http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was initiated in 2006 and is a annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. On the second weekend each May, people around the world take action and organise public events such as bird festivals, education programmes and birdwatching excursions to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day.

World Migratory Bird Day activities take place in many different countries and places, but are all linked through a single global campaign and theme. Anyone interested in organising an event to mark World Migratory Bird Day is encouraged to register on their website http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/ In this way, individual events can be shared with others around the world and help inspire them to get involved.

Every year WMBD focuses on a different topic; this year’s theme is “Save migratory birds in crisis – every species counts!” - aims to raise awareness on globally threatened migratory birds, with a particular focus on those on the very edge of extinction – the Critically Endangered migratory birds. In line with the International Year of Biodiversity, the 2011 WMBD theme also highlights how migratory birds are part of the biological diversity of our world and how the threat of extinction faced by individual bird species is a reflection of the larger extinction crisis threatening other species and the natural diversity that underpins all life on earth.

Wetlands of international importance- Migratory shorebirds sites

Migratory shorebirds are waterbirds that experience summer all year round by flying between the northern and southern hemispheres. They breed at wetlands in the northern hemisphere in June and July. They then migrate to wetlands in the southern hemisphere where they are found feeding in shallow water at coastal and inland wetlands from September to April each year.

At least two million migratory shorebirds visit Australia each year during our summer. The main route along which migratory shorebirds travel to Australia is the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. This stretches from Siberia, through East Asia down to Australia and New Zealand. Along the flyway is a network of wetlands that the birds visit to refuel.

There are at least 36 species of migratory shorebirds that visit Australian wetlands on an annual basis. In addition, there are 16 species that occasionally visit Australia, and another 15 species - numbering at least 1.1 million birds - that live in Australia.

There are hundreds of thousands of migratory shorebirds that arrive and inhabit wetlands of Western Australia's north- and south-west, feeding mostly on the invertebrates that inhabit shallow water in drying wetlands, tidal flats and salt marshes. The most common birds include the red-necked stint, curlew sandpiper, sharp-tailed sandpiper, bar-tailed godwit and greenshank.