BIRDFAIR IS HERE!

For the first time ever, me and my family are about to do something I have always wanted to do. We are going to the annual BIRDFAIR, one of the best bird-based fairs on the planet! Held in Rutland, where the Ospreys have only recently begun to breed, it is an incredible opportunity. And I have been given this opportunity thanks to one thing. The Zeiss Young Birder Awards…

The Zeiss Young Birder Awards are as follows: every year, they choose a winner from three age categories. This year, the task was to write, draw or interpret in any way your best birding memory, and a specially selected jury would be chosen to pick three winners, which would then be announced at BIRDFAIR by a guest presenter. This years is Nick Baker, a well-known naturalist, formerly based in Devon. And the reason that I am going to Birdfair is because I won this award.

Pere Tomas was actually the one to tell us about this award, and he said both me and my brother Bertie should try for the 11 and under category. Bertie chose to draw his experience of Albufereta in Mallorca, and I chose to write about one of my earliest birding memories. Finding a Garganey on my local fishing ponds completely accidentally, and drawing a picture, annotating it and writing a poem about it as well. It took a long time, but clearly it was worth it!

And so this is my pre-birdfair post.

Supposedly scrapped last year, due to the carbon footprint of travelling guests and visitors, it has been rejuvenated by groups of determined people across the world, and I am incredibly grateful for this. Starting out in 1989 as a few tents in a muddy field and a younger Bill Oddie as the main guest, it has come a long way from then. Charities, organisations and bird tourism companies all try to get in on the act, not to mention the birdwatching celebrities that visit every year, and take part in the festivities. Chris Packham, Jane Goodall and many others have all joined in there.

Charities such as Birdlife International, the RSPB and CABS all play their part, alongside various magazines such as the BBC Wildlife, Birdwatching and Birdwatch. Last year there was a total of 245 exhibitors, which I think shows just how much of a global thing it is. And on top of that, there are 5 stages all named after birds. Some are for lectures, some for authors and some for events such as the Zeiss Young Birders Award.

Another good idea of Global Birdfair is to have a podcasting station, where you can listen to a variety of bird-related podcasts live, and there’s a workshop station offering forty five minute workshops for anyone who wants to try, including owl pellet dissection, moth trapping and nature writing.

The RSPB are not just exhibitors, but they have their own entire area called The Nest, a special nature-discovery area for younger ones, as well as setting up an animal bone trail and a nest-box challenge!

Long story short, it is apparently BRILLIANT and I cannot wait to visit my first ever Birdfair!