Across most of Europe, a magnificent Common Crane migration is underway. After considerable declines from 17th till 19th century, due to loss of wetlands and hunting, the species started an amazing recovery in the 1960s, increasing in range and numbers. Follow their movements here: shorturl.at/nGoxG

How to develop the Forest Bird Index for the Nature Restoration Regulation? EBCC, in cooperation with @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social, has published a technical report to assist stakeholders at national and EU levels in creating one:

Albanian Ornithological Society team found a new colony of Collared Sand Martin at the Vjosa river (1840-2000 active breeding pairs).The overall breeding pair population estimation of the species in the Vjosa River National Park alone is now more than double the national estimate reported for EBBA2

Summary of first census of Collared Sand Martin in Serbia: out of 1061 sites identified at least 979 were visited, the largest recorded colony had 4300 active holes, more than 50 new colonies were found, however, 40 previosuly known colonies have dissapeared.Full report: shorturl.at/htM2U

BirdLife Malta has managed to re-establish its bird monitoring scheme (2023 as a pilot year). 55 one-kilometer sqaures are counted annually, with 66 people participating. 27 bird species are breeeding on Malta, reflecting its small size and persecution pressure.Read more: pecbms.info/re-establish...

The latest issue of the EBCC newsletter is out! Read about monitoring in Malta, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Cyprus, new discoveries of Collared Sand Martin colonies in Serbia and Albania, and preparations for winter bird survey in UK, as well as national portals in SE Europe. More: mailchi.mp/b644506daa9b...

Report on our SGF cooperation between @birdlifecyprus.bsky.social and Kuşkor in filling critical gaps in bird monitoring in the part of Cyprus north of the dividing line, and marking a milestone in island-wide bird monitoring and cross-community conservation efforts: www.ebcc.info/bird-monitor...

EBCC Small Grant Fund supported BirdLife Bulgaria in their ongoing programmes in the gap funding year for Common Bird Monitoring (20th anniversary!) and national atlas fieldwork, which revealed new localities for Masked Shrike, Olive-tree Warbler, Hazel Grouse and more: www.ebcc.info/small-grant-...

Local Observation.org portals launched and translated as national portals in 4 countries of SE Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo & Montenegro. Important step towards making the data collection more accessible! More on the official launch events: life.eurobirdportal.org/news/Local-O...

What is the pattern of Red-footed Falcon traces across Europe? EuroBirdPortal data shown here for end of August (2025), followed by dispersal in September/October 2024 across larger parts of the continent before migrating to wintering grounds in Africa.

European Bee-eater, a remarkable species where we are able to witness in our time an impressive northward expansion in Europe. By comparing EBBA2 data with EBBA1 (approximately 30 years prior) we can see blue squares in the N indicating that the species was found only in EBBA2 (and not in EBBA1).

EuroBirdPortal visualizes spatio-temporal patterns of bird occurrences and changes over time across the continent. Here, Western Marsh Harrier (partially overwintering in Europe) and Montagu's Harrier (embarking now to wintering grounds in sub-saharan Africa): eurobirdportal.org/ebp/en/#home...

Nicholas Strebel, from Swiss Ornithological Institute, is the third new member of our Board. In his work at the SOI, Nicholas focuses on monitoring bird populations in Switzerland and beyond, with a particular focus on trends and distribution patterns. Read more: www.ebcc.info/meet-the-new...

Trend of the Black-headed Gull, based on long-term PECBMS data, shows a moderate decline from 1990 onwards, and stable in the last 10 years. In searching for the underlying causes (for this species they seem to be multiple and some namely local), monitoring data always present the first step.

Visiting SE Europe this summer? Do not forget to submit at least one complete list, as bird data collection is relatively low in the region. You can check our SEELists tool (#LIFE Programme), showing basic stats and species phenology graphs (e.g.Red-backed Shrike): eurobirdportal.org/ebp/en/seeli...

Meet our second new Board member, Dimitrije Radišić! Dimitrije comes from Serbia and works at the University of Novi Sad, with a passion for European Rollers. As part of the EBCC Board, Dimitrije will also take on the role as the new editor of Bird Census News. More: www.ebcc.info/meet-the-new...

What is the main goal of the EBCC, how we function and more on our 3 main projects: European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2), EuroBirdPortal (EBP) and PanEuropean Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) presented in a video by @markaeaton.bsky.social, our former Board member: youtu.be/3facF13u6cg?...

The probability of occurrence in Common Swifts, presented with EBBA2 modelled map, increases with temperature and human population density/presence of urban areas, with highest probability in S European regions, but also in larger urban areas (from S England to Paris basin, across Germany and Moscow

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2) mapped the breeding distribution of 596 bird species across the European continent with the help of 120,000 volunteers! The book, which we are immensly proud of, was published in 2020, but you can explore all species maps online as well: ebba2.info

EBCC Small Grant Fund (SGF) has an open call until July 21st! SGF aims to support low and middle income European countries in bird monitoring and atlas work projects, do not miss the opportunity to apply! More here: www.ebcc.info/sgf/

Meet one of the newest EBCC Board members: Mattia Brambilla! Mattia works at University of Milan, focusing on animal ecology and conservation, as well as on ecosystem functioning and services. Read more about his motivation to join us and his plans within the EBCC: www.ebcc.info/meet-the-new...