Young Birders

Shelducks
THE NEXT GENERATION
David Tipling / Almay
THINK 500 YEARS AHEAD
In September last year, I was invited to speak to a group of MPs
at the RSPB Summer Reception held in Westminster. The
theme of my talk was putting nature at the heart of every
decision and asking the politicians to think 500 years ahead and
not just a political term of five years.
But it’s not just the politicians that need to think like this, we all
do. It’s clear that our wildlife needs help. It’s clear that it isn’t
enough just to care. It’s clear that we all need to work much harder to change things.
So what is important? This question gets me thinking all the time, and no more so
than recently while out birding off the Mersey Estuary. We were watching a flock of
more than a thousand Teal bobbing about. Mixed in with them was a Green-winged
Teal, a scare visitor to the UK from North America and a stunning bird. But for all the
people that came to see the scarce visitor, which is more important; the thousand or
so Teal or the single Green-winged Teal?
As a teenager, passionate about birds and conservation, I worry about what the
world will look like in the future. I see the natural world slowly diminishing in front of
our eyes and I feel more and more the need to speak out about it.
In 2014, the WWF published a report stating that Earth has lost more than 50% of
its wildlife in the last 40 years, so move forward another 40 and what will be left?
How many more species of insect, bird, you name it, will I see disappear off the
face of this earth in my lifetime? British wildlife is getting more and more vulnerable
to the modern world and its apparent needs, and there are lots of cases to prove this.
For example, the 2012 B-Line report states that since the 1930s, Britain has lost more
than 97% of its wildflower rich grassland. This obviously impacts our insect
populations, and to the scale that if something isn’t done we could lose anywhere
from 40-70% of British insect species. Some 76% of UK Butterflies are already in
decline. What then happens to the birds that feed on a range of insect species? You
can’t just remove part of a food chain without then seeing damage spread out across
that ecosystem.
We are a small, developed country with many environmental issues to tackle, so
why aren’t we all tackling them? Why are more and more species falling onto the Red
List? Why are we not taking responsibility for our natural world?
Getting people and businesses to listen is challenging but it can be done. I
managed to engage and persuade Ecotricity last year to get involved with
funding satellite tagging for Hen Harriers, after I told them about
their plight. They really wanted to help and are now partnering the
RSPB.
So, I urge you to have a long, long think about all living species,
and think 500 years ahead. Don’t just talk about the issues among
yourselves, either, get shouting about it to organisations, MPs and
let’s have some deafening joint action that can’t be ignored.
Findlay Wilde, 13
10 February 2016
David Tipling / Almay
TAKE PART IN THE WETLAND BIRD
SURVEY (WEBS).
This involves visiting a local wetland site once a
month throughout the winter and counting the
waterfowl there – anyone can take part, even
beginners to birdwatching.
Unlike many bird surveys, to carry out WeBS
Counts, you don’t have to know bird songs or
calls, just the ability to identify common
waterbirds, so if you already know your ducks,
geese and swans, but would like to get to know
them even better, this is for you!
VOLUNTEER ON A RESERVE
There’s no better way to improve as a naturalist
than to get outside with your local wildlife. Most
nature reserves, whether they’re run by the RSPB,
WWT, Wildlife Trusts or small local groups, are
always in desperate need of help.
Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in – even
when the work involved is of the rather
unglamorous sort (clearing drainage ditches, or
thinning out scrub, for example), you’ll be doing
the one absolutely essential thing
for every successful birdwatcher –
spending time in the field.