A Rocha Czech Republic’s environmental centre, Kruparna, is in the northeast of the Czech Republic. Many visitors – children, adults and wildlife – come to enjoy the centre and its ponds and bird hide. The team organizes bird ringing demonstrations and exhibitions, involving and training young naturalists and actively monitors and rings birds in nearby Special Protected Areas (SPAs) under the Natura 2000 / European Birds Directive. 

Orlické Záhoří is a 904 hectare area of grasslands and marshes in eastern Bohemia. In the 1970s, the floodplain meadows and wetlands were badly affected by a drainage scheme and continue to face threats from overgrazing and the growing tourist industry. In partnership with the Czech Ornithological Society A Rocha Czech carries out long-term monitoring of birds such as Corn Crake Crex crex and Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio, which are both priority species. Pavel Světlík, director of A Rocha Czech, has been ringing kingfishers for nearly forty years and has noticed a marked decline in their numbers. These are monitored, together with the White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus, which has been affected by floods and acidic pollution of the rivers. Young people in A Rocha Czech’s nature clubs are monitoring local populations and making artificial nestboxes for these and for Little Owls Athene noctua.

If you would like to volunteer as part of the project find out more here.