MINSK, 29 December (BelTA) – Belarusians are invited to choose the Bird of the Year 2022 among three candidates. The online voting is run by the public association APB BirdLife Belarus, BelTA learned from the association.
The bird of the year will be chosen from three candidates at the APB BirdLife Belarus convention on 6 February. Two candidates – the osprey and the European turtle dove – have been proposed by the main board and the secretariat of the public association. The third bird will be shortlisted as a result of the online voting on the website of the association. “Anyone can put forward their proposal by filling in a form that will be available till 8 January. After that, people will choose the third bird from the longlist in the online voting on 11-31 January,” APB BirdLife Belarus said.
The species that were named bird of the year before cannot be nominated. In addition, candidates for the title should meet a number of criteria. The bird should be part of Belarus' fauna, it should be recognizable and distinguishable from other species. It is advisable that the bird is in the Red Book of Endangered Species of Belarus or is rare and was not depicted on coins of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and stamps of the Belarusian postal service Belpochta before.
Launched in 2000, the nationwide campaign Bird of the Year seek to draw the attention to the beauty of nature, birds, and the need to preserve them. Activities within the framework of the campaign are held throughout the year and give many people an opportunity to take part in art competitions and environmental protection efforts. The European nightjar was declared the Bird of the Year 2021 in Belarus.
