The biggest birdwatching event in the world, the "British
Birdwatching Fair", opened its doors on Friday, 21
August 2009 at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve, near
Oakham, England.

This
year there were over 300 different organisations and companies
exhibiting – a truly international gathering representing
bird and wildlife interest from almost every corner of
the globe. Under the exhibitors were, inter alia,
BirdLife International, RSPB, Leica, Canon, Naturetrek
and many others. This year, AEWA was present at this event
for the first time.

AEWA
was represented at the British Birdfair with an information
stand, where Bert Lenten, Marie-Therese Kämper and
Dunia Sforzin from the AEWA Secretariat informed visitors
about the conservation activities regarding migratory
birds carried out under AEWA and the Convention on Migratory
Species (CMS).

Exhibitors were welcomed to the Birdfair
by small flocks of geese, which were landing in the lakes
at the Rutland Nature Water Reserve. This area provides
perfect foraging conditions for migrant waders, plovers,
cormorants and many other waterbird species. Next to greenshanks,
curlew sandpipers, oystercatchers or whrimbels; the black-tailed
godwit had also been recorded.

The
Birdfair supports the BirdLife's Preventing Extinctions
Programme and special attention was drawn to the 45 Critically
Endangered bird species for which there is no clear evidence
of whether they still exist. One of these species is the
Slender-billed Curlew, which is also protected under AEWA.
The representatives of the AEWA Secretariat and the Slender-billed
Curlew Working Group drew particular attention to this
species at their respective stands.

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