I thought I knew a bit about the Bird Fair but it’s interesting to find out new things. And there seems to be a quite a lot to find out about the Bird Fair too – from what people say.
There is a wikipedia page about the Bird Fair – I don’t think I’d seen that before – click here. We should not believe everything on wikipedia but if true then this shows that the contribution of the 2019 Bird Fair to BirdLife International was the lowest since 2002.
I’d assumed that the Bird Fair was a stand-alone charity but it isn’t. It is a subsidiary charitable company (that may not be the correct term but it’s close) of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (see here) with its own set of accounts (see here).
I find accounts quite difficult to understand but those of you who are more adept with them might find something of interest.
The Bird Fair is, formally, much less of a joint venture between L&RWT and RSPB than I had imagined.
Over the years the Bird Fair has been a successful and growing event but in recent years it has (as I have written in this blog) seemed to me to be in slight decline. A rainy 2019 (coupled with other pressures to do with travel insurance requirements) and competition from other events, then followed by the impossibility of holding an on-the-ground event in 2020, and the uncertainty of any such event being possible in 2021 surely put the future of Bird Fair into the ‘questionable’ category? And the driving force behind Bird Fair, Tim Appleton (originally with Martin Davies from the RSPB), is no longer involved with all of this.
I wonder what the RSPB, BirdLife International and the long term sponsors of the event see as the future of Bird Fair. I hope that all this is under active consideration and I’m not sure that those decisions are wisely left to a single county Wildlife Trust.
I have a feeling I’ll be coming back to this subject now and again.
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The Birdfair is a great event and is supported by a huge number of exhibitors and people. It is a great advert for the natural world (despite being largely bypassed by local MPs.) The money raised for conservation is tremendous even though it does fluctuate. I think there is still a very good demand for the Event. It is unfortunate that the pandemic forced it to be cancelled last year and possibly this year. This will very likely cause it to loose some momentum but that will be true of all other similar events round the country.
I think there could be a case for some restructuring of the organisation. Also one issue I have always had thoughts about is its location being accessed down minor and very narrow roads. Maybe a better location in respect of access could be found. The timing of the Fair I think is good being mid August.
I am sure a lot of thought is going into the event right now but it would be a disaster if it were to fold up. Some reformatting and perhaps a revised location would not doubt give it a new boost for sure in 2022.
There are always complaints about the Bird Fair – It’s always the same, it’s too crowded, it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s hard to find accommodation, etc. But it has been going for over 30 years, it is the go-to place to see and try new optics, to research the next birding trip, to hear to talks about birding worldwide and to meet up with people you haven’t seen since last year.
The location is pretty central, on a nature reserve, on the edge of a lake and with plenty of parking.
In my opinion, the local Trust do a great job – and personnel will always change, eventually – and I wish them well in our current strange world. The show may not happen again this year but when it does return, I will be first in the queue!