Famous birdwatchers set foot in Uganda
Dec 05, 2014
Today marks the sixth day of the ongoing Big Birding week, an internationally celebrated conservation event.
By Solomon Oleny
Today marks the sixth day of the ongoing Big Birding week, an internationally celebrated conservation event that was flagged off last Thursday at Kasenge bird sanctuary, Mukono.
Celebrated annually, the week-long event is a fun packed adventure in which participants identify as many bird species as possible ahead of the Big Birding Day November 29 around their country.
At the end of the day, the most impressive performers get rewarded with nature related prizes especially complimentary treats to some of the world’s premium adventure destinations with the intent of promoting adventure.
However unlike last year’s, the ongoing celebration which is set to be crowned on Saturday at the Uganda Museum is being graced by three of the world’s most celebrated birdwatchers.
These include Tim Appleton the founder of the British birding fare, Dominic Mitchell the managing editor of Bird watch and Bill Thompson the Editor of Birdwatchers digest, all of whom were invited by the Uganda Tourism Board and the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
According to Annette Kamusiime, UTB senior marketing officer, the three were invited to promote Uganda as a prime birding destination as they command a strong influence on hordes of travelers worldwide, as reflected in their vast number of online followers estimated to be over one million.
“To aide in this realization, they are pursuing a familiarization trip around the country’s hot birding spots especially National Parks inclusive of Bwindi Impenetrable, Murchison falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth among others. Upon completion, they will use their various platforms to market the plentiful of bird species they have seen.”Kamusiime says
In an interview with New Vision, Tim Appleton, like his colleagues pledged to make the most of his visit around the country’s cream birding destinations by using their firsthand experience to drive the world’s attention to Uganda.
“The Peal of Africa deserves the best, and that’s what we shall offer,” said Appleton
Relatedly, Maria Mutagamba, minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities has called on all to embrace bird watching as it was one of the biggest contributors to tourism earnings, currently contributing over $15M annually as realized from the visit of roughly 3000-4000 visitors.
By the same token, Raymond Engena, Uganda Wildlife Authority acting executive officer has extended a call to Ugandans to embrace conservation; otherwise, the various extinct species inclusive of Uganda’s hallmark bird the grey crested crane will be extinct.
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