About Sovon

Sovon is a non-profit organization, which monitors the occurrence and the population dynamics bird species present in the Netherlands. Specifically, Sovon examines the population developments and declines of bird species, as well as the how and why of these processes.

Independence  

Sovon is committed to a high quality of research, and our findings are independent from external influences. The results of the nation-wide bird monitoring, organized by Sovon, form the basis of the policymaking and management of nature resources in the Netherlands and are currently being utilized for spatial planning. 

Key Activities

  • Coordination of bird consensuses
  • Management, analysis and interpretation of data
  • Publication of the results

Organization

More then 10,000 volunteer bird watchers form the basis of the organization; of those nearly 4,000 are members of the Sovon association. Most of the 60 employees are based in the Nijmegen office. 

Collaboration 

Sovon does not function alone. With the cooperation of volunteers and the network of more than 350 bird organizations, we are able to collect data throughout the Netherlands. Furthermore, there are many partners, sponsors, and clients, which contribute to the research of wild birds in the Netherlands.