Feathered Friends and Conservation Conversations: My Experience at BirdFair 2024
For the past few years, I have visited the annual Birdfair event hosted in the Rutland area in England. The last few years saw the event cancelled due to the pandemic, but I was very pleased to return this year to attend a few of the intriguing talks and events being held, see work from local artists and the amazing projects being created for conservation charities worldwide.
As I arrived at the event mid-morning on Sunday the 14th of July (at Lyndon Nature Reserve), I got familiar with the layout through their handy map and guidebook. The tents and stages are all named after familiar bird species — Osprey, Curlew, Swallow, Robin and many more! —and I was able to find the tent where the first talk was being held. The speaker was wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby. This last year, she became the winner of ‘Natural Artistry’ in Wildlife Photographer of the Year and portfolio winner in Bird Photographer of the Year, as well as being a Nikon Creator where she has recently held classes for anyone who wants to learn more about wildlife photography. Her main subject is seabirds, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her talk about her approach and process leading up to an image being taken, along with the stories she wanted to capture within them. Her simplistic approach to her black-and-white images of seabirds such as razorbills, gannets and fulmars (her favourite seabird!) is strikingly beautiful and has certainly been an inspiration to me when I looked to create black-and-white images in recent weeks. I was excited to hear about her future projects including travelling to the Arctic in the coming months. I was very fortunate to meet her after her talk and she admired the puffin tattoo on my forearm!
Another female wildlife photographer that I had the privilege of meeting was Lara Jackson-Turner. Currently living on the Isle of Mull with her husband George (who is also a wildlife photographer!), she photographs wildlife within the UK and across continents, received highly commended awards for Wildlife Photographer of the Year and is also a conservation biologist. Her goal is to be a voice for the voiceless and make people more aware of the plight that our natural world faces in the present day. We spoke for a long while about each of our wildlife encounters on Mull, our plans for wildlife photography, as well as how wildlife photography has been a large drive towards showing people the beauty and the perils facing our local and international wildlife. We both hope that we can meet on Mull soon! Rachel met up with myself and Lara a while later, and I expressed how wonderful and inspirational it has been to talk to two women who I have admired throughout most of my wildlife photography journey. We all got a selfie together too!
Other talks that were held later in the day included a talk with conservationists and campaigners Indy Greene and Katie Monk, who at the time of this event were just over halfway through their walk Marine Miles, which goes from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and in aid of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust; a charity I have supported since visiting the Isle of Mull where their headquarters are based. I first met Indy on a boat trip from Tobermory on the Isle of Mull a few summers ago, where he was volunteering during the summer season, and once their talk ended I offered my best wishes to both of them for the rest of their walk, and he recognised me from that boat trip and also from my John Coe tattoo! Their donation page is linked at the end of this blog. The last talk I was able to attend was hosted by naturalist and TV show host Nick Baker. I watched him while growing up and his enthusiasm for all wildlife big and small is still as strong as I remember! He showed the audience some specimens taken from a pond close to the event, by putting them underneath a microscope and presented them on a big screen for all to see. It is amazing how much life goes on right beneath our feet or up in the trees, and Nick opened up this whole new world that all of us enjoyed witnessing with him.
The rest of my time at Birdfair involved looking at all of the wildlife tours and excursions available across the globe, as well as seeing the amazing work of artists who create all sorts of wildlife forms out of materials like wood to metal. I, of course, had a look at the camera equipment that was displayed by brands such as Canon, Nikon, Leica and Sony. There were also some great food and drink stands around the site which helped keep me going throughout the day! Towards the end of my time there, I went over to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) stand where they were in the process of ringing some birds that were caught earlier in the day. Some of the birds that were ringed in front of a small crowd included blue tit, great tit, chiff chaff, and the main star being a juvenile green woodpecker!
Whether you are an avid bird watcher, conservation enthusiast or keen photographer, I believe that this event is for everyone, young and old. A 2025 date is yet to be announced, but I certainly hope to return next year!
Relevant links:
- Rachel Bigsby — https://www.rachelbigsby.com/
- Lara Jackson-Turner — https://www.larawildlife.co.uk/
- Marine Miles donation page — https://www.gofundme.com/f/marine-miles-walking-the-country-in-support-of-hwdt
