I'm very excited to be part of the 'Birding Ecotours Bandits' Champions of the Flyway 2016 (#COTF2016) team. I'm the only English member of the only team representing South Africa during this huge Bird Race so I will be an honorary South African for 24 hours! It is now just over 5 weeks until the big day in Israel where we will be one of 14 teams competing for the coveted trophy.
The 2016 Conservation Cause - the main reason we're all taking part in the race - is to combat the Illegal Hunting and Trapping of Songbirds in Greece and Champions of the Flyway will work with the Hellenic Ornithological Society (BirdLife partner in Greece) in this regard. Many of the birds trapped and killed are migratory birds that spend time in northern Europe (such as the UK) and in Southern Africa. Hence our interest in wanting to take part and contribute to this very worthwhile cause. Over 1 million birds are illegally killed in Greece each year which is a shocking number -
please take a look at the details here. There's also loads of information at the following link where you can 'Follow the Race':
http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/follow-the-race/
Part of the way that everyone can help is by picking and sponsoring a team for the race. I'd be really grateful if you'd sponsor a team and be even more grateful if you'd sponsor the Birding Ecotours Bandits! The team is made up of South Africas finest: Trevor Hardaker, Jason Boyce and Dylan Vasapolli, along with myself. You can sponsor our team at the following link on our team page:
http://www.champions-of-the-flyway.com/the-birding-ecotours-bandits/ I'll be posting more details about #COTF2016 over the coming weeks so stay tuned! All sponsorship, no matter the size will be greatly appreciated.
We want to stop the likes of this from happening any more.
