Another great British Bird Fair...in the bag.

Well that was a weekend and a half. Saturday was an eye-opening adventure to Rutland Water. The 25th British Birdfair took place over three days and I was invited by Lee Valley Park to help man the stand they have along with five other members of the Park team including my good friend Brenda who taught me how to womble for freebies.

You sure can collect a vast amount of 'stuff' at these fairs but there are a few gems as well. I’m well made up with the double (two stuck together) mousemat(s) I secured from the Butterfly Conservation chaps and this means I can donate one to myself when I’m in the Bittern Information Centre. Win win as they say. Got a million brochures from bird trip companies that think I’m a millionaire. You should see the cost of some, no, all of them. Certain people managed to find free alcohol too but I restrained myself as I wanted to remain the consummate professional that everyone knows me for.

Dawn showing excited fair attendees where they can find me at weekends.
There’s most of the British Bird Fair in Brenda’s bag you know..
One of the things about being at the fair and focusing on selling the delights of LVP is that you forget you’re at a premier bird reserve (I know there are a thousand bearded gentlemen walking around decorated in optics) and that one of Britain’s major birding success stories is all around you. We do of course get plenty of time to take in the bird fair and we had 40 minutes to find Ospreys.

We didn’t find Ospreys. We did pick up Little Gull, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper but Brenda couldn’t fit them in her bag so we had to leave them there. So an excellent adventure and a great reward for volunteering for something I love anyway. Another win, win.

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