Birds unite our world The Birdfair is back in Rutland, under a new banner, Global Birdfair. Kate meets founder Tim Appleton MBE, to find out more
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IM APPLETON FOUNDED and has run the Birdfair in Rutland for over thirty years but during the pandemic it was forced to stop. Now Tim and his partner Penny Robinson have created the Global Birdfair and it is moving to a new site at Rutland Showground. Taking place during the weekend of 15, 16 and 17 July, there will be a whole raft of exhibitors and experts sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm of all things birding with an international audience. Passionate birdwatchers will come from all over the world to attend 180 lectures, panel discussions and ui es. They will find the most up to date optical e uipment on o er, and learn about nature tourism and global conservation. The head of Natural England Tony Juniper is coming, along with the CEOs of WWT and Birdlife International plus other guests for State of the Earth Question Time. However, it is not just for seasoned birdwatchers and conservationists. There is something for everyone to enjoy, novices and nature lovers alike. The whole purpose of Global Birdfair is to create a space for people to come together to share knowledge and ideas for the benefit of the natural world. ature conservation is in Tim’s DNA, but how did his work begin? Tim started his career in nature conservation in a wildlife park in Bristol where he came from. After that he worked for the Duke and Duchess of Bedford while waiting for a job to come up at a place he’d always wanted to work, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge, founded by Sir Peter Scott. He became deputy curator there where he learnt from the very best. In 1975 an amazing opportunity came up to create a new nature reserve at Rutland
Water, the biggest habitat creation project of the 1970s. Having always been involved with wildfowl, particularly swans, geese and ducks, Tim was the perfect choice for the job. And he stayed there until retiring as reserve manager in 2017. During his time at Rutland Water he worked on many fascinating projects including the re-introduction of ospreys to England. The reserve has become an SSSI, a special protection area SPA and also a Ramsar site which is a wetland of international importance for migratory birds. As he says, ‘why would I leave? My garden is quite nice
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