Seaside Story

TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More. This short acronym perfectly summarizes our camp. People of five nationalities sharing one common goal.

Standing on a narrow piece of land, just between the lake and the sea, we watch the sky above. Geese, cranes, raptors, robins, tits, chaffinches and myriads of other Passerines. All flying West. Flock after flock after flock.

- I've never seen anything like this before - says Natalia from Mexico. It's almost the peak stage of Migration.

The weather and the bird numbers were dynamic. We captured 100-400 birds per day. It was a busy time - beginning Volunteers had plenty of opportunities to learn how to extract birds from mist nets and handle them safely. We also learned how to register the data and interpret many measurements taken in the process, unique for Operation Baltic.

Captured species included a marsh harrier, woodcock, black woodpecker, greater-spotted woodpecker, great and blue tits, many robins, bearded tits, long-tailed tits, chaffinches, wrens, firecrests and goldcrests to name a few.

Therefore - there was a diversity of Birds. But also a vibrant diversity of People, coming from Czech Republic, Mexico, UK, Italy and Poland. We shared stories about pioneer wildlife inventories in Mexican jungles, turtle conservation efforts on a remote Ascension Island, Antarctic exploration, wolf population research in Italy...

We've created our small community full of Ideas, Brainstorms, Adventures and a massive load of positive Energy. We are so different, so various, yet so similar. It was clear that every one of us, in every part of this World, faces the same doubts, conflicts and challenges.

It is our common experience, lesson and discovery - that positive changes that we do to protect wildlife - ARE POSSIBLE - only through Persistence, Respect and Dialogue, gently, over time. We've shared many such Discoveries, both big and small. And we did it together.

It means a lot - now we will carry on with our work fueled with new Energy, but also with more Patience. Because that's how it works. Inch by Inch. One step at a time.