Welcome return to Global Birdfair for wildlife trusts - and pressure group Greenpeace are also joining the party

 

Countdown has begun to highlight of the birding world's social calendar 

A PRELIMINARY list of exhibitors for Global Birdfair 2024 has been issued by founder Tim Appleton.

Interesting inclusions are long-established environmental pressure group Greenpeace.

There is also a welcome return for The Wildlife Trusts whose Leicestershire and Rutland wing used to host the event at Rutland before pulling the rug three years ago.

So far, no confirmation that heavyweight organisations such as the RSPB and the BTO will come on board, but it is still early days. 

The list to date is as below: 

* 2by2 Holidays

* Albatross Birding and Nature Tours in  Chile

* All India Birding Tours

* Aqua-Firma Worldwide Ltd

* Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge

* Bellbird Tours

* Bird Finder Philippines

* Birda

* Birdfinders

* Birdguides

* Birding The Islands

* BirdLife International

* Birdwatch Magazine

* Birdwatching Magazine

* Button and Squirt

* Canopy Family, Panamá

* Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)

* Cornell Lab of Ornithology

* David Finney, Artist

* D Smith Glasscraft

* eBird

* El Septimo Paraiso - Mindo

* Gareth Watling British bird paintings

* Fair Isle Observatory Trust

*Far South Expeditions

* Greenpeace

* Heatherlea Birdwatching

* Jane Gibson Sculptures

* Julie Wilson Sculptures

* Langur Eco Travels, Bhutan

* Limosa Holidays

* Lynx Nature Books

* Mammal Society

* Meadowlark Birding Tours

* Mythic Hippo Photography

* Oriole Birding Ltd

* Plantlife

* Princeton Nature

* Sarah Brabbin Sculpture

* Sarus Bird Tours

* Simon King and The Wildlife Community

* Sounding Wild

* Sunbird Images OHG

* Terra

* The Bagh Wildlife Resorts

* The Wildlife Trusts

* Tranquilo Bay Eco Adventure Lodge

* Tropical Birding

* WaderQuest

* Wild Herz Ltd (Wild Herzegovina Birdwatching Holidays)

* WildSpace

* WildWings

* Woodland Trust

* World Pheasant Association (WPA)

* World Wildlife Fund

* Yorkshire Coast Nature

More exhibitors are likely to be announced in the build-up to the event which is being held over July 12-14 at Lyndon Top, Rutland.

This year's international  project will be Galala Bird Observatory - a flagship observation point of global significance in terms of the numbers and diversity of species during the spring migration.  

The migrant birds passing Galala represent globally significant proportions of species populations that spend the summer in eastern Europe and in western and central Asia. 

There are no other similar migratory observation points in Egypt.  

During a six-week period at Galala Mountain in Spring last year, observers counted an astonishingly high number (380,000) and diverse range of species, including 1,300 Egyptian Vulture, 35,000 Steppe Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle, 200,000 Steppe Buzzard, and 52,000 White Stork. 

Global Bird are using a superb photograph by David Tipling of an Egyptian Vulture for the promotional poster for the 2024 event.