Thousands of birding enthusiasts with heavy photo-lens cameras invaded the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Poortview to take fantastic snapshots during The Sasol Bird Fair that took place on 7 and 8 June.
Nikki McCartney, Events and Marketing Manager at Bird Life South Africa said, the fair was a partnership project between Birdlife South Africa and South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) together with Sasol.
“I think the Sasol Bird Fair 2014 was a huge success,” McCartney said. She explained that because of the cold weather they were expecting less than 300 visitors for the weekend, but the event was able to pull through more than 2 000 paying visitors and more than 30 exhibitors. “The exhibitors themselves numbered no less than 200 personnel.”
“We would like to thank all the people for the support,” Botanical Gardens curator Thompson Mutshinyalo said. He added that the exhibition involved various aspects of birding from cages, nest feeding equipment, telescopes and binoculars, to paintings various preservation projects.
“The event also held various talks and workshops that dealt with wild life photography, conservation projects such as the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and the Sustainable Seafood Initiative and the challenges around birding,” said marketing and communications manager Ronny Tshabalala.
According to Tshabalala, the show also highlighted the Bird of the Year, the Tristan Albatross, while the Black Eagles did not disappoint with their spectacular flight. “There was also an area for children to do colouring-in as well as games while entertainment was provided by the Gauteng Youth Orchestra and the Mondeor Primary School pupils who played the marimba,” he added.
Events and marketing manager at Bird Life South Africa Nikki McCartney 013 764 337077; Marketing and communications manager, Ronny Tshabalala 0861001278.
