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| The Messenger, promotional poster |
Last Sunday RSPB Liverpool screened the stunning and thought provoking film ‘The Messenger’ by SongbirdSOS productions.
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| RSPB Information stands outside Screen 3 |
Fifty four people attended our event and judging by the post screening reaction it had obviously achieved its aim.
The film is visually stunning and took us to far flung places such as Indonesia, Canada and France. This film was hard hitting and we couldn’t help be moved by the issues it raised; at times maddening and upsetting such as the French man illegally catching and eating ortolan buntings, the Indonesian bird markets, and the hundreds of migrating birds flying into high raise windows. Towards the end of the film we were treated to the sight of an expanding circle of 2,100 dead birds laid out on a museum floor, a strong image bringing tears to your eyes.
But this film wasn’t just made to shock, it showed some amazing people, monitoring birds and fighting back, from the man who turns out Manhattan’s 911 memorial lights (http://www.audubon.org/news/making-911-memorial-lights-bird-safe), and the CABS activists combating the illegal killing or trapping of European birds (https://www.facebook.com/CABS2011/photos/a.427967460550946.119080.325254527488907/926741860673501/)
But there was a glimmer of hope for the future, as we observed Canadian children at the Royal Ontario museum tip toeing around and asking questions about all the dead birds on the floor? We must nurture their interest and educate our future generations.
After the film an informal discussion gave the audience a chance to let off steam, empathise and ask what you we can do to help birds.
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| Audience discussion on Indonesia. Ged Gorman |
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| Maureen wins a the first raffle prize |
Here’s a link to watch the Q & A session:
Some initial suggestions:
1. Install ultra violet window alert stencils at home and at work – available at various UK bird food supplier websites.
2. Campaign, sign the petitions, write letters, fundraise and if you can afford it donate…. Support the RSPB Love Nature, RSPB Operation Turtle Dove or RSPB Birds without Borders and BirdLife International
3. Buy bird-friendly coffee - Bird & Wild Coffee Partnered with RSPB to give 6% of all sales to RSPB to help protect our birds, wildlife and nature in the UK, whilst protecting migrating birds at coffee origins
4. Cats - Put a bell on your cat's quick release mechanism collar and keep your cat indoors when birds are most vulnerable: at least an hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise, especially during March-July and December-January, and also after bad weather, such as rain or a cold spell, to allow birds to come out and feed.
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| Raffle - lots of Bird &Wild Coffee prizes |
It is hoped that our group will be able to bring this film to our members at an indoor event screening in the near future and more importantly be able to contribute in some way to help tackle the issues this film raises.
Here’s a link to watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/LjQtRr4CKc
Every DVD comes with a FREE bag of bird friendly-coffee from Bird& wild plus a promo code for future purchases. Bird & wild is on a mission to help protect migrating birds. Every bag of Bird & Wild coffee sold helps the RSPB, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre and the Fair-trade Foundation.
Here’s a link to the Bird & Wild shop: https://birdandwild.co.uk/
A warning from the past: in 1957 Mao Tse-tung’s set about a campaign against tree sparrows that were eating the nation’s grain, subsequently hundreds of millions of sparrows were killed. Achieving this aim contributed to a catastrophic ecological disaster which led to 30 million people dying of starvation. We ignore this lesson at our peril, whether it is birds, bees, other wildlife or the planet’s natural resources.
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| The Messsenger promotional poster |
Laura
RSPB Liverpool
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