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The Great Britain Guide

Other places · East Midlands

British Birdwatching Fair

The British Birdwatching Fair or Birdfair is an annual event for birdwatchers, held every August at Rutland Water in England, run by staff and volunteers from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife T

British Birdwatching Fair - geograph.org.uk - 2032416

Hugh Venables — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h

About

The British Birdwatching Fair or Birdfair is an annual event for birdwatchers, held every August at Rutland Water in England, run by staff and volunteers from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The birdfairs in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and in November 2021 the fair was permanently discontinued over financial concerns. By January 2022, however, one of the original conceivers of the Birdfair, Tim Appleton MBE, announced a new event under the guise of 'Global BirdFair'. In March 2022 an official announcement was made that Global Birdfair would take place at a new location, Rutland Showground, from 15–17 July. It has been described as "the birder's Glastonbury". A large number of suppliers of binoculars, cameras, books, clothing and other birdwatching equipment, plus artists and tour companies, display and sell their wares. There are also lectures and other attractions. The first fair was held in 1989. All the organisers' profits are donated to a charity, Birdlife International. Prior to the 2008 fair, visitors had contributed £1,488,000 to international bird conservation. The 2018 fair raised £322,000, making a total of £4,679,152 since the inception. Other countries are replicating the fair, including the South American Bird Fair, which was first held in 2010 and the Amazon Birding Fest since 2019.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

The British Birdwatching Fair or Birdfair is an annual event for birdwatchers, held every August at Rutland Water in England, run by staff and volunteers from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The birdfairs in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and in November 2021 the fair was permanently discontinued over financial concerns. By January 2022, however, one of the original conceivers of the Birdfair, Tim Appleton MBE, announced a new event under the guise of 'Global BirdFair'. In March 2022 an official announcement was made that Global Birdfair would take place at a new location, Rutland Showground, from 15–17 July. It has been described as "the birder's Glastonbury". A large number of suppliers of binoculars, cameras, books, clothing and other birdwatching equipment, plus artists and tour companies, display and sell their wares. There are also lectures and other attractions. The first fair was held in 1989. All the organisers' profits are donated to a charity, Birdlife International. Prior to the 2008 fair, visitors had contributed £1,488,000 to international bird conservation. The 2018 fair raised £322,000, making a total of £4,679,152 since the inception. Other countries are replicating the fair, including the South American Bird Fair, which was first held in 2010 and the Amazon Birding Fest since 2019.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Coordinates
52.6560, -0.7020
Address
Egleton, Rutland
Established
1989
Official site
www.birdfair.org.uk

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is British Birdwatching Fair?
British Birdwatching Fair is in East Midlands, in the United Kingdom — coordinates 52.6560°, -0.7020°.
When was British Birdwatching Fair built?
British Birdwatching Fair dates to 1989.