| Estonian Ornithological Society |
Estonian Ornithological Society was founded on May 1, 1921, and it has worked without interruptions until the present day. Since 2000 it is a full member and co-operation partner of the international bird protection organisation BirdLife International. At present, the Society has circa 400 members.
Estonian Ornithological Society is a voluntary association of the people interested in the birds, bird study and bird protection. Everybody who supports the aim of the Society’s activities, namely the protection, study, and popularisation of our bird population, can be a member of the EOS. In order to achieve our goals, we strive to improve the general knowledge of bird biology; we deliver instructions for carrying out observations and bird study, and for analysing the results. Also we help to support the protection of the habitats and areas of vital importance to birds, and the preservation of the biological diversity of birds.
There are four permanent committees working in the framework of EOS. These committees deal with examining the notifications of spotting bird rarities in Estonia; with giving correct Estonian-language names to the birds and compiling various lists of birds; and also with specific questions concerning bird protection and scientific problems.
Twice a year EOS publishes its own periodical Hirundo. Ornithological articles and commentaries, instructions, the chronicle and announcements of EOS are published in it. Mainly original study results and discussions of the numbers, distribution, and biology of the Estonian birds, as well as articles on the problems of bird protection appear in the magazine.
For passing on all kinds of information concerning birds and discussing actual topics, the mailing list of people interested in birds, as well as ‘bird forum’ on the home page of EOS have been created that all interested people can join. One to two times a month meetings with presentations introducing interesting study results and actual problems, or with talks about memorable birding events, are held.
The members of the EOS have the possibility to contribute to the advancement of knowledge about birds and their life, by participating in various projects. At the moment, more than 10 different projects are run by the EOS. In addition, through the EOS, it is possible to find a possibility to assist in scientific fieldwork.
EOS organises several exciting and educational events where everybody has the chance to participate in. Once a year all-Estonian bird watching campaign is organised by EOS and every summer the annual meeting of the members of EOS is held in the form of an open-air weekend camp. Also smaller-scale field trips and outings are organised.
In the EOS office there is also a library with numerous bird magazines, scientific publications and field guides as well as books of popular science about birds all over the world. In addition, our members are welcome to use our video and audio collections with several interesting nature films, records and cassettes.
EOS is concerned with a number of current topics in Estonian life that are connected with our avifauna and its protection. For example, the bird diversity of agricultural areas, the influence of lumbering in spring and summer period on the forest bird population, etc. We also participate in the evaluation processes of plot and area plans and estimations of the environmental risks, and in the development of the Natura 2000 areas’ network. EOS also provides expert evaluations in the questions related with our bird population.
