WWT at Rutland Bird Fair 2012

This year’s British Birdwatching Fair is taking place at Rutland Water between August 17 and 19 this year and, as always, WWT will be there with fascinating talks, a members’ cocktail party and much more.

Our stand, in our usual spot in Marquee 3, Stand Number: 26, 27, will be packed with info on our conservation work, including the latest on the incredibly rare spoon-billed sandpiper.

On Friday and Saturday we’ll be hosting an exclusive cocktail party especially for WWT members. Simply pop along to the stand during the day on Friday or Saturday, show your membership card and pick up your complimentary ticket. There are a limited number of tickets available, so try to visit as early as possible on the day so you don’t miss out.

WWT staff will also be giving a selection of talks in the lecture marquees over the weekend, covering everything from the rise and fall of ornithology in China to bringing birds back from the brink of extinction.

Times for all of our talks are listed below. Details and venues may change, so please double check the website nearer the time.

 

Friday, 3.00-3.20pm

Spoon-billed sandpiper – Emergency rescue

Lecture Marquee 1

The incredible spoon-billed sandpiper is hurtling towards extinction faster than almost any other bird species. Last year, in perhaps one of the most challenging conservation missions ever undertaken, conservationists collected eggs from the spoon-billed sandpiper’s breeding grounds in far eastern Russia and brought them to Slimbridge in Gloucestershire for a captive breeding programme. Join Director of Conservation Debbie Pain to hear the fascinating rescue story and discover how conservationists make tough decisions about when to interfere with nature.


Saturday, 3.30-3.50pm

Delta Life - shoulder to shoulder with cranes on the Mekong

Lecture Marquee 1

Life in the Mekong revolves around the rivers where people and wildlife rub shoulders. Over 1,000 new species have been discovered there since 1997 and around two percent of all the fish eaten in the world are pulled from its waters. Massive areas have been given over to farming but a few patches of intact wetland remain.

WWT is helping local NGOs and communities to protect two of these sites in southern Cambodia. Protecting sustainable livelihoods for local people, even by encouraging tourism, is critical to protecting the future of their emblematic wildlife such as the endangered sarus crane.


Sunday, 3.30-3.50pm

Exporting birding: The rise and rise of ornithology in China

Lecture Marquee 1

The Yangtze basin is hugely significant for wintering waterbirds on the East-Asian Australasian Flyway, as well as being home to one-third of China’s population. Until the turn of the century, little was known about the region’s birds as ornithology is a nascent science in China.

To counter the threats posed by the fastest developing economy in the world WWT are working to develop amateur birdwatching to a scale such that within just a decade volunteers can monitor the Yangtze wetlands and their waterbirds in detail every year. This is the very first time we’re getting a picture of the state of China’s birds.


Sunday, 4.30-4.50pm

Sex, eggs and videotape

Lecture Marquee 1

When a bird is on the brink of extinction, scientists would do almost anything to bring it back. Over the years, this has lead to countless creative and ingenious solutions.

WWT conservationists are world leaders in conservation breeding, with successes ranging from the Hawaiian goose (nene) back in the 1960s to the ongoing Madagascar pochard and spoon-billed sandpiper projects. Join us on an exciting journey into the intriguing and fascinating world of conservation breeding.


Sunday 4.00-4.20pm

A tale of two ducklings – captive Madagascar pochards

Lecture Marquee 2

Eighteen captive bred Madagascar pochard are currently being reared at a specially-designed centre in Antsohihy, Madagascar. It is a significant step for this Critically Endangered species, which numbers just 22 in the wild

Particularly as researchers studying the wild population have reported that just two or three of the ducklings that hatched in the 2011/12 breeding season have survived. It’s a similar situation to previous years.

Plans to release captive-bred pochard into the wild are urgently being developed. We give an update on the latest.

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