Birding in Taiwan

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIBA Wins at the 2006 UK Birdwatching Fair!


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 BRITISH Birdwatching Fair, AUGUST 18 – 20, 2006

  The Taiwan International Birding Association represented Taiwan at the 2006 British Birdwatching Fair, Egleton Nature Reserve, Rutland Water, Oakham, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.  The Fair is an annual event raising money for international conservation.  It is co-organized by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

THE BRITISH BIRDWATCHING FAIR IS THE WORLD'S FIRST AND LARGEST INTERNATIONAL BIRDWATCHING EVENT

The Birdfair encompasses the whole spectrum of the birdwatching industry, while supporting global bird conservation. This is the event of the year for those into birds and wildlife. There are hundreds of stands providing information and selling the latest products for wildlife enthusiasts, from spotting scopes to sculptures, binoculars to bird food, e-Guides to eco-holidays!

Every day there was a packed program of events. Three separate timetables provided a variety of lectures. The Events Marquee hosted quiz shows, question and answer sessions, exclusive book launches and family-based entertainment. The Birdfair Auction offered the chance to bid for a host of ‘lots’ donated by the exhibitors, ranging from holidays, to artwork, to unique experiences, with all the monies raised going directly to this year's Birdfair project, Saving the Pacific’s Parrots.  Bird conservation in the Pacific is one of BirdLife International’s priorities.  It is the region where birds are becoming extinct at a higher rate than anywhere else in the world.

            The energetic Taiwan International Birding Association team of 26 people included three special guests; two are members of the National Assembly of Taiwan: Legislators Ms. Chiu-Chin Tien and Legislator Mr. Chung-Tse Yang  (Legislator Yang is also Chair of the TIBA)   and Mr. Hsueh-sheng Chen, Magistrate (i.e. Mayor) of Lienchiang County, Matsu Islands.  All together, the team of 26 consisted of 24 from Taiwan and two from Canada.  Our double stand was situated in Marquee #1; there were 9 large marquees, plus several smaller tents.

            The TIBA stand at the Fair featured the superb K. K. Kuo Olympus Bird Art Gallery and provided general information about birding in Taiwan, including the latest news of the extremely rare Matsu (Chinese Crested) Tern, Sterna bernsteini, which in 2000, was found nesting in extremely small numbers on Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago.  (It is the rarest tern in the world, with perhaps as few as 100 left.) The stand also had a “wheel of fortune” — a Lucky Roulette wheel with many free prizes—Chinese Crested Tern DVDs, toys, badges, and other items.  Copies of FLYING FEATHERS ON SUMMER DAYS, A PHOTO COLLECTION OF THE TERNS IN THE MATSU TERN CONSERVATION AREA were available for sale.  Stand visitors were also “tattooed” with Taiwan birds. 

On the afternoon of the opening day of the Fair, the TIBA stand was visited by the Bird Fair Co-organizers, and presented with two awards:  1st for “Best Overseas Stand,” and 2nd for “Best Tourism Stand.”

            For the Birdfair Auction, TIBA donated a very large photograph of Fairy Pitta (180 x1 80 cm) by Mr. K. K. Kuo, Olympus Bird Art Gallery and a framed paper sculpture (64 x 50 cm) of Chinese Crested Tern by noted artist, Mr. Chen-Wen Wang.

            TIBA also presented a Powerpoint talk by Jo Ann MacKenzie in the Lecture Marquee; Birding in Taiwan—Chinese Crested Tern Re-Discovered on August 18At the conclusion of the presentation, there was a draw for travel prizes; a free 2-week birding trip to Taiwan and five smaller prizes, the Taipei-Matsu-Taipei part of a birding trip for Matsu (Chinese Crested) Tern in July 2007.

 

LIBERTY TIME TAIWAN

大英鳥展 台勇奪海外組冠軍

 


 

 

二十多位台灣鳥類生態義工19日在英國劍橋北方的Rutland生態保護區舉行的「大英鳥展」,擊敗現場五十多個國家、一百多個攤位,贏得此次鳥展海外組冠軍;英國BBC新聞採訪台灣團隊時,團員高興地向全球鳥友高呼:「Welcome to Taiwan」。

「大英鳥展」是全球規模最大的鳥展,今年是第十八屆,共有來自五十多個國家的鳥類生態團體齊聚Rutland生態保護區,台灣則由連江縣政府及台灣國際觀鳥協會代表參加,藉由馬祖所發現的「神話野鳥黑嘴端鳳頭燕鷗」,向世界各國鳥友推銷台灣生態旅遊。

台灣攤位現場除了展示黑嘴端鳳頭燕鷗的圖片外,並有生態攝影家郭耿光所拍攝二十多幅巨幅的台灣特有種鳥類圖片,在鳥展四百多個各國攤位中顯得相當突出。此外義工們準備了上萬份台灣鳥類英文折頁及數百個黑嘴端鳳頭燕鷗及紅胸啄花的徽章,受到各國鳥友熱烈歡迎,王楨文老師在現場指導外國小朋友製作紙浮雕,也是人氣焦點。

經過大會評審,台灣團獲得海外組第一名,也是大會四百二十個攤位中的第二名,由英國鳥會頒贈獎牌,BBC新聞也進行採訪,團員中台灣國際觀鳥協會副理事長林茂男,以吹口哨的方式模仿台灣野鳥包括冠羽畫眉、白耳畫眉、山紅頭等的鳴叫聲,維妙維肖,讓新聞記者驚訝不已。