Cover photograph: The bird ringing camp by Diana Simeonova
The Dragoman Marsh held its first ever bird ringing camp from August to October 2022.
The camp was a cross-cutting action between traditional and citizen science, community engagement, and education. It attracted 50 people including professional bird ringers and volunteers.
The camp had some interesting results. 1540 birds of 54 species were ringed and one recaptured barn swallow was ringed in Slovakia. Ringed birds from rare or less common bird ringing species included European nightjar, bearded reedling, river warbler, Eurasian wryneck, European bee-eater, grey partridge, great grey shrike, and lesser spotted woodpecker.
Since birds make for an excellent indicator of habitat conditions, the collected data contributes to the baseline study of the action site and will help establish trends throughout the project.
