Today is International Bird Day. It is at this time, when the day becomes longer and the sun brighter, that migratory birds return to their native places: starlings, larks, wagtails, finches and others.
The origins of this holiday can be found in such Slavic traditions as the spring meeting of larks and nesting for starlings and storks. The Slavs celebrated Forty or the Day of the Lark on March 22 on the day of the vernal equinox.
In the Russian Empire, Bird Day was held by children’s “May Unions” and departments of the Russian Society for the Protection of Animals. They arranged drawing exhibitions, hung artificial nests, introduced children to various birds of Russia’s nature.
In 1924, in the USSR, the celebration of the Day of Birds was resumed by young naturalists under the leadership of N. Dergunov and P. Smolin. Since the 1930s, the holiday has taken on a national scale, but the emphasis is on the protection of birds useful for agriculture. From the beginning of the 1950s, Bird Day began to be celebrated on April 1, and processions with birdhouses were organized.
More than 20 species of birds return to the Summer and Mikhailovsky Gardens for the summer. In the gardens there are a large number of birdhouses, titmouses, houses for wagtails. All of them are hung on trees so that it is convenient for birds to breed in them.
On April 1, 2022, the gardens of the Russian Museum are closed to dry. And the birds will have a whole month of peace and quiet in order to comfortably hatch their chicks.
