I (Fatbirder) set up this small national charity two decades ago to fight for better access to reserves and other birding products and services for those with physical disabilities. It has grown over the years and developed and become influential on those managing birding resources. We promote ‘barrier free access’ so that everyone, regardless of physical, mental or learning restrictions, can enjoy birding in the countryside. Nothing that can be done to make resources more accessible for those with, for example, mobility issues, makes it less accessible to anyone else. Run by volunteers we charge no membership fee or consultancy fees and rely purely on donations. Over the coming weeks this section will feature some of our ‘corporate’ supporters… without whom we would not be able to go on bending the ears of decision makers and providers. Our thanks in 2020 go to…

Birding Ecotours

https://www.birdingecotours.com

…say the following about their charitable and conservation support:

We are spectacularly passionate about doing our utmost to help conserve birds – and of course the natural environment as a whole. Our business plan states that we have to donate a minimum of 10 % of net profit before owner’s salary, to bird conservation and local communities. We exceed this minimum amount every year (sometimes it can even be doubled), and here is a summary of where some of our donations have gone in the last few years:

  • African Bird Club Gold Sponsorship – US$1000 per year (at the current exchange rate) – the money goes directly to bird conservation projects all over Africa.
  • African Bird Club conservation tour to Zimbabwe and Mozambique – 10 % of the tour price was donated directly to the club for conservation projects.
  • Neotropical Bird Club sponsorship – the money goes directly to bird conservation projects all over South America and the rest of the neotropics.
  • Neotropical Bird Club conservation tour to Costa Rica – 10 % of the tour price was donated directly to the club for conservation projects.
  • Oriental Bird Club sponsorship – the money goes directly to bird conservation projects in Asia.
  • Oriental Bird Club conservation tour to Bhutan – 10 % of the profits donated directly to the club for conservation projects.
  • US$1200 x 2 = US$2400 donated to Yilma Abebe, one of Ethiopia’s foremost ornithologists and conservationists, for courses in which he trains/educates 10-12 youngsters about conservation and birds (the latest one is about to be run in 2018).
  • US$1475 donated to our local guide in Ethiopia so that his mother could get a life-changing hearing aid. Apparently, it is helping her a lot.
  • US$2000 donated to our guide in Indonesia who lost his home to the big Palu earthquake in 2018, for help provide schooling and shelter for orphans, and for land purchases.
  • About US$700 per year (pound equivalent) donated to “Birding for All” (previously “Disabled Birders’ Association).
  • US$1230 once-off donation to the “Amazon Yards” project – we try to donate to projects in which we can have a large impact for a relatively small amount of money and where money is desperately needed.
  • US$800 – US$5000 to cover costs and direct Birding Ecotours donations at the Champions of the Flyway Bird Race for conservation (in which proceeds go directly to bird conservation projects that help protect birds trying to migrate between Africa and Eurasia) – our friends/clients then donate much more than this (these amounts basically just get our team there to Israel for the race and include some donations to conservation directly from us). Donations from clients/friends in fact actually allowed us to win the “Guardians of the Flyway” prize in 2017 for raising more conservation money than any other team that year (in 2018 we won the actual Champions of the Flyway prize for seeing more birds than any other team, and each year our team is almost at the top of the fundraising, if not right at the top (as was the case for 2017).
  • About US$6000 to cover flights, accommodation, etc., for the World Series of Birding in 2018. Our fundraising efforts resulted in the raising of $1300 through generous donations from friends/clients, which all went directly to Birdlife Zimbabwe for Blue Swallow conservation.
  • US$860 for a new canoe for Junior Gabela in Zululand, South Africa (in 2015). Junior has been able to use this canoe as an asset to allow him to earn more money than he was able to in the past. He takes birders out on the canoe to see rare/sought-after species that are tough to see from land. African Finfoot and White-backed Night Heron are examples.
  • We donate US$400-500 (depending on the exchange rate) per year to Birdlife South Africa, and in 2017 we donated about $2000 extra to sponsor their big event “Birding Big Day”.
  • We donate US$350 per year to a children’s home for orphans in South Africa (uMephi).
  • We donated US$1500 to someone in Malawi who lost his home in a fire – this, along with contributions from a couple of other sponsors, allowed him to rebuild his home. This was in 2015.
  • We donate about $200 (depending on the exchange rate) per year to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa branch.
  • About $1000 was donated to the Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2).
  • We paid Adri Barkhuysen around US$1000 for his research project on the extremely rare Cape form of African Barred Owlet, which might be a Critically Endangered split from the usual form of this owl.
  • We sponsored Michael Blose to attend the Pan African Ornithological Conference in Cape Town (about US$800).
  • We contributed a small amount to the Black-footed Cat conservation project in the Kalahari of South Africa.
  • We paid for David Letsoalo to join one of our Cape tours to learn a new area so he can guide in more areas than previously.
  • We paid money towards the Avian Demography Unit each month in earlier years.
  • We paid for a local Uganda birding guide about US$600 for his flight to England so he could drum up more business at the British Birdfair to continue supporting his family – he was going through a tough time as he had just lost his wife in a freak accident.
  • Approximately US$700 donated to Mouse Free Marion which aims to eradicate mice from South African owned Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.
  • We make an annual donation to Wader Quest, which aids in the conservation of many wader species worldwide.

By joining our tours, you not only make the above possible, but the bulk of what you pay for each tour gets paid directly to lodges, B&B’s, and small hotels in rural areas where the birds tend to be, and to park guides, local guides, etc. So by joining tours you’re contributing to local communities and ecotourism and to people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

We also aim to offset our carbon footprint by donating to NGOs that plant native trees in areas that need reforestation (where destruction of bird habitats is a problem). Previously we have paid for tree planting in South Africa and are looking to do similar with a contact in Ecuador. We now donate to the World Land Trust and we encourage you to do the same to help offset your carbon footprint

Various members of the team also give a great deal of their time as volunteers – for example, Chris heads up the South African official BirdLife South Africa bird checklist, which takes many hours each year. Dylan and Dom both serve on the South African Rarities Committee adjudicating rarity submissions. Dom donates time and expertise for seabird conservation projects with BirdLife South Africa’s Seabird Division, aiming to reduce seabird mortality from longline fisheries. Many of our guides also take part in citizen science projects such as the South African Bird Atlas Project and Coordinated Waterbird Counts, which aim to increase our understanding and distribution of southern African bird species.