The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) Slimbridge – A Young Birder’s Day at the Festival of Birds 2015 Part 2
Read Part 1 http://bit.ly/1LKSEIo
The day before, I had spent
the day at the WWT Festival of birds and had given a one hour talk which was
filmed by the BBC Natural History Department.
The talk had gone really well and I had lots of positive comments. Read Part 1 of my blog post http://bit.ly/1LKSEIo
I had done some birding but was looking
forward to doing more today.
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| Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig during Born to Bird talk at WWT Slimbridge Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig |
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| Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig with Martin Spray CBE, CEO of WWT Photograph taken by and copyright WWT, Sam Stafford with Baz Scampion's photograph of Spoon-biled Sandpiper in the background |
Sunday 1st February 2015
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| Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at WWT Slimbridge Photograph taken by and copyright WWT, Sam Stafford |
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| Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig at WWT Slimbridge Photograph taken by and copyright WWT, Sam Stafford |
We arrived at Slimbridge, in
time to do a bit of birding before a video interview of me as a young birder by
Sam Stafford one of the Media Team at Slimbridge. We wandered around the reserve to find the
perfect spot for an interview, somewhere beautiful but not to open, as it was a
windy day and I had to be heard over the gusts of wind. Finally, after three attempts, we found the
perfect spot. The interview was great,
being asked about how I got into birding, why I want to get other kids
interested in nature and birds, what I liked about Slimbridge and its birds,
the Spoon-billed Sandpiper project and my trip to Bangladesh
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| Young BIrder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig and Sam Stafford at WWT Slimbridge Photograph taken by and copyright Helena Craig |
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The reserve was really busy
and there were twice as many people as the day before, probably because it was
better weather. Over the day, about 1300
people came into the reserve and all the stands that we spoke to had done very
well, with lots selling out.
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It was then time to see Mike
Dilger speak, which was very entertaining.
He had lots of enthusiasm and was really amazing and awesome. He was just really funny, cool and easy to
relate to (by me anyway). The auditorium was packed full for Mike’s talk.
I decided to buy his book about converting his garden into a wildlife haven. Mike lives in the next village from us and we drive past his road most days. So the wildlife that he gets in his garden is very relevant to me and my garden. It was great to meet Mike after his talk and I had a brilliant chat with him about his birding and mine.
I decided to buy his book about converting his garden into a wildlife haven. Mike lives in the next village from us and we drive past his road most days. So the wildlife that he gets in his garden is very relevant to me and my garden. It was great to meet Mike after his talk and I had a brilliant chat with him about his birding and mine.
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After that, we decided to
split up for a bit and I went up into the tower and saw two crane and lots of
Lapwing, as well as some of the birds I saw the day before. I then went to Wader Shore Bolivia
close to Sajama National Park
Then there was time for a
quick lunch and chat with Nigel Jarrett from WWT Slimbridge. He asked me if I was interested in helping
birds other than waders and I told him that I definitely was. I told him about my visit to Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust and my discussion with them about the Madagascar Pochard, a
joint project with WWT Conservation.
Nigel seemed impressed with that, I think because it’s a project he is
heavily involved with.
Nigel then talked to me about
the Baer’s Pochard, which has had its numbers plummet in recent years. This is another bird connected to me through
my Bangladeshi heritage. They used to
winter in Tangua Haor in Sunamgonj District in Bangladesh
At the moment, they are checking the DNA of the birds held at Slimbridge, and then they are going to try to breed them in more stringent conditions. I am going to get involved one weekend after the eggs have hatched. By coincidence, a couple of birders found one in Philippines recently, the first time they have been seen there. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope for the Baer’s Pochard after all.
At the moment, they are checking the DNA of the birds held at Slimbridge, and then they are going to try to breed them in more stringent conditions. I am going to get involved one weekend after the eggs have hatched. By coincidence, a couple of birders found one in Philippines recently, the first time they have been seen there. Maybe there is a glimmer of hope for the Baer’s Pochard after all.
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| Nigel Jarrett with Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig, Chris Craig and Helena Craig Photograph taken by Sayam Chowdhury copyright Chris Craig |
After lunch and this chat
with Nigel, we went outside for more birding.
Extra birds that we saw were Bewick Swan, Barnacle Geese, White-fronted
Geese, Pochard and Ruff.
We then had a quick walk
around the stands and spoke to the guys on the South West Peregrine stand, the
Help a Hedgehog stand, Swarovski Optiks and the Paramo coat stall. It would be
great to have one of their coats once I’m out of a size 0.
I sometimes wonder where the world would be without Captain Scott and his last instruction for his son, Sir Peter Scott, who set up both WWT and WWF. What a legacy to leave us and an inspiration for us all.
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It was a great weekend and I
am looking forward to next year already.
I am hoping to have a cameraman with me during my trip to Bangladesh
About the writer
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| Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig |
Mya-Rose Craig is a 12 year old young birder, conservationist, writer
and speaker. She is based near Bristol
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