Princess Anne invites Cagan Sekercioglu to Buckingham Palace

CAGAN SEKERCIOGLU, senior research scientist at the Center for Conservation Biology in the Biology Department, is attending the 60^th birthday party of England’s Princess Anne today at Buckingham Palace.

Cagan Sekercioglu with Princess Anne in 2008

Sekercioglu won the 2008 Whitley Gold Award for his efforts promoting community-based conservation work around Lake Kuyucuk in eastern Turkey. More than 200 bird species have been counted at the lake, which serves as both a vital breeding site for some species and an important way station for many migratory species. The bird population at the lake is sometimes in excess of 35,000.

The Princess Royal is the patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature, which gives out the award. According to a press release from the fund, Princess Anne invited a delegation of past winners of the award to attend the garden party at the palace.

In the press release, Sekercioglu was quoted saying, “It is hard to put in words the honor I feel to be invited by Her Excellency. Her giving us the Whitley Gold Award two years ago was a turning point for our conservation work in eastern Turkey.”

-Lou Bergeron