Dubai Municipality will celebrate World Migratory Birds Day, which falls on 9th October.

Observing this international occasion strengthens the municipality’s leading role in raising environmental awareness for the emirate’s community and its quest to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems in the emirate.

The Environment Department of the Dubai Municipality will attractively organise various awareness programmes for all segments of society to educate them about the importance of migratory birds and their varieties, the threats they face and how the community can contribute to mitigating them.

This year’s global event, with the theme, “Sing, Fly, Soar, like a Bird,” focuses on the phenomena of the birds’ voices and flight as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages in their shared desire to celebrate migratory birds and unite in a joint global effort to protect them and their habitats.

World Migratory Bird Day has a global reach. It is an effective tool for sharing best practices in contributing to the protection of migratory birds from the threats they face on their journey in search of food, temperate climate, or escape from predators.

The Environment Department is organising various environmental events on Saturday, 9th October 2021, at Creek Park – Gate No. 1, from 16:00 to 18:00. It is an opportunity for the entire family to participate in environmental workshops that various private companies will present.

The workshops include environmental messages related to migratory birds and how to preserve them. One of the most prominent educational workshops offered by the Environment Department is on making bird nests that participants can place in their homes to attract birds, specifically migratory birds.

One of the most notable projects for the public is the programme for tracking migratory birds by satellite. A tracking device will be installed, equipped with a satellite positioning device, to follow the bird’s movement without the need to recapture it and study its migration path.

This contributes to programmes for the protection and proper management of these birds. In addition, everyone will be able to participate in various environmental competitions.

There will be an environmental yoga workshop in which participants will enjoy the birds singing while exercising. Art enthusiasts can showcase their creativity by colouring a 15-metre long environmental painting of migratory birds and watch the environmental art exhibition in which 15 artists of different nationalities will participate.

The Emirate of Dubai and the UAE, in general, represent a major habitat for many migratory birds. The shallow coastal waters, inland waterways, mangroves and salt marshes are among the essential elements for birds escaping from the frozen icy areas in the Asian and Siberian poles during their quest for a warmer climate in Africa.

The UAE annually hosts large numbers of migratory birds due to its location and its climate. Two important bird migration paths overlap the UAE, the path of bird migration from East Africa to West Asia and the path of Central Asia, while birds of northern Europe and Asia visit the UAE as a breeding area.

Reserves distributed in various regions of the Emirate of Dubai constitute important habitats for hundreds of species of migratory birds annually, such as Socotra cormorants, sooty gulls, white-cheeked terns, crested cats, black grouse, and yellow-necked sparrows, There are also wading birds and birds of prey, such as the osprey and the peregrine falcon and small birds, in addition to types of storks, such as the beak, heron, and flamingo that are found in coastal areas and swamps, as well as different types of ducks.

There are eight nature reserves in the Emirate of Dubai as protected areas to preserve wildlife within the emirate, covering approximately 1,297,82 square kilometres Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is also one of those key areas that provide a safe place for migratory birds and are of international ecological importance due to their unique biodiversity.