Introduction and background

The first Aruban National Bird Count took place on March 18, 2011. Between 07.00 and
09.00 a.m. many enthusiasts, children and adults from all ages, recorded over a time span of
15 minutes all birds they could possibly see in their home garden. The Bird Count is an
initiative from the Aruban Birdlife Conservation Foundation, and was carried by the Minister
of Economic, Social and Cultural Affairs. The Department of Culture designed, arranged and
sponsored the printing of the bird count forms, organized the information and press events
and took care of the distribution and collection of the bird count forms. The Central Bureau
of Statistics assisted at a final stage with the analyses of the collected data. There is a
growing need for data on the birds of Aruba. According to the Aruban Birdlife Conservation
Foundation, a number of bird species are under serious threat of extinction, however, only
anecdotal information on the distribution and abundance of birds on Aruba is available. The
National Bird Count aims to help in several ways. Firstly, it will provide information about
the presence (or absence) of a number of bird species in the inhabited areas and, secondly,
it will help to raise environmental awareness and commitment in all segments of the society.