In 2019, CHAMPIONS OF THE FLYWAY are HEALING THE RIFT …..

help us save Africa’s vultures

Champions of the Flyway is now a well-known  fund- and awareness-raising event in global birding and conservation circles. Since our humble beginnings back in 2014, we’ve raised over $350,000 for bird conservation, mainly for projects tackling the illegal killing of birds migrating along the flyways. Over the past five years we’ve shed light on the many challenging issues migratory birds face, helping six different Birdlife International partners in their ongoing struggle against the slaughter of migrants on the ground.

2018’s Champions project was our most successful to date. Not only did our teams raise over $100,000 to fund projects to protect the birds of the Adriatic Flyway, but we also encouraged two different Birdlife Partners (Birdlife Serbia and Birdlife Croatia) to overcome political boundaries and to work together for the benefit of birds. Champions – inspired by the birds we’re helping to save – know no borders.

In 2019, Champions of the Flyway is answering an urgent, emergency call from our brothers and sisters south of the equator – namely, the terrible plight of the Rift Valley’s vultures. It’s a call that – if left unanswered – has profound and long-lasting effects not just for these unique and iconic birds, but for entire natural and human communities which they are such an integral part of.

For the first time, Champions is joining forces with an African Birdlife partner – Nature Kenya. Together, we’re hoping to raise funds and awareness for one of the most burning bird conservations issues on the table today. Incredibly, no less than seven species of vulture are in serious decline, four of which are, tragically, already classed as endangered. The reasons are diverse, but one of the biggest factors is poisoning and illegal killing of vultures in the Great Rift Valley.

Together with Nature Kenya we aim to engage in a large scale project that will include funding a special Rapid Response team on the ground to identify carcasses and treat them, before their effects unwittingly spread to vultures, nature’s original garbage disposal experts. We will also be funding the development of several educational programs with the local people of the Mara area and Narok province in Kenya, aiming to leave a lasting legacy for the Rift Valley’s vulture conservation.

This may be a slightly different project compared to previous campaigns, but we feel that the Flyway Family can to step up where we are needed the most, and the vultures of East Africa need our urgent help – sooner rather than later. We are eternally grateful to our supporters over the years, but we now need your help more than ever to help protect and save nature’s clean-up crew, the bringers of life and some of the most majestic birds on this beautiful planet of ours.