Birds of a feather flock to the Big Day 2022 ornithological marathon

The fourth edition of the ornithological marathon organized by the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) and the Prof. Dr. Ioan Borcea Marine Biology Station of the Alexandru Ioan CuzaUniversity in Iasi, Big Day 2022, will be held in Agigea from September 30 to October 2.

The event will be held in parallel with the traditional EuroBirdwatch, the migratory bird watch that takes place in several European countries.

Anyone can register for the Big Day - Ornithological Marathon, as there is no age limit and the registration procedure is very simple, via an online registration form available here.

In order to participate, one needs to bring binoculars or a telescope and, optionally, a camera. Since the area where the observations can be made is quite large, participants will also need cars to move around the field, preferably ones that can withstand rough roads.

Participants are expected on Friday, September 30, at 8 pm at the Marine Biological Station in Agigea, where a meeting will take place and all the details of the bird marathon will be discussed.

The marathon itself begins at 5 am and participants have 24 hours to observe as many bird species as possible, in the area delimited by Techirghiol Lake, Vadu, the Black Sea, and the Dobrogea Gorges. Observations will be recorded in the Ornitodata mobile app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play or iOS App Store.

During the birdathon, judges will be on-site to ensure there are no problems with bird identifications or any deviations from the rules.

After 5 am the next day, no more observations will be accepted. The jury will then validate the data and announce the winning teams.

The rules of the event can be read here (the document is in Romanian).

(Photo source: Agami Photo Agency | Dreamstime.com)