The Second City Birds Festival

On March 31, 2012, the 2nd Festival of City Birds was celebrated in Havana, Cuba. Organized by the National Museum of Natural History, this event aims to bring the general public closer to the birds that make up part of their urban environment through a festive-educative approach. The event took place between the Museum and Arms Square, which is the historical center of the Cuban capital.

A total of 14 children, members of the citizen science workshop “The birds, the city trees and I”, which focuses on the diverse relationships between the birds and the trees that are present in some of the parks in the Old Havana, conducted the festival activities for the public that transted through the centric Old Plaza.

The session started off with drawings made on the street to call on the attention of people walking by the Museum. Afterwards, for the duration of two hours, the workshop participants took the interested public to watch the birds that were found on the trees of Arms Square. In addition to the intense observations, a list of the bird species seen that day in the Square was created by those who observed, visualized and verified their sightings. A quiz game over the observed birds made the boys’ and girls’ morning.

This journey came to an end with the awarding of colorful bird-shaped ceramic flutes, created by the Grasshopper Ecologist Group, to each one of the workshop attendees that lead the public during the bird observations. Also, as part of the closure, a Cuban Trogon piñata full of candy and gifts was set up for the younger audience.

Observed Birds List

Legend
PR: Permanent Resident; WR: Winter Resident; SR: Summer Resident