Young Birders

e counted!
he
natural world – could you join them and help ensure Britain’s birds have a brighter future?
BIRDTRACK
Keep a record of whatever you see, wherever you are – not only will you be
contributing to conservation, but you can also keep track of your own
records.
Just sign up at the BirdTrack website (app.bto.org/birdtrack/main/datahome.jsp)
and start adding records.
You can easily access these at a later date. If you wanted to check which
species you saw at your local gravel pits on 5 February 2015, with a view to
repeating a particularly memorable sighting, for
example, it’s all there. There are also statistics and
graphs on national trends, allowing you to
predict when and where hard-to-find species
might turn up, and there’s also a great
BirdTrack app,
allowing you to
record sightings
in the field.
Kestrel
UNIVERSITY
BIRDWATCH
CHALLENGE
If you’re a student, get your university
to take part in the University
Birdwatch Challenge (afocusonnature.
org/projects/university-birdwatch).
There’s one team per university, but no
limit to the number of people in each
team, and you compete to collect bird
records from university-owned land.
It’s a great way to improve your ID
skills while also contributing to
conservation.
Tom Bailey
ONE TO WATCH
TOBY CARTER, 14
BW: What first got you
interested in birds and wildlife?
AR: When my grandparents took
me to RSPB Titchwell Marsh for
the first time and I saw all the birds
close up – my favourite was the Oystercatcher.
BW: Which bird surveys/conservation projects
are you involved in?
I’m involved in a few of the BTO’s surveys; Nest
Record Scheme (NRS), Ringing Scheme – in which
I’m part of Rutland Water Ringing Group (RWRG)
and the Humber Wader Ringing Group (HWRG), in
which we colour ring Bar-tailed Godwit, Redshank
and Curlew. I also enter my bird sightings onto
Birdtrack and my local birding club, which is
Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society
(LROS), plus my dad and I have started a House
Martin survey which links in with the BTO’s study on
them, where we are looking at the whole nesting
stage and ringing the birds to track if the same birds
use the same nest each year.
BW: What has been your most memorable
birding moment?
AR: Well, my most memorable birding moment
expands over a period of a week. Back in October,
for the first time I went to Scilly with my family, it was
a brilliant experience, having 14 lifers while I was there,
highlights being, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Blyth’s Pipit,
Red-flanked Bluetail and finding my own Ortolan
Bunting.
BW: What would be the one piece of advice
you’d give to other young birders?
AR: Just get outside and open your eyes and ears,
and not to be afraid to admit to others that you’re a
birder.
BW: If you could make one change to the UK’s
environmental policies, what would it be?
AR: Make outdoor learning part of the national
curriculum, so pupils can learn about everything
around them. Instead of sitting down, playing their
PlayStations, they are getting out and exploring the
world outside their front door.
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