The importance of designing and managing urban environments that support both birds and people is the message of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day, a global campaign organised by the United Nations and international partners. The campaign kicks off with this year’s first peak day on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
Under the theme “Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities,” the campaign urges collective efforts to secure the future of migratory birds in and around urban environments amid alarming bird population declines. Challenges like habitat loss and threats including bird collisions, light pollution and bird mortality caused by free-roaming pets should be addressed by decision makers and by involving residents in bird conservation efforts and encouraging a sense of ownership and collaboration in their communities.
Observed twice a year to align with migration patterns in both hemispheres, World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) promotes the need to conserve migratory birds and the habitats they depend on through education, public events, and international collaboration. The 2025 theme focuses on sustainable urban planning, bird-friendly actions, and community efforts to create environments that support both birds and people.
Urgent Need for Action
Globally, 49% of all bird species are in decline and about 1 in 8 species is threatened with extinction. Migratory bird populations, in particular, continue to decrease. Published by the U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), the recent State of the Birds 2025 report highlights alarming declines in bird populations across the Americas.
The majority of the world’s bird species (four in five) are unable to fully thrive in human-dominated environments, according to a 2024 study published in Global Ecology and Biogeography. In urban and semi-urban settings, window collisions, light pollution, habitat loss and fragmentation, household pesticides, invasive species, and outdoor cats, are the major threats for birds.
Collisions with glass in urban areas account for an estimated 100 million bird deaths per year in Germany, while building collisions kill over one billion birds annually in the United States of America. Similarly, in the Republic of Korea, nationwide estimates indicate that approximately 186,000 birds die annually from collisions with transparent noise barriers (TNBs) along roads. Birds in flight are particularly vulnerable to colliding with transparent or reflective structures.
Artificial light disorients night-migrating birds, heightening these collision risks. In 2023, nearly 1,000 migrating birds died after crashing into a building in Chicago, USA. In fact, studies have found that migratory birds may be subject to the effects of light pollution particularly during migration, the most critical stage of their annual cycle.
Noise pollution can mask or interfere with bird songs, which are crucial for attracting mates, establishing territories, and warning others of danger. It can also affect the birds’ breeding schedules and success rates. In Munich, Germany, scientists found zebra finch chicks born in places with constant traffic noise were smaller than those from parents who bred and built nests in quieter locations.
Free-roaming cats also pose a serious threat to bird species. Cats are estimated to kill between 100 and 350 million birds per year in Canada, while in Australia, cats are responsible for more than a million daily bird deaths nationwide. In the city of Adelaide, cats have been implicated in the disappearance of at least one bird species, the Fairy Martin (Petrochelidon ariel).
According to the UN, 55% of the global human population resides in urban areas, and this share is projected to rise to 68% by 2050. Urban expansion is rapidly reducing natural habitats, leaving migratory birds with fewer places to rest, feed, and breed.
Designing cities and communities to reduce adverse impacts on birds and their habitats and to support bird populations also improves human well-being, including mental health. When birds are thriving, it often signals healthy ecosystems. Cities that protect birds also tend to invest in clean air, water, and green spaces, which ultimately benefit birds and people. Bird-friendly streetscapes, parks, and green roofs create more livable, beautiful environments and birds can help people feel connected to nature and to their neighborhoods and inspire community pride.
Steps Toward Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities
The World Migratory Bird Day 2025 campaign proposes practical ways for governments, businesses, and individuals to create bird-friendly cities and communities. Some examples of actions being encouraged through this year’s campaign include:
- Support bird-friendly urban planning: minimise the destruction of important bird habitats in urban development.
- Plant native plants: provide food and shelter for birds and support pollinators like bees and butterflies and some species of birds.
- Prevent collisions: use window films or patterned glass to reduce bird-window collisions.
- Turn off lights: reduce artificial light at night to protect migrating birds.
- Avoid pesticides: use organic methods to control pests and help protect insects and clean water that birds rely on.
- Reduce plastic waste: prevent birds from ingesting or getting tangled in plastic.
- Keep cats away: protect birds by keeping cats inside, on leash, or providing enclosed outdoor spaces.
- Advocate & educate: promote bird-friendly urban planning and raise awareness in your community.
Whether it’s individuals planting native plants in their yards or policymakers implementing bird-friendly urban planning and conservation measures, every community member can help support migratory birds.
Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), said: “Millions of migratory birds all around the world spend a key part of their life cycles within cities and other built communities – whether for breeding, feeding or as a stop along their migratory pathways. Nature does not end at the city limit; we share our urban and community spaces with a hugely diverse range of wild species of birds. Ensuring that our cities and communities are developed and maintained in a manner that supports migratory birds is not only vital for their survival, but also benefits people in countless ways.”
Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA): “As cities restore their rivers and green spaces, migratory waterbirds are returning – bringing us moments of great pleasure. Whether we are listening to the song of birds at dawn or witnessing the flight of ducks near a pond or the call of a flock of cranes high above our cities, nature is contributing to our well-being. We must therefore do all we can to protect these remaining shared spaces and create more of them. Bird-friendly cities have spaces where birds and people can thrive, increasing our contacts with nature and giving us these small moments of serenity in our busy urban lives.”
Jennifer George, Chief Executive of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP): “World Migratory Bird Day underscores the critical concept of ‘Shared Spaces’ – the interconnected habitats within our communities and across the globe. Places which both people and migratory birds rely on for survival, development, recreation, agriculture. A delicate balance.
“Witnessing the recent loss of vital roosting trees in my own community served as a stark reminder of our capacity to disrupt these essential ecosystems. This raises a fundamental question: where will these birds now find refuge? Let us raise awareness of these shared spaces. Let us celebrate the remarkable journeys of our migratory birds and dedicate ourselves to practical actions we can take for our avian friends.”
Susan Bonfield, Executive Director of Environment for the Americas (EFTA): “This year’s theme, ‘Shared Spaces’, reminds us that protecting migratory birds requires working together across communities, from bustling cities to rural villages, to create a healthier planet for people and for wildlife to coexist. By creating bird-friendly spaces with sustainable practices like thoughtful urban planning and land management, we can tackle habitat loss, climate change, and other challenges we all face together.
“World Migratory Bird Day is a reminder of the shared responsibility we have to care for our planet. It’s about inspiring a sense of wonder, connection, and stewardship for the natural world and the birds in our skies. Together, we can create a world where cooperation, like our birds, transcends borders and leads to a brighter, unified future.”