I’m off to the Birdfair, or The British Birdwatching Fair to be precise, at Rutland Water this weekend.
Three days of all sorts of things to do with birds, birdwatching and wildlife in general.
Before my first visit, I had no idea that birdwatching was such big business but, believe me, it is.
There are five marquees in the fields around the reservoir at Rutland Water and inside is everything with even the remotest connection to birds and the great outdoors: clothing; wildlife books, CDs and DVDs; wildlife paintings, sculptures and photographs; binoculars, telescopes and all sorts of gizmos; birdfeeders, birdfood and other bits and pieces for your garden; and representatives of birding countries and travel companies from all over the world tempting you to look for wildlife further afield.
An awful lot of money changes hands in just three days here!
There are snack bars, restaurant and roving food trolleys, and hundreds and hundreds of portaloos.
And just in case you get bored with all this, there are more marquees hosting slide shows, presentations and competitions for adults and children alike.
If getting hands on is more your thing, there are guided walks in the surrounding countryside and demonstrations of rural crafts.
Or of course, you could just go birdwatching on Rutland Water itself.
The last few years the weather has been great, and pretty hot inside the marquees, but maybe this year with rain forecast over the next few days, it could more like Glastonbury, but with fewer rock bands.
Mud bath, anyone?
All sorts of birding celebs will be there: Bill Oddie, Simon King, Nigel Marven, Mike Dilger, Janet Sumner, Chris Packham - familiar faces from TV as well as other, perhaps less familiar, experts, sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm.
And I’ll be there rubbing shoulders with the great and the good, not only enjoying the fair as a visitor but also helping out on the trade stand for one of the largest specialist travel companies in the world, Tropical Birding - though I must confess, my greatest contribution is usually in keeping the expert guides well fed and watered during the fair!
The Fair’s a fundraising event too. Each year the organisers select a particular project for which to raise funds, and last year raised £215,000 for BirdLife International’s work to conserve parrots and other threatened birds in the South Pacific islands.
This year’s theme, and next year’s too, is called ‘Preventing Extinctions: Saving the World’s Critically Endangered Birds’.
The plan is to do what it says on the tin: to identify the most critical cases around the world and take specific actions to prevent their extinction.
Good luck to them, sounds ambitious!
So, if you fancy doing something different at the weekend, why not try the Birdfair?
You may leave only with a birdfeeder, some binoculars or just a bagful of holiday brochures, but given the weather forecast, you’d probably better bring your wellies, just in case.
