On the 9th and 10th of May, The Interpretive Guides Society hosted the first ever Arusha Big Birding Day http://www.arushabigbirdingday.com/! The idea is to establish a fun annual event accessible to all, which celebrates the exceptional diversity of birds here, and raises funds for conservation. Teams of birders of all levels (novices to experts), wildlife enthusiasts, nature lovers and professional wildlife guides will try to find as many different bird species as they can in a 24 hour period, within 100 kilometres of Arusha city centre.
Our general aims:
1. Raise funds for resourcing and maintaining the IGS Conservation Resource Centre, a physical and virtual place where Tanzania’s wildlife guides – the frontline ambassadors for Tanzania’s rich bird and mammal faunas - can access a wide range of electronic and printed reference materials; read books, magazines and journals; review and make maps, plant and animal checklists; and have open access electronic and online resources.
2. Increase interest in, raise awareness of, and generate enthusiasm for birds and birding in Tanzania.
For this inaugural year we are setting an objective of having 15 teams register, as amateurs or as corporates, consisting of at least 60 participants (four per team), including >50% Tanzanian nationals. For this event, we are partnering with TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks), who have generously granted free access to their national parks for all registered teams, including the important wetlands of Lake Manyara and Arusha National Parks.
3. A Specific Outcome for this grant will be further promotion of World Migratory Bird Day at public IGS events between now and October, including the invitation of the Tanzania AEWA focal point to a public acknowledgement of the support of AEWA and BirdLife International for the development of the Conservation Resource Centre. This will include logo recognition and links on appropriate websites, including http://www.arushabigbirdingday.com/.