The first World Migratory Bird Day took place on 8-9 April, 2006. At the time, migratory birds were receiving very negative media coverage as a result of them being falsely believed to be the main cause for the spread of Avian Influenza (H5N1) around the world. So the idea arose to use the first World Migratory Bird Day to counter some of the negative and often unbalanced publicity migratory birds were receiving at the peak of the Avian Influenza discussion.
In 2013, the ASCOBANS Secretariat partnered with NGOs Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), NABU and OceanCare for a competition targeting German-speaking areas. With the theme “The Last 300”, creative minds were given the opportunity to explore through their art and design work the importance they personally gave to having these unique animals in the Baltic Sea. Ninety-four entries were subm