ALL SET FOR BIRDFAIR 2018

THE countdown has begun on one of the social highlights of the birding calendar - Birdfair 2018.

As ever, the event will be held (over weekend  August 17-19 ) at Rutland Water, near Stamford.

Fundraising for worthwhile wildlife projects - usually overseas - has always been a focus of founder Tim Appleton and  the organisers.

Last year, a total of £330,000 was raised through admission charges, ticket sales for events and other sources.

This year, the aim is to raise as much as possible towards the creation of Argentina’s largest national park, in the process providing a refuge for nearly a million flamingos and shorebirds.

The format of Birdfair 2018 will broadly be similar to previous years.

However, instead of being numbered, the marquees where the lectures are held are being given raptor names – Osprey, Harrier, Merlin, Hobby.

Thanks to a grant from the city of Toyooka in Japan, a new feature this year will be an area for the special benefit of young visitors.

A large marquee will be the hub of a weekend of entertainment including  plays, storytelling, films, guided walks, virtual pond dipping, mini-talks, origami sessions, a puffin mural and  young people’s debates.

Among TV stars from the natural world will be  Mike Dilger, Nick Baker, Jules Howard and Adrian Cale.

Meanwhile, authors Anneliese Emmans Dean, Edward Giles and Vicky Woodgate will read or perform a variety of shows.

Other activities will range  from hedge-laying to making Harry Potter-style  wands.

    

But back to the lecture theatres.

In his talk, entitled New Moon on the Wane – The Curse of the Curlews, Rick Simpson will discuss a species group whose populations are declining because of shrinking ranges and other factors.

Two species are thought to be extinct already and others may be heading that way.

In a presentation on Greece’s Ionian islands,  Roula Trigou will explore the diversity of spring migration - but also the continuing harm being caused by songbird trapping.

The ominous title of his talk is : A Magnficent Story Cut Short.

In a similar vein, the focus will fall on the current bird-trapping situation on another sunshine island.

In Cyprus - the Complexities of Progress, Martin Hellicar and Guy Shorrock will detail the covert surveillance work and other measures undertaken, stressing that short-term gains still do not mean that this archaic practice is close to an end.

The duo’s presentation will also look at efforts by BirdLife Cyprus to turn the political and cultural tide on trapping, with a particular focus on awareness-raising efforts, including a push to promote birding tourism on the island.

Encouraged by the RSPB and birdfood suppliers, many householders put out food for the birds, but is this a practice always to be encouraged? 

In a talk entitled The Effects of Garden Bird Feeding, Kate Risely will explore the implications and what we know about the real impacts on individuals and populations.

Kate will outline the known benefits and risks of garden bird feeding, drawn from both long term and recent BTO research

 

The weekend will feature many other enthralling presentations.

For instance, Frank McClintock will describe his three-week self-drive birding holiday in Namibia and Botswana.

Vaughan Ashby will regale his audience with a presentation on huge diversity of birds and their habitats in Colombia which, at almost 2,000, is reckoned to boast the highest number of bird species on the planet

Nearer home, author and TV producer Stephen Moss will  focus on the birds of Avalon Marshes in Somerset.

Friday night is Question Time night at Birdfair

A panel, chaired by chaired by Dominic Dyer, will field questions about the current State of Nature in Britain and focus on changes in our environment since Birdfair was launched in 1989.

The evening will bring together figures from the broadcasting, media, business and political fields to discuss key nature conservation and wildlife protection issues, home and  abroad, with the audience.

The panel is to be made up of Chris Packham,  Simon King, Patrick Barkham,

Craig Bennett, Mark Cocker, Kerry McCarthy MP and  Mary Colwell.


Kerry McCarthy - the Labour MP for Bristol East has a special interest in environmental affairs

Among authors who will be signing their books over one or more of the three days are:

* John Lee: Bonkers about Birds

* David Lindo: Birds and the City

* Pat Morris: Hedgehog

* Tiffany Francis: Food You Can Forage

* Michael Brooke: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds

* Patrick Barkham: Islander – A Journey Around Our Archipelago

* Joe Shute: A Shadow Above

Joe Shute will be signing copies of his book about the raven

* Mary Colwell:  500 Miles for Curlews

* Neil Hermes: Birds of Australian High Country

* Tessa Boase: Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather

 

 Author Tessa Boase is a former journalist on The Daily Telegraph

* Tim Birkhead: The Wonderful Mr Willughby

* Mark Cocker: Our Place - Can We Save Britain's Wildlife Before It's Too Late

* Kate Bradbury: The Bumblebee Flies Anyway

* Katrina van Grouw: Unnatural Selection: Evolution at The Hand of Man 

* Mark Brazil: The Birds of Japan: A Modern Approach

* Jon Dunn: Orchid Summer 

* Full details of Birdfair 2018 are on its website: birdfair.org.uk