BirdLife Austria

BirdLife Austria is a non-profit making organization. It is the largest organization for ornithology and the protection of birds in Austria and the only one active throughout the entire country. It was founded in 1953 as the "Austrian Ornithological Station" ("Österreichische Vogelwarte") and known until 1993 as the "Austrian Ornithological Society" ("Österreichische Gesellschaft für Vogelkunde"). Since its inception the organization has placed emphasis both on the promotion of scientific research (primarily faunistic and ecological) and on the practical aspects of the protection of nature and birds. Both of these areas have gained in importance over the decades and BirdLife Austria is now the leading non-governmental organization in Austria concerned with research related to the protection of nature. In addition, the organization possesses a well recognized level of excellence in a variety of issues relating to the protection of nature (international conventions, EU legislation, laws, orders and planning instruments on nature conservation in Austria).
The strength of the organization lies in its approximately 2,200 members, which include almost all active birdwatchers in the country as well as the majority of ornithologists working scientificically or on nature conservation. BirdLife Austria is at the same time a forum for everybody interested in preserving the indigenous avifauna. The best way to express and support this interest is through membership.

The large number of hobby birdwatchers have in the past 20 years enabled BirdLife to perform numerous Austria-wide studies. Particular mention should be made of the production of the Distribution Atlas of Breeding Birds of Austria in 1993, the first work to cover a large group of animals for the entire country. No fewer than 500 members contributed to the data collection for this Atlas! BirdLife Austria is organized in a federal manner and has local branches in most of the provinces. These both carry out their own projects relating to research or nature conservation and ensure the local coordination and organization of projects that extend over the whole country. The office in Vienna contains the second-largest ornithological library in Austria (after that in the Vienna Natural History Museum), a central resource for many projects. BirdLife Austria maintains a central database on the country's birds: this currently contains about 500,000 individual observations and is updated constantly with current data from research projects, mapping work and studies of particular areas.

BirdLife Austria has established its own research institute for its research activities: the BirdLife Austria Ornithological Research Institute ("BirdLife Österreich Forschungsinstitut für Vogelkunde"). This institute is responsible for carrying out ornithological research projects such as bird surveys or recording of alpine bird communities. Donations to the institute (account number 92105951 at the PSK) represent a vital support for BirdLife's research activities and are tax-deductible.
BirdLife is also the appropriate organization to contact with everyday questions relating to the birds around us: what is the best way to feed birds? How can I set up my garden to be bird-friendly? How can I offer appropriate nesting boxes? and so on.
For many years BirdLife Austria has been offering its members and other interested people the opportunity for information exchange and further eduction in the framework of its programme of lectures, excursions and seminars and in courses. The organizations's various publications bring scientific results, current problems in nature conservation and other information to the public's attention.

Together for birds and people - BirdLife Austria is the Austrian partner of BirdLife International. BirdLife partner organizations have over 1.5 million members in about 100 countries and pursue the common aim of protecting birds and their habitats worldwide and thus of maintaining the world's biodiversity. Special emphasis is placed on working with local communities to establish ways for the sustainable use of our natural resources.

BirdLife Austria was accepted as a partner organization from BirdLife International in 1993 and as a result the organization's focus (e.g. relating to EU legislation) now also lie beyond Austria's borders. As a result of its excellent foreign connections BirdLife Austria is also the primary point of contact in Austria for international research projects (e.g. "Important Bird Areas in Europe", "Euromonitoring").

The Board of BirdLife Austria:

President: Gerhard Loupal
Vice-president: Lisbeth Zechner
Treasurer: Wolfgang Lindinger
Deputy Treasurer: Hans-Martin Berg
Secretary: Rosemarie Parz-Gollner
Deputy Secretary: Christoph Roland

Director: Gerald Pfiffinger

Heads of regional groups:
Rita Kilzer (Vorarlberg)
Hartwig W. Pfeifhofer (Styria)
Josef Feldner, director: Remo Probst (Carinthia)
Martin Brader (Upper Austria)
Hemma Gressel (Salzburg)
Katharina Peer (Tyrol)

BirdLife Austria - Austrian Ornithological Society
Museumsplatz 1/10/8
A-1070 Vienna, Austria
Phone: 0043 1 523 46 51
Fax: 0043 1 523 46 51 50
E-Mail: office@birdlife.at