October 11, 2025 – World Migratory Bird Day (UN)

World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated twice a year, in May and October, in line with the cyclical nature of bird migration in different hemispheres.

In 2025, according to www.worldmigratorybirdday.org, the two peak dates of World Migratory Bird Day have been designated May 10 and October 11.

World Migratory Bird Day is a global campaign that serves as a model for conservation efforts aimed at protecting migratory birds and their journeys across borders. This global initiative triggers countless educational events, uniting people in a common goal of protecting migratory birds and their habitats.

Each year, World Migratory Bird Day chooses a central theme to inspire action and focus global efforts towards conserving the habitats and welfare of migratory birds. The 2025 theme is “Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities,” emphasizing the importance of harmonious coexistence between humans and migratory birds in urban and rural environments. Urban sprawl poses significant threats to birds, leading to the loss of natural habitats due to infrastructure development, fatal collisions with brightly lit buildings, pollution, the use of pesticides that reduce food sources, and disturbances caused by invasive species. These challenges require collective action to transform cities and communities into true havens for migratory birds. Through good planning ahead for sustainable urban development that avoids expansion and habitat destruction, everyone can protect birds and raise awareness of their importance to the health of the planet and its ecosystems.

World Migratory Bird Day was launched in 2006 by the Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), although the idea of designating a day for migratory birds originally emerged in the United States in 1993.

Cristina Țugulea, PhD