2015

Bird Rally registers 165 bird species and subspecies

The international bird-watching competition "Latvijas valsts mezu putnu rallijs – 2015" (2015 Bird Rally of Latvian State Forests), organized by JSC "Latvian State Forests" and the Latvian Birds’ Fund, was held recently for the fourth time in Latvia. The winning team from Estonia – "Estbirding" – registered 132 bird species, while the total number of species and subspecies amounted to 165. The Latvian team - "TTTS", were honored for registering the “most interesting” bird – the Mediterranean gull.

Participating in the competition were six teams of experienced ornithologists from three Baltic States – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

The event took place in Vidzeme, Latgale, and the historic Selonia region. During the 24-hour competition that took place from September 19, 11 a.m. to September 20, 11 a.m., using their own transportation means, the teams surveyed the territory, recording visual and audio evidence of bird species and subspecies, following a rule that the list of established bird species or subspecies must be recorded by at least three team members. (Each team had four to five). The judges consisted of experienced ornithologists Valdis Roze, Karlis Millers, and Kaspars Funts.