The origins of the Intitut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO) date back to 1975, at which time the first…

The origins of the Intitut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO) date back to 1975, at which time the first ringing group in Catalonia was created: the Merops group, formed within the Ornithology section of the Barcelona Zoology Museum. Although bird banding was carried out relatively regularly in Catalonia since 1957, it was not until then that it became a structured practice around minimally organized banding groups. In 1977, shortly after the appearance of other groups of banders, the Catalan Group of Banding (GCA) was created, where all the banders in Catalonia were included. In 2000, the GCA, established as a legal association in 1983, was renamed the Associació Institut Català d'Ornitologia (ICO) and ceased to include only banders to also bring together the entire large group of ornithologists in Catalonia, one of the best prepared and active from Europe. The reputation achieved thanks to the good work carried out over the years with the scientific banding of birds and the new scope of action, which now includes the entire field of ornithology, make the ICO quickly become a center of reference in the development and coordination of large-scale bird monitoring projects based on the participation of large numbers of volunteers. Currently the ICO has about a thousand members and more than five thousand collaborating volunteers from all over Catalonia. Our mission The ICO is an association dedicated to research and training in the field of applied ornithology. Its activity is mainly focused on scientific bird banding and integrated monitoring of their populations, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge of their biology and facilitating biodiversity conservation policies. The association assumes as its own the principles of impartiality and cooperative work. Our vision The ICO is a reference center in the field of applied ornithology research, rooted in the social environment and with a consolidated personal and financial structure. The association is characterized by: a) have a wide network of employees and volunteers adequately prepared, consolidated and well distributed territorially. b) have its own team of technicians and scientists of excellence. c) have a continuous training program that allows maintaining and improving the quality of Catalan ornithology. The main product of ICO's activity is the development of tools and scientific knowledge that contribute significantly to the development of policies for the conservation of biodiversity. Los orígenes del Intitut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO) se remontan a 1975, momento en el que se creó el primer grupo de anillamiento de Cataluña: el grupo Merops, formado en el seno de la sección de Ornitología del Museo de Zoología de Barcelona. Aunque el anillamiento de aves ya se realizaba de manera relativamente regular en Cataluña desde 1957 no es hasta entonces que se convierte en una práctica estructurada en torno a grupos de anillamiento mínimamente organizados. En 1977, poco después de la aparición de otros grupos de anilladores, se crea el Grupo Catalán de Anillamiento (GCA) donde quedaban englobados todos los anilladores de Cataluña. En el año 2000 el GCA, constituido como asociación legal en 1983, pasa a denominarse Associació Institut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO) y deja de englobar únicamente a anilladores para aglutinar también a todo el gran colectivo de ornitólogos de Cataluña, uno de los mejor preparados y activos de Europa. La reputación lograda gracias al buen trabajo realizado a lo largo de los años con el anillamiento científico de aves y el nuevo ámbito de actuación, que ahora comprende todo el campo de la ornitología, hacen que el ICO se convierta rápidamente un centro de referencia en el desarrollo y coordinación de proyectos de seguimiento de aves a gran escala basados en la participación de gran número de voluntarios. Actualmente el ICO cuenta con cerca de mil socios y más de cinco mil voluntarios colaboradores de toda Cataluña. Nuestra misión El ICO es una asociación