Sunday 28 July 2019

BIRDFAIR 2019: DAY ONE PREVIEW - FRIDAY AUGUST 16



THE countdown has begun to one of the social, charitable  and trading highlights of the UK birding calendar - Birdfair 2019.

As ever, the event will be held (over weekend  August 16-18)  at Rutland Water, near Stamford.

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

Last year, a total of £322,000 was raised through admission charges, ticket sales for events, sponsorship  and other sources.

This went towards creating a haven for flamingos at Mar Chiquita in Argentina, the largest salt lake - 45 miles long and 15 miles wide - in the whole of South America.

This year, the aim is to raise as much as possible towards safeguarding a precious habitat in a forest area of  Cambodia through which the Sekong River flows.

Western Siem Pang is home to five critically endangerd species – white-shouldered ibis, giant ibis, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture and red-headed vulture.
Over three days,  Birdfair 2019 is expected to attract up to 25,000 visitors.

It is not known if an invitation has been extended to any members of the Royal Family, to the new prime minister, Boris Johnson, or to leaders of any of the main political parties.

However, plenty of TV celebrities will be present over the three days.

It is hoped that local MP Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton) will also put in an appearance - and possibly one or both of  two parliamentary colleagues, new Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and her deputy, Zac Goldsmith. 


Main lectures for the first day, Friday August 16, are listed below, with the full programme - including exhibitors - on Birdfair’s own dedicated website: https://birdfair.org.uk


Roll up, roll up for the Birdfair!


MAIN EVENTS


10:30am -11:am
How birders can help birds - panel hosted by Mike Dilger

11:00 am - 11:45 am
 Conserving Cambodia’s Big Five with Mike Dilger

12:15 pm - 12:45 pm
Moth trapping - live! with Richard Lewington and Phil Sterling

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm



2:00 pm - 2:45 pm

3:00 pm - 3:45 pm

4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Climate Change Question Time 

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Why not come to the Falkands?



OSPREY LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am 
Adventures on Puffin Island by Matt Williams

10:00 am - 10:20 am 
Tasmania's raptors: up close and personal by Tonia Cochran

10:30 am - 10:50 am
21 years of conservation success in Ecuador by Adela Espinosa & Antonio Paez 

11:00 am - 11:20 am 



11:30 am - 11:50 am 

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm 

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm 

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm 

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm 

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm 

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm 

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm 

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm 

Taiwan is more than a bit special!
                                          
HARRIER LECTURE THEATRE

10:00 am - 10:20 am 

10:30 am - 10:50 am 

11:00 am - 11:20 am 

11:30 am - 11:50 am 

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm 

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm 

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm 

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm 

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm 

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm 

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm 

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm 


There's more to Brazil than Copacabana!
                                              
HOBBY LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am
10:00 am - 10:20 am 

10:30 am - 10:50 am 

11:00 am - 11:20 am 

11:30 am - 11:50 am 

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm 

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm 

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm 

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm 

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm 

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm 

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm 

5:00 pm - 5:40 pm 


Texas is a great (literally) place for birding!
                                                 
MERLIN LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am 

10:00 am - 10:20 am 

10:30 am - 10:50 am 

11:00 am - 11:20 am 

11:30 am - 11:50 am 

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm 

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm 

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm 

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm 

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm 

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm 

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm 

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm 

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm 


AUTHORS’ FORUM

9:30 am - 10:00 am 

11:15 am - 12:00 pm

12:15 pm - 12:45 pm

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Ravens and people by Joe Shute 

2:45 pm - 3:30 pm

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm





So much to see and admire in Australia!


BIRDFAIR 2019: DAY TWO PREVIEW - SATURDAY AUGUST 17



TODAY will probably be the busiest day at Birdfair 2019. Below is a list of the events planned for the main marquee and lecture theatres. More details, including a list of exhibitors, are in Birdfair's dedicated website: https://birdfair.org.uk


MAIN EVENTS 

10:00 am - 10:45 am
Big Cat Tales with Angela and Jonathan Scott

11:00 am - 11:45 am
Life before telly! with Iolo Williams

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
The Good, the Bad and the General Licences with Chris Packham, Ruth Tingay, Mark Avery, Ruth Peacey and young friends

1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Conservation without borders… with Sacha Dench, Tim Mackrill, Mike Dilger and David Stroud

2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
Living Lighter with Simon King

3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
Bird Brain of Britain chaired by Stephen Moss

4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Bird Photographer of the Year present: the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards with Chris Packham

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
Filming adventures with Harpy eagles and humming birds in Central America with Nigel Marven

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Saving Land, Saving Species - The First 30 Years of World Land Trust



OSPREY LECTURE THEATRE


9:30 am - 9:50 am
It shouldn't happen to a wildlife presenter ! by Nigel Marven

10:00 am - 10:20 am
Making an impact - using film to help stop illegal bird persecution by Ruth Peacey

10:30 am - 10:50 am
Conserving Kenya's critical sites and species by Gloria Waswa

11:00 am - 11:20 am
Wader questing in Peru by Rick Simpson

11:30 am - 11:50 am
'Egrets - I've had a few!' - the birds of Somerset by Stephen Moss


12:30 pm - 12:50 pm
Monitoring our rare breeding birds by Dawn Balmer

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Borneo - in search of the Sunda clouded leopard by Tom Mabbett

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm
Tristan da Cunha: home of the northern rockhopper! by Dr Antje Steinfurth

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
The plight of the Scottish wildcat by Sir John Lister-Kaye

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm
Birds of the Rio Grande do Sul State - Brazil by Edson Endrigo

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Birds of the Black Sea Flyway from the Baltic Sea to the Aegean by Toby Green

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm
Ethiopia's wildlife highlights by Tim Melling

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm
Rewilding Scotland by Sally Nowell

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm
Botswana - birding with wildlife by Grant Reed

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm
Osprey migration and the Osprey Leadership Foundation by Tim Mackrill

HARRIER LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am
Guyana's best birding and wildlife by Tony Thorne  

10:00 am - 10:20 am
Meadow magic by Angela Hewitt  

10:30 am - 10:50 am
21 years of conservation success in Ecuador by Adela Espinosa & Antonio Paez

11:00 am - 11:20 am
Tippo’s Tips by David Tipling

11:30 am - 11:50 am
 The Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica - the wildlife of the Southern Oceans by Tim Melling  

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm
Ethiopia: where Africa touches the sky by Nick Acheson 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm
The Great Fen, a future wetland and more by Henry Stanier


1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Birdlife and Birdfair Quiz with Sarah Proud and Conor Jameson

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm
Steppes and wetlands in Eastern Austria by Harry Grabenhofer 

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Tippo’s Tips by David Tipling  

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm
Wild Japan in winter by Paul Stanbury  

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Pumas in Patagonia by Nick Garbutt  

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm
Shetland seabird tours - a real gannets eye view! by Rebecca Nason  

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm
Natural Treasures at and around Kondor Ecolodge Hungary by Gabor Orban  

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm
The history of A Focus on Nature (AFON): Looking back on 8 years of the youth conservation movement by Alexandra Hoadley  

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm
SBA Police success against bird trapping by Police Inspector Nicos Alambritis & Police Constable Michalis Protopapas  


HOBBY LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am
Champagne and Birds: the perfect combination! by Keith Betton

10:00 am - 10:20 am
Wild Women Do by Amy-Jane Beer

10:30 am - 10:50 am
Going wild in the Mediterranean by Mark Cocker

11:00 am - 11:20 am
Fantastic Falklands by Craig Jones

11:30 am - 11:50 am
South Africa is a naturalist’s paradise by Helen Bryon

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm
Taiwan – an island of endemics by Barrie Cooper

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm
The birds & whales of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula & Sea of Cortez by Tim Melling

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Biking Birder Adventure IV - Peru 2018, an attempt at becoming the World Green Birding (BIGBY) Champion by Gary Brian Prescott

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm
The Kenyan coastal forest and area key migration hotspots by Ann Scott

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
My Patch - Nature close to Stanley, Falkland Islands by Andy Pollard

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm
Digiscoping for beginners by Paul Hackett

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Lynx & wolf watching in Spain by Andy Tucker

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm
The magic and mysteries of migration by Dominic Couzens

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm
 Norfolk: a birdwatchers top ten by Steve Rowland

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm
Why The Gambia is so special with bird life and the number of bird species in West Africa by YaYa Barry

5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Ask the speaker! All those birding questions you've ever wanted to ask by Alan Davies


MERLIN LECTURE THEATRE

9:30 am - 9:50 am
The photogenic wildlife of Ethiopia by Oliver Smart 

10:00 am - 10:20 am
The birth of a world class nature destination by Aditya Dhanwatay

10:30 am - 10:50 am
Conservation of old world vultures: assessing the threat of lead poisoning by Hanneline Smit-Robinson

11:00 am - 11:20 am
Reintroduction of Oriental White Storks in Japan - living in harmony with nature by Nakagai Muneharu

11:30 am - 11:50 am
The magical Danube Delta and the land of Dracula by Attila Steiner

12:00 pm - 12:20 pm
Birding the Pampa by Lucas Marti 

12:30 pm - 12:50 pm
Bird conservation in Wales by Danielle Rouse 

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Chinese water deer in England by Arnold Cooke

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm
Oregon: wet forests, dry forests, mountains, and steppe by Richard Hoyer

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
DIY - Kruger by Mike Unwin 

2:30 pm - 2:50 pm
Time for the return of the English wildcat? by Peter Cooper

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Akrotiri Peninsula, Cyprus: a distasteful ménage à trois between birding, conservation and politics by Christina Ieronymidou & Elena Markitani 

3:30 pm - 3:50 pm
Rewilding the golf course by Steve Thompson 

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm
Nikon wildlife photography tips by Ricci Chera 

4:30 pm - 4:50 pm
Belize, a small country with BIG birding! by Jonathan Urbina

5:00 pm - 5:20 pm
Birding optics Q&A by David Chandler and Matt Merritt


AUTHORS’ FORUM


9:30 am - 10:00 am
The Orchid Hunter: searching for our tresses and twayblades by Leif Bersweden

10:15 am - 11:00 am
Wilding - the return of nature to a British farm by Isabella Tree

11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Inspiring wildlife, inspiring people by Helen Roy

12:15 pm - 12:45 pm
365 Days Wild by Lucy McRobert

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm
30 Birds to See Before You Die by Dominic Couzens

1:45 pm - 2:30 pm
Bird Therapy by Joe Harkness

2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
A Sparrow's Life's as Sweet as Ours by Carry Akroyd & John McEwen

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm
The Cruellest Plume Of All by Tessa Boase

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Why the Poetry? by Stuart Medland 

Below is a selection of photographs from previous birdfairs: