site.btaWorld Sparrow Day Marked in Bulgaria

Bulgaria marks World Sparrow Day on March 20. This day has been celebrated annually since 2010, when the Nature Forever Society in India launched the initiative to raise awareness of the alarming downward trend in sparrow populations around the globe.

The theme of World Sparrow Day 2024 is Sparrows Lovers, to put an emphasis on the link between people and sparrows. As birds and humans share an ecosystem, indications that something is wrong with sparrow populations, which are mostly urban, could serve as a "red light" that urban residents are at risk, too. 

In Bulgaria, there are five species of sparrows: the house, tree, rock, Spanish, and Italian sparrow. The most common one is the house sparrow.

In 2023, the 19th annual study of widespread bird species in Bulgaria, conducted by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), reported a decline by 52% in the population of the house sparrow since the first study in 2005. In April 2023, the Let’s Count the Sparrows campaign of the BSPB counted 3,556 sparrows in 276 locations, compared to 5,024 sparrows in 336 locations in 2022. Among the reasons for the decline is overbuilding resulting in lack of enough green areas, air and noise pollution in cities, and pesticides use in agriculture.

This year's edition of Let's Count the Sparrows will take place on April 27, the BSPB said on its website. Everybody wishing to become sparrow counters can register on vrabcheta.bg. On April 27, they will be expected to observe a location of their choice for 10 minutes and then enter on the website the largest number of house, tree, and Spanish sparrows they saw.

Let’s Count the Sparrows was first launched in spring 2017 and has since been held annually on a single day in April or May to determine the number of sparrows, their preferred locations, and the predominant sparrow species in Bulgaria. The campaign helps identify the long-term population trends.