Bulgaria's Sparrow Counting Campaign Will Take Place For Ninth Consecutive Year

For the ninth consecutive year the campaign of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds "We Count the Sparrows" will take place.

Anyone can take part by dedicating just 10 minutes on the day of the count, between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, to record the number and species of sparrows they observe and submit the data on the website birds.bg.

The campaign's mission is to assess the status of the three most commonly encountered sparrow species in Bulgaria: the House Sparrow, the Tree Sparrow, and the Spanish Sparrow. The count will help determine their population sizes, preferred habitats, and which species is most prevalent across the country. Conducted annually, the campaign aims to identify long-term population trends and their underlying causes.

Children and adults are encouraged to participate this Saturday by selecting a specific location (e.g. courtyard, park, garden, or space between apartment blocks) and counting observed sparrows for just 10 minutes within the designated time window. It is equally important to report if no sparrows are observed at the selected site.

In order to help people recognise the three most common sparrow species in Bulgaria, the Society for the Protection of Birds is organising guided sparrow-watching walks in seven cities across the country: Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, Burgas, Haskovo, Dimitrovgrad, and Plovdiv.

In 2023, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds presented findings from a 19-year study on widespread bird species in Bulgaria, which revealed a 52% decline in the House Sparrow population. Urban birds are among the most accurate indicators of the quality of the environment we live in, the BSPB experts emphasise.