A dip and a new bird - Red-thoated Pipit - 4th May 2015

The first bank holiday weekend in May was going to be a busy one.  Mum and Dad were out on the Friday night and so out birding day did not start very early.  Dad and I went ringing in the morning first.

We had known about a site for Lady Amhurst's Pheasant in Bedfordshire for some years.  Mum and Ayesha had seen one many years before and so it was only going to see it for my benefit.  The best time to look for the bird was in the spring and although Dad kept the directions in the car, we never quite got around to going to find one.  

It was a difficult site, as lots of people had been trespassing to see the bird.  We weren't quite sure where to look from without breaking the law, another reason for our hesitation.

As there had been so much trespassing, the county recorder decided in mid April to release the information, in the hope with lots of birds being present, it would stop the trespassing.  There was only one lone male left and it lived at this site.

I was on a school skiing trip when the news came out and most people went to see the bird.  We were not able to go until several weeks later on Saturday 2nd May 2015.  It was 5 pm by the time we arrived at the site and the bird had not been seen since 10.30 am.  We stayed until dark at 8.30 pm but with no luck at seeing the bird.

As we left the village, Dad stopped at a pizza take away. Mum and me went in whilst Dad had a nap.  As we waited for our pizza an Asian man with a big beard came out to the front and started talking to Mum.  Within 10 minutes we found out that he was Sylheti as well, had three children and knew their ages and names.  He lived in Luton, which is quite a conservative place and he started telling me to be polite to my mum as that was written in the Quran and then asking me if I read the Quran. Bangladeshi's get stuck in ad no matter how many times it happens, I always find it a little bit rude to say such personal things within 10 minutes of meeting someone.  I didn't hold it against him though as he gave us some free drinks and was very sweet. 

The next day, was the biggest event of the year in Compton Martin.  The Ring o Bells Pub is the coolest pub in the country and is owned by the Parlephone Records CEO.  I met Lily Allen at the opening and got to hear Gabrielle Aplin, who I think is brilliant.  They have a band night after the festival and this year I heard Port Isla and Sunset Sons.  The plan was that we would go back for the Lady Amhurst's Pheasant the next day and so Dad and I went home at 11.30 pm.  We left Mum with strict instructions not to be late home, but she said that 2.00 pm wasn't THAT late.

Port Isla, Ring o Bells Pub, Compton Martin
Photograph taken by Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig with Port Isla, Compton Martin
Photograph taken by Helena Craig

Sunset Suns, Ring o Bells Pub, Compton Martin
Photograph taken by Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig selfie with Sunset Sons, Ring o Bells Pub, Compton Martin
Photograph taken by Helena Craig

I also met the Bristol Mayor, George Ferguson, who was really interested in my environmental and conservation work and my blog.  He told me that he would really like me to get involved in some way with the Bristol Green Capital 2015, which was really interested.

Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig with Bristol Mayor George Ferguson
Photograph taken by Helena Craig

Anyway, we didn't get up to go birding early.  In the meantime we have news that a Red-throated Pipit had turned up at Ludworth Moor, Derbyshire. They used to be relatively common but had become a big rarity now. It was 5 pm by the time we got to the bird and luckily saw it well within 5 minutes.

Red-throated Pipit, Ludworth Moor, Derbyshire
Photograph taken by and copyright young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

Red-throated Pipit, Ludworth Moor, Derbyshire
Photograph taken by and copyright young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

We saw Matthew Bruce from Next Generation Birders (NGB) and Beth Aucott from A Focus on Nature (AFON) there together which was sweet.

It was another later night by the time we fought our way through the Bank Holiday traffic to get home.  I managed to sleep all the way home though.

The pheasant would have to wait...

About the writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Mya-Rose Craig is a 13 year old young birder, conservationist, environmentalist, activist, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol, UK and blogs about birding and conservation from around the world. Wader conservation is important to her and she is Ambassador to the global wader initiative World Shorebird Day. She is looking forward to Mountain Gorilla trekking this summer in East Africa and to watching penguins in Antarctica in December, her 7th continent. She has recently been listed with the singer songwriter George Ezra and actress Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones as one of Bristol's most influential young people. Please like her Birdgirl Facebook Page and follow her on Birdgirl Twitter.