Bird Conservation Fund are hosting a webinar to learn about conservation of the Critically Endangered Masked Finfoot to which everyone is invited to attend. The free presentation will be held by Zoom on Tuesday 16th January 2024 at 19:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (03:00 am GMT). Please RSVP for headcount purposes to info@birdfund.org if you wish to attend. The direct link to the webinar can be found here.

Bird Conservation Fund, along with additional funds provided through the Oriental Bird Club, are putting together a grant to underwrite eight months of field surveys and research into populations of Masked Finfoot in the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh. The project will locate nesting sites, document the Finfoot’s breeding ecology, and address hunting threats. The findings of this vital work will lead to the creation of a Masked Finfoot task-force under the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP).

The Zoom webinar will include a short pre-recorded presentation by Sayam U. Chowdhury, who will be the lead scientist on the project, and who is working in the field this month. Sayam is a leading expert on bird conservation in Bangladesh, currently attaining his PhD at Cambridge University. The presentation will be followed by a conversation with Yong Ding Li, PhD. Ding Li is a Conservation Biologist, who serves as the Regional Flyway Coordinator for Birdlife International (Asia).

Contributions to the Bird Conservation Fund will directly assist efforts to save the Masked Finfoot from extinction. As with all Bird Conservation Fund projects, 100% of any donations will go to the designated grant recipient. Please contact Graham Chisholm at graham@birdfund.org or Aaron Maizlish at aaron@birdfund.org with any questions. As of 9th January 2024 USD7,540 has been raised toward the target USD9,500 for this project. Further donations are very welcome and can be made here.