Feria Internacional de Turismo Ornitológico

FIO (Extremadura Birdwatching Fair)

FEBRUARY 18TH TO 20TH 2022

Jardín secreto

2022 Photography Contest
1st Prize FIO 2022 and category: Aves en su entorno
Winner: José Miguel Palao

FIO 2022

The XVII Extremadura Birdwatching Fair - International Ornithological Tourism Fair (FIO) will be held from February 18 to 20 in the Monfragüe National Park. It will be the great meeting point in Spain for tourism related to nature and birdwatching, an activity in which Extremadura is a leader because of its natural resources and specialized tourism.

SCHEDULE (FREE ACCESS): Friday 18^th and Saturday 19^th February from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 20^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Organized by the Regional Government (Junta de Extremadura), FIO brings together the best in the sector: national and international tourist destinations (including a large representation of the Extremaduran products), specialized companies, manufacturers and distributors of photographic equipmente and other optics, conservation associations, nature artists... In total, more than 100 exhibitors.

In addition to this there are activities for companies, such as the FIO B2B Professional Meetings, and an extensive programme that combines conservation and entertainment.

For three days there are conferences and colloquia on nature, tourism, art, cinema and photography, guided tours and birding viewpoints in different parts of the National Park, workshops for adults and children, entertainment shows, exhibitions, book presentations and a workshop for national and international companies specialized in nature tourism to meet local businesses.

All this programme in Monfragüe, one of the world’s meccas for birdwatching that is National Park, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Starlight astrotourism destination.

#FIO2022

Use the hashtag #FIO2022 and follow all the news of the fair

What can I find?

Talks

FOTOFIO (Photography Talks)

Visit exhibitors

Specialised workshops

Exhibitions

Activities

Guided birding tours

TALKS 2022

‘Painting birds of paradise’, by Szabolcs Kókay (Hungary)

‘Bird migration through the Strait of Gibraltar. 25 years of study and monitoring’, by Alejandro Onrubia (Migres Foundation)

Tribute to Joachim Hellmich, the Great Bustards’ German

Presentation of the European project EnviroCitizen. ‘Ornithological citizen science and environmental citizenship’, by Diana Villanueva and Clara Contreras (UEX)

‘Volcanic tremor’, by Carlos de Hita

‘New photographic horizons: Varanger’, by Merce R. Romero

Margaret Atwood talks about birds with Antonio Sandoval

Colloquium ‘The ecosystem services of carrion-eating birds’

‘Ten years observing birds in Extremadura at the hands of the Birding Club’, by Extremadura Tourist Board

Colloquium ‘Small-scale landscapes, an artistic vision of the environment of birds’

‘Birds transform lives’, by Carlos Mario Wagner Wagner (Colombia)

‘How to make a good book better: the endless need to look again and again!’, by Killian Mullarney (Ireland)

Colloquium ‘Around the sound. Different ways of listening to nature’, with Eloïsa Matheu, Carlos de Hita, José Carlos Sires and José Luis Copete

‘Humanisation or extinction’, by Eudald Carbonell (Atapuerca Foundation)

‘The true language of the birds’, by José María Benítez and Marino González

Talks

FOTOFIO 2022

Presentation of the book ‘Creative photography of wild fauna’, by Mario Cea

‘Photographing for The Sound Approach in Oman’, by René Pop (The Netherlands)

‘Capturing the elusive: behind the scenes of my nature photography’, by Mateusz Piesiak (Poland)

Presentation of the book ‘Birds of Spain. Photographic identification guide’, by Carlos Pérez Naval

Screening of ‘Panteras’ (Spain, 2021), a film by Wanda Natura directed by Andoni Candela and produced by José María Morales

‘Looking for your photograph, loving nature’, by Nuria Blanco

‘Winged images’, by Ricardo Lourenço (Portugal)

Presentationof the FOTOFIO, by Atanasio Fernández

‘Discovering nearby paradises’, by David Jerez

‘Bird photography. Getting to know our models’, by Sebastián Molano

‘Dream’, by Cristina Abilleira

‘The sound in the nature documentary’, by Carlos de Hita

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL?

EXHIBITORS

B2B BUSINESS MEETING

NEWS

16,000 visitors in the 2022 edition

28 February 2022

The 17th edition of FIO received a total of 16,145 visitors, according to estimates from the Monfragüe National Park, which analyzes the entries of people per vehicle. This calculation is between the figures for 2020 (16,900 visitors) and 2019 (15,600). Last year it was held in virtual format due to...

Spanish photographer José Miguel Palao Quílez wins the first prize in the FIO 2022 contest

19 February 2022

Spanish photographer José Miguel Palao Quílez, with 'Jardín secreto', has won the first prize in the Nature Photography Contest 'Wild Birds', organized by FIO 2022. The winning image, in which a gray heron can be seen among cypresses on the Atchafalaya River (United States), was chosen by the jury from...

650 business meetings at FIO

18 February 2022

FIO promoted today the holding of 650 business meetings in its workshop, an activity aimed at professionals in nature tourism and bird watching. 29 buyers from Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States and 69 sellers (companies from the Birding in Extremadura Club, travel...

Conference ‘Volcanic tremor’, by Carlos de Hita

16 February 2022

February 20th | 13:30-14:00 Stage Marquee A sound journey from the silence of the forests to the roar of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma. Carlos de Hita, sound technician and author of an extensive archive with the voices of the Spanish, African, Amazonian and Indian fauna as well...

mención de honor a ricardo lourenço (portugal) por ‘entorno del martín’ en ‘c2 aves en su entorno’

‘Winged images’, by Ricardo Lourenço (Portugal)

14 February 2022

February 19th | 16:15-16:45 FOTOFIO Marquee More than capturing a beautiful image, Ricardo Lourenço is interested in the story behind it. He is interested in the immediate beauty of the image, but also its message, what we get out of it and the emotions we feel when we see it....

Tribute to Joachim Hellmich, the Great Bustards’ German

11 February 2022

February 18th | 19.00 Stage Marquee In love with Extremadura and the birds of the steppes, with a special passion for bustards, Joachim Hellmich died of coronavirus in September 2021 in Germany. This ornithologist, Olympic athlete in his youth and a professor of Geography, arrived in Extremadura in 1980s. In...

Margaret Atwood talks about birds with Antonio Sandoval

7 February 2022

February 19th | 13.00-13.30 Stage Marquee Recorded exclusively for FIO 2022, the writer and ornithologist Antonio Sandoval speaks with the acclaimed Canadian novelist and poet Margaret Atwood, winner of the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature and honorary doctorate from several universities in Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain,...

‘How to draw restless birds’, an illustration workshop with Szabolcs Kókay (Hungary)

2 February 2022

Szabolcs Kókay is self-taught, with no formal artistic training. From the beginning the artists who have most influenced him are those who work outdoors, directly with nature. Field work motivates him a lot and it has left a mark on his art. He still remembers the difficulties and challenges that...

‘Painting birds of paradise’, by Szabolcs Kókay (Hungary)

2 February 2022

It all started with a commission to paint various groups of birds, including birds of paradise, for a Papua New Guinea field guide. In 2014, on a month-long expedition to that Oceanian country, Hungarian nature artist Szabolcs Kókay developed the work, which was followed five years later by a bird-watching...

‘How to make a good book better: the endless need to look again and again!’, by Killian Mullarney (Ireland)

2 February 2022

Killian Mullarney is internationally known as one of the authors of the best-selling European field guide of the last 20 years, the ‘Collins Bird Guide', first published in 1999, which he illustrated with Dan Zetterström. The 'Collins Bird Guide' is written by Lars Svensson and the late Peter J. Grant...