WHY CAMPAIGNING BIRDER GEORGINA LOCOCK SOMETIMES WANTS TO "HIDE BEHIND THE SOFA"

Seeking a word with the Prime Minister - Georgina in Downing Street

CAMPAIGNING  birder Georgina Locock is often asked what is her biggest  fear for the future.

Speaking as a panellist at one of this year's Birdfair presentations, she said she had an abiding concern that time might run out before we can save much of the world's fast-declining wildlife.

"Things are vere scary," declared the Hull University student who is from the West Midlands. "The future prospects for our planet and the creatures look increasingly precarious.

"If I think about it too hard, I sometimes want to hide behind the sofa."

Earlier, Georgina (whose favourite bird, incidentally, is the swift)  was introduced by much-travelled biologist and extrovert broadcaster Mike Dilger who used to be a researcher for celebrity-birder Bill Oddie before he scaled the media ladder to start making programmes of his own.

Mike Dilger - soft spot for the bullfinch

Mike revealed that he had attended no fewer than 20 of the 31 annual Birdfairs to date.

Much of his research has been carried in such tropical countries as Tanazania, Ecuador and Vietnam, and his tally of bird species has reached 3,000 or thereabouts.

However, his favourite remains a native bird - the bullfinch.

Also on the panel, which was discussing how birders could help birds,  was the chief executive of Birdlife International, Ecuadorean Patricia Zurita.

Patricia Zurita - birds are eco-messengers

"Birds are messengers for natures" she said. "Their population changes are telling us what’s happening to the planet and the species on it.

"When birds  pull back, they are sending us a signal.

"They are an early warning system - the canary in the coal mine."

According to Patricia (whose favourite bird is the sword-billed hummingbird), we are currently losing birds faster than at any time.

"We have to act now." she insisted.

The other panelllist was Arjan Dwarshuis who holds the world record for the total number of bird species (an astonishing 6,841 in 40 countries) within  a single calendar year. That's about 65 per cent of the world’s known species! 

He maintained  that he was not merely "trophy hunting".

During his travels he has contributed extensively to education and conservation projects in developing countries such as Ghana, and he has alway sought to offset the carbon footprint that accrues from his extensive globe-trotting.

Arjan - world record holder!

Arjan spoke with particular pride and pleasure about an initiative in Peru which has resulted not just in a growing interest birding in that country but also in the setting up of some 13 holiday eco-lodges.

All this has  stemmed from a community foundation established following the discovery high up in the Andes of a extremely rare bird, the Jocotoco Antpitta.

"Investing in local communities has to be a priority for responsible birders," insisted Arjan (whose favourite bird is the white-necked picarthartes).

A video about his birding travels is due out next year.

* Scroll back for more reports from this year's Birdfair