Meeting Bird survey Bulgaria
October 30, 2012
Last weekend some of the participants of the bird census in SE Europe in spring 2012 tested the web based data input module. The module makes it easier to add the results of bird counts at points to a database on the world wide web. You can either pinpoint the spot where you made your count on a map or enter the GPS-coordinates of the spot. In this first version of the website the results of the counts are presented as tables. The next version will show diagrams of the number of animals seen per species and per spot. Beside adding new spots you can also select an exciting spot and add the results of your count(s) on this spot. All counts combined will give a good impression of the species richness of the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria and - especially important - their relative abundance. After some years this information can be used to evaluate the conservation efforts in the Important Bird Areas of the Eastern Rhodopes and the Natura 2000 site.
The test was successful. We succeeded to put all point counts of this spring in the database. Next step will be to make the website more user friendly and then any bird watcher visiting Bulgaria can register his bird sightings on this website. Thereby helping the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds with their work on protecting the Natura 2000 sites and Important Bird Areas in the country.