World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD)
The journeys that migratory birds take each year are truly fantastic. These birds, like our endemics and residents, are part of our natural heritage and it is up to us to conserve the habitats they need to feed and rest during winter or their long migrations. We encourage all of you to celebrate WMBD in your own country, as you have celebrated the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival with great success for many years now. WMBD is officially celebrated on the second Saturday in October in the Caribbean (this year it’s October 11th), but you can celebrate anytime in the fall that is convenient for you.
The theme of the 2025 festival is “SHARED SPACES: CREATING BIRD-FRIENDLY CITIES AND COMMUNITIES.” highlighting the importance of PROVIDING GREEN SPACES FOR OUR BIRDS IN AND AROUND urban areas .
Creating bird-friendly communities is vital for helping bird populations — and this is especially important on Caribbean islands where towns and cities are often directly adjacent to or even interspersed amongst forests, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems. Urban development on an island inherently leads to habitat loss and fragmentation, directly impacting birds’ abilities to find adequate food, and places to raise their families and safely hide from predators.
This urban sprawl is a significant driver of some of the major threats facing birds, with climate change creating another series of deadly threats. Rising sea levels, catastrophic hurricanes, and changes in temperature and rainfall patterns directly endanger coastal wetlands and other natural habitats that birds rely on.
This is why every patch of green space, whether it’s a park, a backyard, or a tree-lined street, becomes a critical part of the larger ecological network on each island.
In the fall, we will share Migratory Birds of the Day with coloring pages, online puzzles, natural history information, photos, videos, activities for kids, webinars, and more! Follow along on our website and social media (look for BirdsCaribbean on Facebookand Instagram) and search for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay #WMBD2025 and #BirdsCaribbean. Thanks to assistance from Environment for the Americas, we have a new poster, kits, and other materials to help you celebrate. Great resources for celebrating WMBD can be found at Environment for the Americas website (home of WMBD in the Americas), at MigratoryBirdDay.org, and also the global website of World Migratory Bird Day.
