Birds

The Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia (SCNL) is pleased to invite participants to the First Annual Liberia Bird Festival. This festival is part of a global event, the World Bird Festival sponsored by BirdLife International, which happens during the first week of October. It is the largest bird watching event in the world. The objective is to get as many people as possible to go bird watching over one week-end, and to record as many of the world’s 10,000 species of birds as possible. The World Bird Festival highlights the vital role that birds play in the equilibrium of ecosystems, as well as their relationships with people.

Celebration of this year’s festival is planned to take place in Robertsport , Grand Cape Mount County, 7-8 October 2006. The festival will take place at the proposed Lake Piso Nature Reserve, which is one of nine Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Liberia. The Important Bird Areas are areas which have been recognized to hold species of global conservation concern.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Connecting people with birds”. Birds are part of the global ecosystem and are linked to people in many cultures. This year’s event will afford Birdlife International national partners the opportunity to raise the profile of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in their respective country.

There will be several opportunities for field excursions during Saturday and Sunday. Events will begin at 8:30 am on Saturday with a short program to introduce the festival and birds in Liberia. The event will end by 2:00 pm on Sunday so participants can depart Robertsport in a timely manner. Please note that logistics in Robertsport are limited and that suitable lodging may not be available for all participants. Also note that Robertsport is approximately two and a half hours from Monrovia on fairly decent roads.

More information about the World Bird Festival can be found at the following web page: http://www.birdlife.org/action/awareness/world_bird_festival/index.html