BirdLife Cyprus

BirdLife Cyprus is a non-governmental environmental organization focused on the conservation of birds and their habitats across the island of Cyprus. Established in 2003 through the merger of two Cyprus ornithological societies, it serves as Cyprus’s partner organization within the BirdLife International partnership, a global network of conservation groups active in more than one hundred countries. Its offices are located in Kato Deftera near Nicosia. The organization works across research, advocacy, habitat protection, species recovery, environmental education, and public engagement. Its conservation program combines field monitoring with policy and legal advocacy. BirdLife Cyprus conducts monthly wetland-bird counts, common-bird censuses, surveys of migrating raptors, bird-ringing activities, and regular reporting on bird populations and sightings. It is also associated with the Cyprus bird-ringing scheme and participates in the European Union for Bird Ringing network. These activities provide data used to identify population trends, guide conservation priorities, and support decisions concerning protected areas. A central part of BirdLife Cyprus’s work is the protection of Important Bird Areas and their formal recognition and management as Special Protection Areas under the European Union Birds Directive. Such sites form part of the Natura 2000 network and include wetlands, migration stopovers, agricultural landscapes, and other habitats of importance to resident and migratory species. The organization has participated in projects involving Akrotiri, Cape Pyla, Akrotiri Marsh, and Oroklini Lake, seeking to improve habitat condition, management, and long-term ecological resilience. BirdLife Cyprus is also a prominent advocate against the illegal trapping and poaching of wild birds. The organization campaigns against the use of mist nets and limesticks, methods that indiscriminately capture migratory and threatened species. It has linked this activity to the illegal trade in ambelopoulia, a traditional dish made from trapped songbirds. Its work includes public awareness, field monitoring, policy engagement, and cooperation with authorities and conservation partners. The campaign is conducted at both Cypriot and European levels because Cyprus is an important migration route in the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture is another area of activity. Because parts of Cyprus retain relatively low-intensity farming systems, BirdLife Cyprus promotes agricultural practices that maintain food sources, nesting opportunities, and landscape features for farmland birds. The organization also works on education and awareness through school visits, citizen-science initiatives, outdoor learning, birdwatching activities, and guided field trips. In 2025 it launched Thkio Mosfilies, a 30,000-square-metre outdoor learning space in the Famagusta district intended to provide practical nature education for schools and families. Its project portfolio has included the Akrotiri Cape Pyla Darwin Project, the Akrotiri Marsh Restoration project, the Oroklini Project, LIFE IP Physis, and LIFE with Vultures. These initiatives address wetland restoration, Natura 2000 implementation, biodiversity strategy, habitat management, and recovery of the Griffon Vulture population in Cyprus. The organization also promotes birdwatching as a means of building conservation support and encouraging sustainable nature tourism. Its emblem is the Cyprus wheatear, an endemic bird that breeds only on the island.

BirdLife Cyprus was created in 2003 when two Cyprus ornithological societies merged. The merger established a unified national organization for bird conservation on an island positioned along important eastern Mediterranean migration routes. From its establishment, the organization developed a role that extended beyond amateur ornithology into systematic monitoring, habitat protection, environmental policy, and public education. As the Cyprus partner of BirdLife International, BirdLife Cyprus became connected to an international conservation partnership while retaining a national focus. Its work has emphasized the collection of reliable evidence on bird populations and migration. The organization conducts recurring surveys of wetland birds, common birds, and migrating raptors, publishes bird-sighting and monitoring information, and supports the national bird-ringing scheme. It is also connected with the European Union for Bird Ringing. These activities help document changes in resident and migratory populations and provide an evidentiary basis for conservation and planning. Protected-area advocacy has been a second major pillar. BirdLife Cyprus has worked to secure recognition of scientifically identified Important Bird Areas as Special Protection Areas under the European Union Birds Directive. Special Protection Areas are part of the Natura 2000 network and are intended to protect sites important for birds while allowing management approaches compatible with sustainable local activity. The organization has therefore engaged not only in identifying sites but also in advocating for effective management and protection against damaging development or land-use practices. Illegal bird trapping became one of BirdLife Cyprus’s most visible public campaigns. Mist nets and limesticks can capture a broad range of birds, including protected migratory species. The organization has opposed trapping and the associated illegal trade in ambelopoulia through awareness campaigns, monitoring, and engagement with authorities and European institutions. Because Cyprus is situated on a major migration route, the issue has implications beyond the island’s resident bird populations. The organization has also promoted wildlife-friendly agriculture. Its approach recognizes that low-intensity agricultural landscapes can provide important habitat and feeding areas, while agricultural intensification can reduce farmland-bird populations. BirdLife Cyprus has advocated practical measures intended to retain biodiversity in working landscapes rather than treating conservation and farming as wholly separate activities. Project-based conservation has expanded the organization’s work into wetland restoration, species recovery, and biodiversity governance. The Akrotiri Cape Pyla Darwin Project and the Akrotiri Marsh Restoration project addressed important wetland habitats and migration sites. The Oroklini Project focused on restoring and managing Oroklini Lake, an Important Bird Area of international significance. Through LIFE IP Physis, BirdLife Cyprus has participated in nationwide efforts supporting Cyprus’s biodiversity strategy and the Natura 2000 framework. LIFE with Vultures addressed the conservation and recovery of the island’s Griffon Vulture population through protection and monitoring. Education and public participation have remained integral to the organization’s model. BirdLife Cyprus conducts school programs, outreach, citizen-science activities, guided birdwatching, and outdoor learning. In 2025, it launched Thkio Mosfilies, a substantial outdoor learning space in the Famagusta district designed to give schools and families direct experience of Cyprus’s natural environment. Birdwatching is promoted both as a conservation-awareness activity and as a potential basis for sustainable nature tourism. Today, BirdLife Cyprus operates as an active national conservation organization with a broad portfolio encompassing scientific monitoring, protected-area policy, illegal-trapping prevention, habitat restoration, species conservation, agricultural advocacy, and environmental education. Its emblem, the Cyprus wheatear, reflects the organization’s connection to an endemic species that breeds only on the island.

• 2025

  Thkio Mosfilies outdoor learning space opens

  [1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  BirdLife Cyprus launches a 30,000-square-metre outdoor education space in the Famagusta district for schools and families.

• 2015

  Bird-trapping pressure is highlighted

  [1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  BirdLife Cyprus cites estimates that more than two million birds were killed through illegal trapping during the year, including large numbers in the British Sovereign Base Areas.

• 2003

  BirdLife Cyprus is formed

  [1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  Two Cyprus ornithological societies merge to create BirdLife Cyprus.

• 2003

  Cyprus becomes represented in the BirdLife International partnership

  [1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  BirdLife Cyprus assumes the role of national partner for BirdLife International in Cyprus.

A Cyprus-focused, science-led bird and habitat conservation organization combining field monitoring, public advocacy, environmental education, habitat restoration, and participation in European and international conservation frameworks.

• Scientific conservation services

  Bird monitoring and survey programs

  BirdLife Cyprus conducts recurring monitoring activities including monthly wetland-bird counts, common-bird censuses, and surveys of migrating raptors. The organization also produces periodic information on sightings and bird populations. These programs generate baseline and trend data for conservation planning, protected-area management, and public reporting.

• Wildlife research

  Cyprus bird-ringing scheme

  The organization is responsible for the Cyprus bird-ringing scheme and participates in the European Union for Bird Ringing network. Bird ringing supports research into migration routes, survival, movements, and population dynamics, particularly for species passing through Cyprus during seasonal migrations.

• Conservation advocacy

  Illegal bird-trapping campaign

  This continuing campaign seeks to end the illegal capture, trade, and consumption of wild birds. It addresses the use of mist nets and limesticks, which can kill or injure protected and migratory species, and raises awareness of the connection between trapping and the illegal ambelopoulia trade.

• Habitat conservation

  Important Bird Area and Special Protection Area advocacy

  BirdLife Cyprus promotes the designation and effective management of scientifically identified Important Bird Areas as Special Protection Areas under the European Union Birds Directive. The work supports the wider Natura 2000 network and seeks to reconcile biodiversity protection with sustainable local development.

• Education and public engagement

  Environmental education and birdwatching

  BirdLife Cyprus provides school visits, citizen-science opportunities, outdoor learning, guided birdwatching tours, and field trips. It also shares resources about birding sites, seasonal migration, and species identification. These activities use direct experience of nature to strengthen public support for conservation and sustainable tourism.

• Outdoor environmental education · 2025

  Thkio Mosfilies

  Thkio Mosfilies is a 30,000-square-metre outdoor learning space launched in 2025 in the Famagusta district. It is designed for practical nature education serving schools and families, extending BirdLife Cyprus’s outreach beyond classroom-based activities.

• Campaign against illegal bird trapping

  Cyprus · European Union

  BirdLife Cyprus campaigns against illegal trapping with nets and limesticks, the killing of migratory and threatened species, and the illegal sale of trapped birds for ambelopoulia. The campaign includes public communication, monitoring, and policy advocacy.

  Source
• Wildlife-friendly agriculture campaign

  Cyprus

  The organization promotes practical agricultural approaches intended to preserve farmland habitat and reduce the effects of intensification on bird populations.

  Source
• Important Bird Areas and Special Protection Areas campaign

  Cyprus · European Union

  BirdLife Cyprus advocates formal protection and effective management of Important Bird Areas through Special Protection Area designation and integration into the Natura 2000 network.

  Source

• 2025

  Launch of Thkio MosfiliesProduct launch

  Background

  BirdLife Cyprus sought to expand hands-on environmental education for schools and families.

  Action taken

  The organization opened a 30,000-square-metre outdoor learning space in the Famagusta district.

  Aftermath

  The space broadened the organization’s education and outreach infrastructure; further impact data is not specified.

  Source

• 2003

  Creation of a unified national bird-conservation organizationStrategy

  Background

  Cyprus had two ornithological societies whose conservation work was consolidated through a merger.

  Action taken

  The societies formed BirdLife Cyprus, which became the country’s BirdLife International partner.

  Aftermath

  The merger provided a single national platform for monitoring, advocacy, habitat conservation, and education.

  Source

• 2025

  BirdLife Cyprus launches Thkio Mosfilies outdoor learning space[1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  BirdLife Cyprus launched a 30,000-square-metre outdoor learning area in the Famagusta district for school and family activities focused on practical environmental education and nature awareness.

• BirdLife Cyprus continues campaign against illegal bird trapping[1]BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Regulation

  The organization continues to campaign against the capture and illegal sale of wild birds using mist nets and limesticks, including birds consumed as ambelopoulia.

1. 1BirdLife Cyprusen.wikipedia.org
2. 2BirdLife Cyprus official websitebirdlifecyprus.org
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