Fantasic birds and beasts

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Broadwell GL7 3QS

FANTASTIC BIRDS AND BEASTS

A search in diverse habitats

Sunday 17th July 2022, 5-6.30

Featuring the talents of Jenn Raven (flute/piccolo), Liz Cowdrey (violin/viola), Annabel Molyneaux (mezzo), Peter Cowdrey (piano), Paul Molyneaux (poetry) and some wonderful​ Birdsong music from composers such as Vivaldi, Couperin and Cowdrey, together with some early 20th century landscape habitats set by Quilter, Walton and Elgar, some very silly animal poems by Apollinaire (exaggerated even further by Poulenc) and also a distraught Maiden and a Nightingale, Summertime and What a Wonderful World, we were set for a very entertaining evening

Any profit was shared with the Planet Birdsong Foundation (PBF) partnership with the Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management (CoEB) at the University of Rwanda.

"Rwanda is endowed with some of the world’s richest and most varied ecosystems.  These provide habitats for thousands of species of spectacular plants and animals, including a significant number of endangered organisms such as mountain gorillas.  There are also about 700 native species of birds.   

Evaluating the stability of internationally important ecosystems is essential.  PBF’s partnership with CoEB aims to foster a better appreciation and knowledge of the interface between safeguarding ecosystems and sustainable development (for example forestry, agriculture, water management, tourism or urban development) using bird species counts as a measure of biodiversity richness. 

PBS is bringing practical training in bird song recording to young Rwandan bird guides using the Parachirp adapted parabolas and ordinary mobile phones.  The guides’ bird identification skills improve rapidly, and those with whom they come into contact gain knowledge to enable them develop their livelihoods sustainably."