At the beginning of each year, the Austrian Bird Union, Austria's national bird protection society, launches a special event called "Winter Bird Hour".
This is to call on nature lovers across the country to observe their residences within a specified date, record the number and species of birds that appear within an hour, and post the results or upload them online.
This is Austria's largest national science practice event, and in 2022 it will be in its 13th year. Every citizen can participate in this national bird census, and no extensive knowledge of ornithology is required.
Bird-watching places can be selected in front of the house, on the balcony or in the garden, or next to the open-air bird feeder in the park, at any time.
According to experts, during the cold winter months, especially after snowfall, the natural food source in the forest is covered with snow and ice, and birds have to frequently fly into home gardens or approach artificial bird feeders to forage.
Through the winter bird census, it is possible to accurately understand the living conditions of native birds, and learn which birds will appear in towns, villages and natural environments.
Even if citizens don't see any birds for a selected hour, the information reported to conservation groups is just as valuable to analyze which environments birds are not interested in.
Vienna, the capital of Austria, is one of the world's greenest international cities. In a 2021 statistical campaign dedicated to woodpeckers and sparrows, nearly 2,000 reports were submitted documenting the 8,500 birds observed, of which about 1/6 were woodpeckers.
A variety of different species of woodpeckers can be seen in Vienna, and they live in parks, green spaces and tree-lined courtyards all over the city, even in the inner city.
For this reason, the Bird Federation also calls Vienna the "unknown capital of European woodpeckers".
Statistics show that although more and more citizens have participated in bird watching activities in recent years. But unfortunately, not only large birds such as raptors have almost disappeared, but even the number of adaptable birds such as sparrows, chaffinches, and larks is decreasing year by year.
In 2011, the average home garden had 50 birds an hour, compared with less than 30 last year. This trend is also reflected across Europe, where bird populations in EU countries have declined by around 600 million over the past 40 years.
To help nature lovers do better bird watching, the Austrian Bird Federation also provides some tips. For example, you can set up feeders in your garden or yard to create opportunities to observe birds up close. You can go for a walk in the forest, listen to the birdsong in nature, and deepen your understanding of birds.
You can take outings to nearby rivers and lakes, and local waterfowl are also interesting to observe. You can also prepare a picture book-type bird guide for reference at any time, and try to distinguish the sounds of different birds through a record or an app.
In addition, the Bird Alliance will regularly organize free "hike tours" to lead citizens into nature and learn the basic knowledge of birds on the spot.
