Austria to build observatory to track migratory birds

Austria is planning to construct an ornithological observatory to track migratory birds, the Austria Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

The news was announced by the leader of the project Professor Leonida Fusani, an ornithology specialist from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna as well as the University of Vienna.

Fusani said work on the observatory is expected to begin in 2016, when the necessary structures such as databases and servers are set up.

Up to now, the German observatory in Radolfzell in Bodensee has been used to track birds in Austria. Fusani said there have been more and more reasons to have such a facility located in Austria, including an EU request that each member state track bird movements and migrations.

"It has not been the case that up to now ornithologists in Austria have been inactive, but now their work can be channelled together," he added.

Gabor Wichmann from Birdlife Austria said the announcement is a "great thing," and that calls for the construction of such a facility have existed for some time.

He added that bird migration research in Austria is uncultivated, even though the alpine regions of the country would be a very interesting place to conduct such research.

The Ministry of Science, Research and Economy is providing funding for the construction of the observatory whose headquarters will be located in Vienna, with an outpost to be built in Grafenwoerth in the state of Lower Austria.