Global climate has already warmed by 0.6 ºC, mainly due to human activities, over the second half of the XXth century. Recent studies have shown that it is possible to detect the effects of a changing climate on individual and ecosystem levels. Among biologists, there is a growing concern about how global climate change may affect the phenology, physiology and distribution of plants and animals. Many phenological processes, such as the date of flowering, leaf unfolding, insect appearance, and bird reproduction and migration, have been affected by recent climate change. Although it is difficult to prove that climate change has been the cause of these effects, these findings emphasise the need to consider climate change for current and future conservation efforts. There is a particular interest in the study of how species have responded to climatic changes in the past in order to guess or predict how they may respond to future changes in different regions. Few bird studies and even fewer long-term bird data sets are currently available in the Mediterranean area. Therefore, it is essential for the scientific community, policy-makers and the general public to make them available. Amateur naturalist and ornithologists can provide essential records that, combined with climate date, can suggest predictions about the future impact of climate change in the Mediterranean basin.Peer reviewe
