Birding the Islands
Faraaz Abdool finds a Caribbean community in the Global BirdFair, and wonders how this energised and dedicated group could influence the region. At the recent Global BirdFair in Rutland UK, tour companies, tourist boards, artists, manufacturers of binoculars and cameras, audio recording aficionados, and many others gathered to network and exhibit their products for a weekend to a variety of potential customers. Saint Lucia and Tobago along with Hadco Experiences from Trinidad were present and impactful at the 2024 Fair. Contributing to the vibrant Caribbean presence was the Barbados-based company called Birding the Islands. Dubbed “The Caribbean Specialists”, Birding runs multi-island tours throughout the region to ensure that costly long-haul flights bring birders on a multi-island tropical odyssey to outstanding destinations, prioritizing those with an ethos based on equity and conservation. Birding the Islands is a Caribbean collective, ...