In Your Nature Ep 54 - Global Birdfair 2024

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This episode of In Your Nature comes from across the pond as Niall records from the 2024 Global Bird Fair in Rutland, United Kingdom. Known to many as "Glastonbury for birders", the Global Bird Fair sees conservation organisations, photographers, authors, artists ecotourism companies and many more join together to celebrate their shared love of birds. Over a July weekend, attendees are treated to a jam-packed schedule of talks, workshops, film screenings and other events, all themed around birds and wildlife conservation.

This year, Niall took the opportunity to interview some of the interesting birders that he met at the event. This includes Chief Executive of BirdLife International, Martin Harper, who spoke about the impact that the Global Bird Fair has made on conservation projects worldwide owing to the fundraising element of the event. He also caught up with Head of Communications and Awareness at the Hellenic Ornithological Society/ BirdLife Greece, Roula Trigou. She likens the Global Bird Fair to an annual family gathering, where people who are fighting for the same cause join together. For her, the event perfectly illustrates how birds connect our world. Laura Kammermeier from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology also took some time to speak with Niall about Cornell's many inspiring and educational initiatives including the highly popular Merlin Bird ID app, as well as Birds of the World – a subscription-based online resource and the world’s largest, most comprehensive, scholarly resource for birds.

Meanwhile, Rachel Bigsby is looking at birds from a different perspective, quite literally. The wildlife photographer spoke with Niall about how events like the Global Bird Fair can help new photographers get to grips with techniques and ethics, while she also reveals the Northern Fulmar as the seabird that kickstarted her passion for photography.

No matter where you travel to, you're almost guaranteed to bump into someone else from Ireland and the Global Bird Fair is no exception! Niall caught up with ornithologist Seán Ronayne of Irish Wildlife Sounds to talk about his early days of sound recording, a hobby that has since led to his highly-regarded documentary, Birdsong, album Wild Silence and a soon-to-be-released book, Nature Boy.

In keeping with tradition, Niall and Ricky choose a Bird of the Week and of course, they couldn't do an episode on the Global Bird Fair without mentioning the event's emblem, the Osprey.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils, The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.