Birdfair 2016 will bring together wildlife enthusiasts to raise funds to help save a unique forest in Southern Madagascar, home to rare birds, lemurs and frogs.

TV presenters including Chris Packham, Simon King, Nick Baker and Jess French, will entertain visitors to Birdfair, the UK’s annual wildlife celebration at Rutland Water nature reserve, from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 August.  The event unites nature lovers from around the world, and each year all proceeds from Birdfair help international conservation projects through BirdLife International.

Over the next three years the fundraising focus will be on regions of the world which have been designated as Important Bird Areas (IBAs).  For the 2016 event this is work at the Tsitongambarika Forest in Madagascar. Here, deforestation threatens exotic birds such as scaly and short-legged ground rollers, red-tailed newtonias and the Madagascar red owl, the Critically Endangered Fleurette’s sportive lemur and numerous other rare wildlife. Birdfair will be helping Asity Madagascar, the country’s BirdLife partner, support local communities in protecting the forest.

Scaly Ground-Roller © Markus Lagerqvist, from the surfbirds galleries.

Birdfair is also raising money for the next generation of conservationists. The event aims to support and train young people in the countries where Birdfair funds conservation projects: this year African students will receive financial support.

The three day wildlife extravaganza promises fascinating talks and hundreds of stands, with 78 countries represented, the latest wildlife watching gear, books, art, and eco-holidays.

The event, attended by around 25,000 people, is run by a partnership bringing together the RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts, and tickets are now available at birdfair.org.uk

Tim Appleton, Birdfair Co-founder and organiser, said: “Since 1989 Birdfair has raised nearly £4 million for vital conservation projects across the globe. When people buy Birdfair tickets or support our annual auction they are contributing to something massive that can make a real difference to the future of threatened wildlife.”

In addition to attending a packed programme of talks, visitors can also buy tickets for two special evening events. On Friday we’ll be discussing rewilding the UK with Chris Packham, Rewilding Britain Director Helen Meech, ecology consultant Derek Gow and author and journalist Simon Barnes in an event sponsored by Canon. Back by popular demand on Saturday night are world renowned musicians Craig Ogden, Gary Ryan and Milos Milivojevic in a concert sponsored by Viking Optical Ltd.

The Authors Forum hosts newly published wildlife books and their authors, and will screen recent conservation films Poached and The Messenger, both of which finish in time for the evening events.

This is a significant year for Birdfair’s neighbours, the Rutland Water ospreys. These incredible fish-eating birds of prey are here thanks to a successful conservation project, which led to the first ospreys nesting in England for 150 years. Twenty years ago the first chicks were brought down from Scotland, and now there are enough of the birds here to sustain a population that will be around for the long term. Osprey project manager Tim Mackrill will present a talk on 20 years of the ospreys at Birdfair on Friday 19 August. You can enjoy great views of the ospreys on Birdfair’s Rutland Water cruises with TV naturalists Nick Baker and Simon King.

Highlights of Birdfair 2016

On Friday 19 August, Birders Against Wildlife Crime and the Badger Trust present Mike Dilger, Charlie Moores and Dominic Dyer “Standing up for wildlife”. Later, the RSPB birders talk will celebrate the joys of bird migration and take a look at the threats migrants face on their journeys.

On Saturday 20 August, young wildlife campaigner Georgia Locock will interview seasoned campaigner Chris Packham in a session where you can expect raw truths, fighting talk and some real hope for the future. Mike Dilger will explain why “feathers trump fur”: how birds are still his favourite subject when he’s filming for TV. Two popular panel quizzes, Question of Stork and Birdbrain of Britain with Bill Oddie are sure to keep visitors entertained.

Sunday’s programme includes TV presenter Nigel Marven talking about filming with dinosaurs and their feathered descendants. CBeebies’ Jess French will be leading a minibeast adventure, and in a talk entitled “60 Wild Years”, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Director Simon Bentley will be celebrating the Trust’s 60th anniversary. Sunday’s quizzes include Birdless Pointbrain; and “Ask the Experts” with Mike Dilger, Buglife’s Matt Shardlow, Dawn Balmer from the BTO, Debbie Pain from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Pam Taylor from the British Dragonfly Society, and Nicholas Watts from Vine House Farm bird food company. Families will love the Wildlife Trusts’ production of the Jungl