We were there to help launch the Avian Adventures 2011 brochure and to promote birdwatching in the Algarve but, as always, it was a great social weekend when we met friends from all over the world, including many who have been with us on birding tours or just had days out with us in Portugal.
All the talk (and there was lots of it!) was of birds and travel.
Part of the Avian Adventures stand
June visiting the Algarve Tourist Board / SPEA stand
Bonifence Byamukama from Uganda calls to see us at the Avian Adventures stand
Marquee 3 - our hot and humid 'home' for three days
Stuart Winter signing his new book "Tales of a Tabloid Twitcher" on the Subbuteo Books stand.
Plenty of other titles to choose from in the enormous stock of books on the Wildsounds stand.
And not just books to buy, why not a new camera or telephoto lens?
Or perhaps a painting or sculpture? This is the Art Marquee.
Sering Bojang and Solomon Jallow from The Gambia take a break.
Over the years the Birdfair has raised well over £2m for conservation projects. This year the money will go to Ethiopia. More than 40 artists were involved during the three days in painting a huge mural depicting threatened endemic and near-endemic bird species in Ethiopia which will eventually be displayed in the airport in Addis Ababa.Ethiopia is one of the new destinations in the Avian Adventures tour programme next year and the Ethiopia theme was continued when June won an African Bird Club bird identification competition and found that the prize was a copy of "Where to Watch Birds in Ethiopia".
New at Rutland Water this year was Birdfair.tv - here you can see an interview with Gerry Griffiths of Avian Adventures (with June in a cameo role...but just what was she doing under the table?).
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