Saturday, August 22, 2009

British Bird Fair

Inside one of the Bird Fair marquees.

I have been in England for a few days, attending the British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water. This is the largest event for bird people in the world. There are a half-dozen giant tents filled to bursting with booths (called stands or stalls here) selling and promoting everything a birder could want: clothing, optics, gear, technology, travel info, books, artwork, memberships, feeders, seed, you get the idea.

Nicky Icarangal from the Philippines and Ana Cristina Prem from Guatemala.

My favorite part of Bird Fair is seeing my friends from all over the world. Sometimes I get to introduce people that I know to one another—people that otherwise may never have met. Yesterday afternoon I got to introduce several of my friends from the Philippines to my friend Ana Cristina from Guatemala. What an interesting conversation to listen to between Ana and Nicky, two people from opposite sides of the globe, trying to spread the word about the birding opportunities in their countries. They compared notes, told stories, and shared a lot of laughs.

Oh, and we had a beer in the beer tent.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 22, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    Permit me to call you, in the spirit of friendship of course, one of the luckiest %&*#$=! birders presently on the face of the planet. I have wanted to return to the Bird Fair ever since my trip there a few years ago but have not since had the money or the sponsorship to go. Oh what travels could be had when one was once an optics product line manager... alas.

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  2. Julie ZickefooseAugust 22, 2009 at 7:21 PM

    What a balm to see Ana Cristina's beautiful smile. Now see if you can look up David Quinn and give him a hug from me. And see if you can get someone to take a photo of you. We miss our Big Daddy.
    It's a golden and green evening here and I'm trying to get dinner done before dark so we can eat outside!

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  3. Chris HarbardAugust 24, 2009 at 3:28 AM

    Thanks for your introductions... great to see you again, as ever.

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  4. Jason KesslerAugust 25, 2009 at 2:44 PM

    I was lucky enough to attend last year, and can attest that it's something every birder should do at least once in a lifetime if they can.

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 2, 2009 at 3:43 PM

    It was great hosting BT3 during his stay at Birdfair this year. He is almost qualifies as an honorary Brit well once he masters eggs,bacon and greasy fried bread. WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE US BIRDERS ATTENDING THE BIRDFAIR.

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  6. kamagraMay 18, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    This is a perfect event because I'd like to receive information about clothing, optics, gear, technology, travel info, books and others, that's perfect because I can realize it's a complete event.

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