BRITISH Birdwatching Fair, AUGUST 17 – 19, 2007

            The Taiwan International Birding Association represented Taiwan at the 2007 British Birdwatching Fair, Egleton Nature Reserve, Rutland Water, Oakham, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.  The Fair is an annual event raising money for international conservation.  It is co-organized by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

THE BRITISH BIRDWATCHING FAIR IS THE WORLD'S FIRST AND LARGEST INTERNATIONAL BIRDWATCHING EVENT

The Birdfair encompasses the whole spectrum of the birdwatching industry while at the same time supporting global bird conservation. This is the international event of the year for those into birds and wildlife. There are hundreds of stands displaying the latest products for wildlife enthusiasts, from ‘scopes to sculptures, binoculars to bird food, e-Guides to eco-holidays!

Every day there was a packed program of events. Three separate timetables provided a variety of lectures. The Events Marquee hosted quiz shows, question and answer sessions, exclusive book launches and family-based entertainment. The Birdfair Auction offered the chance to bid for a host of ‘lots’ donated by exhibitors, ranging from holidays, to artwork, to unique experiences, with all the monies raised going directly to this year's Birdfair project, Saving Critically Endangered Birds.

Each year an international conservation issue is chosen to support. The projects are suggested and managed through the BirdLife International partnership. The support from the Birdfair has enabled BirdLife to make some remarkable conservation achievements, including the creation of several new national parks. Birds under real threat of extinction have been helped, from albatrosses to white-winged guans.

            The energetic Taiwan International Birding Association team of 20 people (18 from Taiwan; 2 from Canada) included a member of the National Assembly of Taiwan: Legislator Ms. Chiu-Chin Tien.  Our double stand was situated in Marquee #1; there were 9 large marquees, plus several smaller tents.

            The TIBA stand at the Fair featured general information about birding in Taiwan, including the latest news of the extremely rare Chinese Crested (Matsu) Tern, Thalasseus bernsteini, which in the year 2000, was found nesting in extremely small numbers on Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago.  (It is the rarest tern in the world, with perhaps as few as 100 left.)   There were free prizes: Formosan Magpie DVDs, toys, badges, and other items.  Stand visitors were also “tattooed” with Taiwan birds. 

            For the Birdfair Auction, TIBA donated a framed paper sculpture (64 x 50 cm) of Chinese Crested Tern by noted artist, Mr. Chen-Wen Wang.

            TIBA also presented a PowerPoint talk by Tien Chiu-chin and Jo Ann MacKenzie in Lecture Marquee 1; Birding in Taiwan—Chinese Crested Tern Re-Discovered, on August 17. 

Preparing the Stand, August 16

 

Teamwork: Three days of the Fair, August 17–19, 2007