Copou Park, at 10 a.m., when new nests will be mounted on the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) panel. There will also be a presentation on how we identify, help and preserve the elements of biodiversity in Copou Park.
“At Casa Pogor, on the one hand, we will do an activity about what happens in spring in the life of birds, and after the conference we will install a feeder and, if we manage to make it by then, we will also install 2-3 artificial nests. On Saturday we go to Codrii Iaşilor, and on Sunday the panel with cubes in the Copou Garden will be repaired. We are trying to make it functional again so that it can be used by children and adults because it was vandalized”, added the university staff.
Anyone can participate in these events, within the limits of available places. “We have the registration form on the Facebook page of SOR Iasi. We have been celebrating “Bird Day” in Iasi since 1993, if I’m not mistaken. To observe the birds of the Moldavian Delta, we will go with binoculars and binoculars. Without binoculars you cannot really see water birds, especially if they are at a great distance, and in the park there is also the Copou Botanic Garden, with binoculars. Those in the audience who also have binoculars are asked to bring them. We will also have determinants to show how we recognize birds”, the biologist mentioned.
“Bird Day” is an event celebrated on April 1 since the interwar period, especially by teachers. The focus was on the arrival of migratory birds and nesting, one of the main actions being the placement of artificial nests. After 1990, SOR resumed this tradition, carried out mainly through branches, and, for 7 years, again in nature-friendly schools and kindergartens, the organization’s most important educational project.
“Almost 400 species of wild birds can be found in Romania. Some of these are sedentary birds, which we have with us all year round, others are migratory, which leave us in autumn and return in spring, as well as birds that visit us only in winter, our winter guests. Several species appear only by accident, to the delight of ornithologists and observers passionate about rarities. The best times to observe birds are the periods of migration, when the number of species and specimens is high. The migration is also in spring, better known to the public, but also in autumn, when the birds leave us for better places in terms of food. On a small scale, the best time to observe birds is early in the morning, when our cities have not yet fully awakened to life and we can still clearly hear the song of titmouses, blackbirds and sparrows, to which are gradually added the trills of who arrive from warm countries or just from the south of the continent”, appears on the SOR website.
