Dutch Knights defending their title at the 2015 Champions of the Flyway

Dutch Knights defending their title at the 2015 Champions of the Flyway



STOP THE ILLEGAL KILLING OF MIGRATING BIRDS AND DONATE HERE!

Last year editor Gert Ottens from Birdlife Netherlands,  AGAMI photographers Marc Guyt and Martijn Verdoes together with Ken Billington, founder of Focusing on Wildlife, joined the Champions of the Flyway in Eilat, Israel.

Aptly named Champions of the Flyway Sprinters we joined this extraordinary bird race for conservation.

Besides a lot of social media coverage, we raised a lot of money in the process for the cause. For our efforts we were crowned Knights of the Flyway.

We saw over 150 species on the Big Day itself and had tons of fun in our week in Israel. This was surely an event we had to attend again so we are proud to say that we are joining again the 2015 Champions of the Flyway!

This year our spiritual leader Ken Billington is staking out bird migration in Tarifa (Spain) and sadly will only be with us in spirit during the race. As we are an all Dutch Team now, we will be racing this year as the Dutch Knights!

Alongside some familiar teams from last year we are delighted that many new teams are entering as well in 2015. We want to become the Champions of the Flyway and win the trophy for the team with the most money raised so the pressure is on!

This year the Champions of the Flyway are combatting illegal trapping of migrating birds in Cyprus.

Dutch Knights defending their title at the 2015 Champions of the Flyway
Bee-eater trapped – Copyright Birdlife Cyprus

Twice a year Cyprus, the third greatest island in the Mediterranean, is a crucial stopover site for millions of migrating birds during their sea crossings. Due to these huge numbers of migrating birds, hunting and trapping has alwasy been part of the island history.

In the past, songbirds – mainly Blackcaps and similar-sized warblers – were trapped for consumption by the rather poor islanders who saw the twice-yearly influx of birds as a valuable source of protein while they scraped their meagre existence, living off the land. The impact this had on bird populations then would have been tiny and quite sustainable.

Nowadays however, bird trapping in Cyprus has little to do with tradition or history. Nor is it sustainable. It has become widespread, extensive and is driven by by profits sought by organised crime.

Red backed shrike on limesticksmall
Red-backed Shrike on limestick

The reason is the demand for a local dish made from small passerines called Ambelopoulia which is considered a delicacy by certain members of the Cypriot community and, perhaps more worryingly, some misguided tourists. The dish is in such demand that would-be diners are prepared to pay in excess of €5 per bird with the associated illegal industry considered to be worth in excess of €15,000,000 per year.

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Ambelopoulia – Copyright Birdlife Cyprus

The organized hunting had deep impact on numbers of birds. Many of the species caught are red list species in many countries. The support generated by the Champions of the Flyway event in 2015 will secure vital funding to aid BirdLife Cyprus in their fight against illegal killing of birds and to help them turn the tide on the needless slaughter.

Support us in our quest to stop the widespread, illegal killing of migrating birds in Southern Europe. If you want to support the cause and our team, please donate now on the link below. Every bird counts. So every penny, every euro is much appreciated!

just giving

Thanks for your support! The birds need it.

Marc, Martijn and Gert

Dutch Knights

PS: You can also like our Dutch Knights Facebook Page or follow us on Twitter.

 

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Marc Guyt

Marc Guyt is a Dutch photographer and owner of birds & nature stock agency AGAMI. A Wanderer by birth, Marc has always made his way to the door searching for new adventures. Even at three years old he sneaked out and left his parents searching and they usually found him somewhere near an open area or some water edge. The need to see for himself was strong. The combination of Birding, photographing and travelling has brought him to many stunning places on this beautiful globe, and it will bring him no doubt in many more. It is in his blood. Owner of Dutch stock agency www.agami.nl.

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Marc Guyt

Marc Guyt is a Dutch photographer and owner of wildlife stock agency AGAMI. A Wanderer by birth, Marc has always made his way to the door searching for new adventures. Even at three years old he sneaked out and left his parents searching and they usually found him somewhere near an open area or some water edge. The need to see for himself was strong. The combination of Birding, photographing and travelling has brought him to many stunning places on this beautiful globe, and it will bring him no doubt in many more. It is in his blood. Owner of Dutch stock agency www.agami.nl.

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