2006 proved to be another fantastic year for the British Birdwatching Fair, this year celebrating its 18th birthday. We had nearly 19,000 visitors over the three days and the busiest Friday and Sunday yet in Birdfair’s history.

The Fair was opened in spectacular style with a traditional Fijian Warrior dance, led by Hon Senator Manoa Rasigatale. We also had the honour of welcoming the Fijian High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Emitai L Boladuadua, and his wife, Mrs. Dr. Asinate Boladuadua, who were presented with traditional flower garlands (leis) by the Birdfair organisers.

This year saw the return of many a familiar face amongst our 300 exhibitors, covering the whole wildlife spectrum, from eco-holidays through to stunning artwork. We were pleased to see the return of the Artists for Nature, who had teamed up with the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust to showcase the ‘Great Fen Project’ – the restoration of over 3,000 hectares of farmland situated between Huntingdon and Peterborough to fenland wildlife habitat. The Birdfair was used to launch the new book 'The Great Fen: Artists for Nature Foundation in England', intended to not only raise awareness of this lost habitat but to also raise funds for its restoration.

Another first for the Fair was the Anglian Water-RiverCare exhibition of ‘trolley art’ – the world’s first sculptures of river creatures made entirely from shopping trolleys dumped in rivers. The sculptor behind these magnificent creations, Ptolemy Elrington, certainly proved popular with public and press alike, spending hours throughout the weekend answering questions about these marvelous structures.

The three days of the Fair again offered a packed Lecture and Events programme. This year featured another Birdfair debut, ‘Birds of a Feather’, where some of the birding world’s biggest names were pitted against one another in a test of their knowledge of wildlife clichés, sayings and quotes. We were also lucky enough to play host to not only Bill Oddie and Chris Packham but also wildlife cameraman and TV presenter Simon King, as well as ITV1 Prehistoric Park’s Nigel Marven. As usual, all of our celebrities did a sterling job in entertaining our visitors with some fascinating talks, comical quizzes and plenty of autograph signing sessions.

The Birdfair Auction was back for another year, this time featuring over 74 lots. It was another fantastic success and through the generosity of both the donating exhibitors and the bidding visitors, we raised £15,000 - an increase of 50% on the monies raised last year! So a big ‘thank you’ to everyone involved.

A new venture for Birdfair this year sees the introduction of a ‘virtual tour’ on our website. The tour’s creators, Rutland-based company VR-360, spent all three days tirelessly making their way around the site, taking endless photos in order to create this fantastic 3D view of Birdfair. We hope it will convey the spirit of Birdfair – something which is nearly impossible to capture in just 2D still photos.

For more 2006 photos, click here.