Saturday 16 August 2008 - British Bird Watching Fair 2008 - 16/08/08
British Birdwatching Fair - Rutland Water
I can't believe this was the 12th Bird Fair that I've attended and the 20th anniversary of the BBWF overall, where does time go hey? Over the course of those twenty years nearly £2 million has been raised in order to help the fortunes of endangered species of birds throughout the World from Cuba to Vietnam and from Indonesia to Peru. With the assistance of additional matched funding schemes however the total figure raised is estimated to be in the region of £15 million. Despite the bargains to be had, the excellent lectures and the chance to meet birders from all over the World I always find it disappointing that the event fails to attract most of the British 'twitching' fraternity who view the whole set up as some kind of aviform based Glastonbury for middle-aged dudes with far too much cash burning holes in their pockets. OK so there is an element of this but I always seem to enjoy myself.
As the owner of a pair of battered Bausch & Lomb bins and a dented Leica scope the main priority was for me to sample some new optical equipment. The first stop was the Swarovski stand to try out the soon to be released new version EL 42's. These bins are indeed the dog's b*llocks, it's like viewing the World through the eyes of an angel, excellence and purity personified. I would gladly steal my sweet old grand mammy's pension and pimp my beloved girlfriend out to the highest bidder in order to stand a chance of owning a pair of these beauties. Rumour has it that the eye cups are attached by a naked blonde Austrian virgin who rolls them up and down her smooth thighs before kissing them softly and placing them lovingly in their packaging. Well that's what I like to think anyway. While I was there I also tried out a couple of Swarovski scopes which again were top notch in every way. It was then on to the Leica stand where I was keen to try out their new scope with the interesting wide-angled zoom eyepiece. Again this piece of kit was impressive but personally I reckon the Swaro' scopes edge it slightly. The price of £2,600.00 for the body, eyepiece and case I feel is also way over-priced especially in the current economic climate. Come on Leica sort it out!
It was then time to attend a few lectures. The first was 'Raptor Protection on the Maltese Islands' by Steve Downing. He described the actions that were taken by volunteers in order to prevent the slaughter of thousands upon thousands of migratory birds in Spring. It is a cause I am seriously considering putting myself forward for next year despite the threats and intimidation received by some of the Maltese Birdlife International staff. He also touched upon the illegal trapping of passerines on the Islands which was equally as depressing as the hunting. Respect goes to Steve and all the other volunteers who bravely put themselves out in order that some of Europes most impressive birds might live to breed in Europe for another season.
The second lecture was entitled 'From Taiga to Tundra with Owls' by Finnish photographer Jari Peltomaki. This was a magical talk full of superb images of Hawk Owls and Great Grey Owls taken in the crisp winter snow around the Oulu area. In addition there were some excellent photographs of a breeding pair of Snowy Owls up in Finnish Lapland. A combination of Jari's relaxing voice, the stunning images and the soothing background music had me instantly leveled. I left the marque feeling as though I'd been smoking dope in some Amsterdam coffee shop. Nice one Jari!
After a quick pint of 'Osprey' real ale, an overpriced veggie-burger and a brief glance of Simon King (ohhhh he's so handsome) and his groupees it was time to pick up a few foreign tour brochures (not that I can ever see myself going on any) and buy a few books before making my way back home day-dreaming about spending the whole of next May in Texas.
Bird sightings from the optical tent included a female Mandarin, Little Egret, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper amongst the more usual suspects.
Don't forget to stick next year's dates in your diary: 21st-23rd August 2009 for the 21st British Birdwatching Fair.
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