June 6th, 2025
A New Chapter for Birdwatching in North Macedonia – ptici.mk Takes Flight!
In mid April, dozens of nature lovers, bird researchers, and amateur ornithologists gathered in Netaville, Skopje, to mark this milestone and celebrate the official launch of the first ever citizen science platform dedicated to bird data collection in the country. The event featured a presentation by Metodija Velevski, Deputy Director of the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) and ornithologist, who shared insights into the platform’s development journey and its importance for the local scientific and birdwatching communities.
The launching event ptici.mk took place in Netaville, Skopje.
The ptici.mk platform provides a modern virtual space for enthusiasts to get inspired to discover birds - common and rare, to share bird knowledge, and contribute to scientific research through active participation. It consists of a dynamic website that visualizes bird sightings and an Android app used to collect field data. An iOS version is in development, while current efforts focus on making the Android app fully functional and available soon on Google Play.
Danka Uzunova, ornithologist and project coordinator at MES, highlighted the platform's inclusive design:
“ptici.mk is created to support the growing number of birdwatchers, researchers, and bird photographers in North Macedonia. It promotes citizen science by encouraging users to document their sightings. The app requires basic bird ID knowledge, but it's simple and engaging enough to attract beginners too.”
Beyond its community-building purpose, ptici.mk is also a powerful scientific tool. By systematically collecting high-quality bird observation data across the country, the platform lays the groundwork for developing national-level biodiversity indicators, particularly for bird population trends—a key goal under EU environmental policy frameworks such as the Birds Directive and the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy.
The launching of ptici.mk congregated dozens of nature lovers, bird researchers and amateur ornithologists
This innovative platform is maintained by the Macedonian Ecological Society and it has been developed as part of the project of the “Improving the capabilities of the EuroBirdPortal project in order to boost its contribution towards EU policy objectives under the Birds Directive and the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy (101104367 LIFE22-PLP-ES-EBP reinforcement)”, co-funded by the European Union and the Sigrid Rausing Trust.
In a meanwhile..........Big applause for North Macedonia’s birdwatching community!
Following nearly a year of testing with real-world data and a month since its official public launch, ptici.mk – has already passed 15,000 records and logged its 260th bird species!
