Bhutan Bird Festival 2024

I just returned from attending the Bhutan Bird Festival 2024 held at Tingtibi, Zhemgang: 13th and 14th November, 2024. It was expected - and the Zhemgang Dzongkhag Administration did not disappoint - that after the less-than-flattering review of the poor show they put up last year, they would do a much better job this year - they did! The ebb and flow of activities was pulsating and the sparkle of the festival ground was palpable, to say the least.

And yet, there is where it all ended - the festival was akin to a bride - all dressed up in her Sunday best - but no takers and nowhere to go! The festival failed to draw in a single international bird watcher or a bird photographer. Meaning that the festival was a waste of time and waste of precious resources - for the purpose for which it was planned and hosted.

Who is to blame? The RGoB and the DoT!

Birdwatching is a long duration tourism activity. For a truly rewarding experience, the activity will require a birder to spend a minimum of 2-3 weeks to be able to cover the country’s various known birding hot spots. To be able to access bird-rich locations, they need to spend anywhere between 4 to 6 days - traveling back and forth.

It is for this reason that certain segments of the country’s tourism industry have been pleading with the government to consider long duration discounts for birdwatching and trekking and any other activities that require visitors to spend long durations in the country.

Zhemgang as a birding destination holds great promise - it is teaming with over 500 bird species - a substantial of them rare and critically endangered. One international resident bird photographer who attend the bird festival went hunting for his lifebird - the Rufous-necked Hornbill. Within less than two hours he sighted his “lifer” at Tama-La - barely 25 KMs away from the festival grounds in Tingtibi. Elsewhere he would have taken a lifetime to sight this rare bird.

Another unique bird photographer who is currently resident in Bhutan who was also at the festival chanced upon a flock of 10 flying Rufous-necked Hornbills - a truly rare, if not impossible, sighting elsewhere in the world.

For events such as Bhutan Bird Festival to be able to bring benefit to local communities and the tourism industry as a whole, we need to take ownership of our own initiatives.

It is sad - how long does the government intend to remain subservient to the rank outsiders and the clueless? It is not fair - please wake up and take control!