Fabulous Philippines

Nigel’s Birdfair talk about Philippine birds can now be seen here and on You Tube

The talk that I recently gave to the virtual Birdfair 2020 about Philippine birds (called Fabulous Philippines) is now on You Tube, and hence can be seen here. The talk is just over 16 minutes long, and to watch it just click on the link below. I really hope you enjoy it!

About the Fabulous Philippines talk

The talk introduces some of the Philippines most important forest habitats, and then showcases a few of the country’s most significant bird species, concentrating on those that are endemic, or unique, to the Philippines. These include the Philippine Eagle, several hornbills, the Philippine Bulbul, the Coleto and the Bleeding-heart pigeons.

The photography used comes from my Wild Philippines project, which was published a few months ago as a book, called Wild Philippines. Video clips in this talk, showing me working in the Philippines, were shot while I was gathering material for the project.

Bleeding-heart pigeon, a Philippine bird.
Negros Bleeding-heart pigeon.

About the Birdfair

The Birdfair is an annual UK event, usually held on the shores of Lake Rutland, in eastern England, that celebrates everything to do with birds and bird conservation. Not surprisingly, for 2020 the event was forced online, with a virtual event running for a week in mid-August.

Hopefully, for 2021 the event will be back in its rightful spot in the English countryside!

Getting a copy of Wild Philippines

If you find this talk interesting and would like to find out more about Philippine wildlife, and in particular the Wild Philippines project, click on the link below.

The Wild Philippines book is widely available from high street and online book shops (including Amazon). In the Philippines, it is stocked by National Book Stores. You can also buy it directly from this website: just click on the link below to go to my book shop.

Wild Philippines cover

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A Wild Philippines talk at Birdfair

The UK’s annual festival of all things to do with birds, Birdfair, has started and will run 18th-23rd August. I’m so proud to be able to say that in the line-up is a talk by myself, in which I’ll be showcasing the birds of the Philippines, a talk entitled by the organisers Fabulous Philippines.

Using photography from my recent book, Wild Philippines, the talk will explore the avian wildlife of that wonderful country, highlighting mainly just a handful of the many species unique to the country. These include the mighty Philippine Eagle, all 11 species of hornbill, and a host of pigeons and doves, to mention just a few.

Philippine Eagle
A Philippine Eagle

Birdfair goes online

Normally held on the shore of lovely Rutland Water, a major sanctuary for birdlife in eastern England, this year of course Birdfair has to be wholly online. That hasn’t stopped the organisers pulling together a superb event, with a huge line-up of talks, events and exhibitions.

To go to Birdfair’s home page click on the link below:

My Philippines talk at Birdfair

My talk on birds of the Philippines, which the organisers have entitled Fabulous Philippines, goes live at 8am (UK time; 3pm in the Philippines, 3am USA east coast) on Saturday 22nd August, so you’ll be able to watch it online from then and for the next three months. The talk will also be published next week on my You Tube channel.

Consisting of a mix of videos and stills photography, with my own narration, the talk runs for 15 minutes, introducing the Philippines’ main terrestrial habitats and some of their representative life. As already mentioned, the photography comes from my recent book project Wild Philippines.

Naturally, I really hope you’ll watch the talk, and that you’ll find it enjoyable. You can find my talk at the address below. The page is already live, but it won’t be possible to launch the video until Saturday 22nd Aug.

An early morning view across farmland near Tumpis (at about 1350 metres) to the summit of Mt Apo, Mt Apo Natural Park, Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines.

Getting hold of a copy of Wild Philippines

Wild Philippines is widely available from both high street and online book stores around the world, including Amazon. In the UK, the main high street outlet is Waterstones, while in the Philippines it is National Book Stores.

It can also be bought directly from me through my website. Just click on the link below to go to the relevant page.

Wild Philippines cover

I hope you’ll enjoy my Birdfair talk!

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Wild Philippines in Geographical mag

I’m really pleased to be able to say that the July issue of Geographical magazine (the monthly publication of the Royal Geographical Society) contains a prominent feature on my book Wild Philippines.

Consisting largely of extracts from the book’s first two chapters, it also features some of the photography, focussing largely on the Philippines’ unique, or endemic, animal species.

You can see the article here, by clicking on the image gallery below:

Moving forward with Wild Philippines

This is a fantastic new development, as I have to say in all honesty that we’ve been having all kinds of trouble managing to promote Wild Philippines. Not surprisingly, much of that is down to the Covid-19 pandemic, which completely wiped out plans to promote the book in the Philippines itself. So the Geographical article is a major boost and step forward in getting news about the book out there, at least within the UK.

Wild Philippines cover

About the Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society (RGS), founded in the 19th century, is the UK’s most well-known research and exploration body, specialising in the promotion of study into geographical issues, both in the natural and the human worlds.

Some of the UK’s most famous explorers have been and indeed still are members of th RGS.

Geographical magazine is its monthly publication, going out automatically to all RGS members. It is also available generally, normally on sale in many good newsagents.

To find out more about the RGS click on the link below:

Find out about the RGS

To find out more about Geographical magazine click on this link:

Find out about Geographical magazine

Find out more about Wild Philippines

Wild Philippines is a major publication, written and published by Nigel Hicks and published by Oxford-based John Beaufoy Publishing. Its 208 pages give a hugely valuable overview and snapshot of the status of Philippine wildlife and its conservation. In addition, Wild Philippines features over 300 photos that focus in on the country’s huge numbers of utterly unique plant and animal species, ranging from the mighty Philippine Eagle to the vast numbers of orchid and medinilla plant species.

To find out more about Wild Philippines, and to see sample pages click on the link below:

Find out about Wild Philippines

Getting a copy of Wild Philippines

Wild Philippines is available around the world through all good book shops, both high street and online.

To buy directly from me contact me by phone (+44 (0)7977 546961) or click on the link below:

Buy a copy of Wild Philippines online

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