Since the 1970s, the number of European turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) in Flanders has fallen by 70%, nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) are down by 40-50%, and whinchats (Saxicola rubetra) have declined by 80%. There used to be 200-300,000 brooding pairs of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), but that number has been reduced to 20-30,000, a cut of 90%.

“Because the barn swallow is our ‘Bird of the Year’ we’re concentrating on that species,” said Jan Rodts of VBV.

Zambia is a useful field to study because the Zambians do not hunt migratory birds, although there is a certain amount of trapping and caging. In neighbouring countries like Nigeria, Congo and Cameroon – also favourite destinations for the birds’ winter migration – the birds are not only hunted for food, they also suffer from the development of marshlands for agricultural purposes and the presence of insecticides on farmland.

• Meanwhile, VBV is one of several nature-protection organisations to launch a new website, www.dierenonderdewielen.be, where the public can report cases in which wildlife has been killed by road traffic. Flanders has more than 70,000km of roads and vehicles clock a massive 55.4 billion km every year. Estimates based on 1995 figures suggest at least four million wild animals and birds are killed by traffic annually, although the real figure by now is likely to be much higher. The website is available in English as well as other languages.