Critical birds in the picture (and on the page)

22-02-2008

Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 is proving to be a great success. Selling well, garnering great reviews and providing essential funds for BirdLife International.

Last year's Rare Birds Yearbook photo competition was a huge success with more than 1,000 images being submitted and the best were presented in Rare Birds Yearbook 2008, with each published photographer receiving a free copy of the book.

The photo competition for Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 has just been launched and will run until 31 May 2008. This year sees a few exciting differences in the competition format.

A new category, with a top prize of a travel-friendly Minox telescope, has been introduced for the best photo - or painting - of those species that did not feature with photos in the 2008 edition.

There is a completely new contest for this year, a writer's competition on the subject "My Encounter with a Critically Endangered Bird". The first prize for this is a copy of the wonderful The Fifty Rarest Birds of the World. This leatherbound volume features stunning images painted by world-renowned wildlife artist Blake Twigden.

An important objective of Rare Birds Yearbook is to create funds to save these Critically Endangered birds. That is why for every book sold £4 is donated to BirdLife International, to be used exclusively for the protection and conservation of these species.

This is a project that is trying to put itself out of business by helping save these Critically Endangered species. So why not help by picking up a copy of Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 if you haven't already, and get your entries in now for the 2009 competition.

To find out how to enter visit www.rarebirdsyearbook.com

This news is brought to you by the BirdLife Species Champions and the British Birdwatching Fair - official sponsor of the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme