birdgirl: August 2015

Monday, 31 August 2015

Letter from the Shadow Education Secretary – Tristram Hunt

Those of you who follow me regularly will know how strongly I feel about getting children and young people into birds, wildlife and nature and how important it is for them to understand about conservation and protecting the environment. We, young people today are the world's future and there is no future without us. That’s why I do so many practical workshops with them (like at Scouts, Guides, primary and secondary school children, why I organised Camp Avalon and why I give talks to people including this age group.

I have contacted the four major parties in England (Conservative Party, Labour Party, Lib Dem Party and Green Party) about talking on this topic at their Annual Conferences. . I have not heard from the Conservative party, I am too young for the Labour Party (I need to be 14 years old) and I am hoping to be involved with the Lib Dems and Green Party annual conferences. I plan to contact the Conservative Party again through 10 Downing Street this time and SMP.

I have also been in touch with various teaching unions and hope to also get involved in some of their Annual Conferences. So far I am speaking at the Union for Science Teachers and the Union for Geography Teachers.

I hope that I can get my message across and make a difference.

I have also e-mailed Mr Tristram Hunt, Labour MP and Shadow Education Secretary about these topics being covered in school and got a fantastic response confirming that he agreed these topics were important that this would be something they would look at when looking at their future policy development. I plan to respond and ask to be involved when they consider the issue. This is the exchange I had with him:

From: HUNT, Tristram 

To: Mya-Rose [mailto:birdgirl.uk@gmail.com] Sent: 25 August 2015

Subject: Saving our planet

Dear Mya,

Thank you for your email regarding teaching conservation and environmental issues in schools. I enjoyed reading your blog posts and found them very informative.

I agree with you that educating young people about conservation is certainly important. It is vital that young people understand the environmental issues and their long term impact on our world.

Thank you for raising this issue, it is certainly something we will look at in our future policy development.

Many thanks again for your email and best of luck for the future.

Best wishes,

Tristram

Tristram Hunt

Tristram Hunt MP Shadow Secretary of State for Education

Member of Parliament for Stoke on Trent Central  * House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA ( 0207 219 1179

" www.tristramhunt.com

www.laboureducation.org.uk

From: Mya-Rose [mailto:birdgirl.uk@gmail.com]  Sent: 08 July 2015 To: HUNT, Tristram 

Subject: Saving our planet

My name is Mya-Rose Craig, I am 13 years old and am will be in Year 9 at Chew Valley School, a state comprehensive. I am a conservationist, writer and speaker passionate about wildlife and getting children into nature and the environment. I am used to giving talks at places like the Scottish Birdfair.

I attach a link you my blog posts to two open letters that I wrote to BBC Wildlife Magasine on this topic:

http://birdgirluk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/letter-to-bbc-wildlife-magazine.html

http://birdgirluk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/second-open-letter-to-bbc-wildlife.html

As these essential subjects are not on the National Curriculum, it is left to the individual teachers and subject heads to decide what to teach, if anything.

Unlike many people and organisations that are lobbying for these subjects to be added to the National Curriculum, I believe that things are best left as they are. This is because the National Curriculum is already crammed full. I think that these subjects would be better taught, as they are to some extent, in science and geography as well as in English and other broader subjects. This is really important for our future.

I asked to speak at the Labour Party Annual Conference to your members about why I think it is essential that young people are taught about the environment, conservation and nature in their lessons.

Future generations will only care about saving our planet and everything on it, if they know about it. You can't care about something you don't know about.

I will be 18 on the actual day of the next election but as I am under 14, I can not ask to speak to the conference yet.

Will you commit to children being taught about these important issues in school, so that they care about saving our planet?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Mya-Rose Craig

Birdgirl

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

She has 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

World Shorebird Day - 4-6 Sept 2015

World Shorebirds Day, 4-6 September 2015

As well as being a young birder and conservationist, I am also Ambassador for World Shorebirds Day.

I have chosen to champion World Shorebirds Day because it is an organisation that each September celebrates waders (shorebirds) and those trying to conserve them. Waders often migrate long distances along nine flyways worldwide. They stop off to rest in different places along the flyways, making them vulnerable to habitat disturbance and hunting. This has made many endangered. World Shorebirds Day is to show how important bird surveying is so that people who don’t normally count birds can improve and that the number involved worldwide increases.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Photograph copyright Baz Campion

2014 was the first World Shorebirds Day event, with half of the world’s waders being recorded. It would be really great if we can increase the numbers taking part and make it the first huge global birding event.

I have a real connection and love of waders. They are my dad’s favorite bird groups and through years of watching and studying them, he is amazing at identifying them. That love for waders has rubbed off on me.

Read my first blog on the World Shorebirds Day website, http://bit.ly/18UVWu4 and register to take part, where ever you live in the world.

Hudsonian Godwit, Meare Heath, Somerset Levels
Photograph taken by Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig

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, writer and speaker. She is based near Bristol and writes the successful Birdgirl Blog, with posts about birding and conservation from around the world. She is loved going Mountain Gorilla Trekking in East Africa and is looking forward to watching Penguins in Antarctica in December 2015, which will be 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

East Africa - The postscript

Homeward bound

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog because there has not been any wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

Today was our travel day home. We caught an overnight flight from Nairobi to Brussels and then a connecting flight from Brussels to Bristol. We live really close to the airport and I it was a short taxi ride home.

It was good at least to the afternoon in Bristol, getting a few things for school tomorrow. I start year 9, so will need to step up the work I do for school.

I just wanted to reflect on my summer. It was interesting to visit each of the three countries, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. They were all different, with how people looked, behaved and thought. Kenya had the most developed tourism industry and services. Things like wifi were widely available, whilst rarely available in Uganda and Rwanda.

The tour companies we used were Avian Watch Uganda (speak to Alfred) and Moses Kandie of Birdwatching Express Tours. The guides were excellent, with good vehicles (with seat belts), good accommodation and everything organised well and went smoothly. We made some lifelong friends who I know I will keep in touch with.

The big difference between conservation in South America and Africa and Asia is that there are a lot of privately owned reserves in South America whilst most are government owned in Africa and Asia. This means that there is scope for corruption or at least revenue not reaching the local people. With revenue from Eco tourism, local people have no stake in the habitat or it’s animals or birds.

This meant habitat gets chopped down, like the wetland swamp that we visited which was almost gone in the two years since Robert had last been.

It also means that hunting can have a big impact. Uganda has only one endemic bird, Foxes Weaver. We didn't see them and it was unclear when they were last seen. What was clear was that weavers and their nests were being collected for food. Nature Uganda was doing some work there, but there was no one based there and it was unclear what had been achieved. This is something that I will be trying to find out about and highlight. I will also get involved with African Bird Club, as I’d like to work with them.

It turned out, when I got home, that tomorrow is actually a training day at school, so that’s good news. The other bit of good news is that my friends is having a picnic party

In the afternoon, so I can catch up with my friends before school. I doubt any of them will be too interested in my trip though ;-)

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on ScillyPhotograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

East Africa - Day 43

Kenya 30 August 2015

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog because there has not been any wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

Today is the thirteenth day of our birding trip to Kenya which we have organised through local ground agent and bird guide Moses Kandie of Birdwatching Express Tours. He provided lots of references, who all said that Moses was a brilliant guide and well organised. Having now birded with him, I can honestly say that he is a great birder, very focussed on what we want, which I seeing our target birds, and a great guy. He knows the calls and can whistle most things in and has recordings for the most birds.

Today was our last day in Kenya, with a night flight home tonight. It seemed apt that our Kenya section started and ended in the same Nairobi hotel.

This morning we were up at 4.30 am, for a 5.00 am breakfast and then a long drive south to Magadi. Here it was arid and barren and we were in Southern Kenya, only 30 km from the Tanzania border, or twenty minutes drive. Moses said the habitat was pretty similar to the Masai Mara except there are a lot more water pools there.

There were also traditionally dressed men herding their cows, especially ones in a pool drinking. One got stuck in the mud and had to be rescued by a herder. Moses said that the border was porous here, as the tribes have relatives on both sides.

Our reason for driving two hours was our main target, Chestnut-banded Plover, which we saw pretty quickly at the edge of water. It’s range is really restricted to an area crossing the border with Tanzania. Soon afterwards, we saw some Sandgrouse in flight, at first thinking they were the same as the ones we have seen. Then Moses said that they were Chestnut-breasted Sandgrouse which were new for us. We walked to a pool, to get good views and then birded in the heat along the roadside. From here we carried on back towards Nairobi, stopping for roadside birding all the way. It was really hot by now, especially in the midday heat.

Once into Nairobi, we visited the new Gallaria shopping centre in the Southern side of the city. It was in an upmarket part of the city with lots of expats. We went into KFC for chips, ice cream and fast wifi. It was a Sunday and the last day of the school holidays and so lots of families out enjoying the last gasp of summer. It felt really good to mingle with normal people in Nairobi, as staying in lodges doesn't give you a feel for life here.

We then needed to go inside the centre to use the bathroom. We had some backpacks with us, as Max had told us to take anything valuable with us as they weren't safe left in the vehicle, as because of the huge length of the vehicle, he thought he might have to park outside the centre. I'm the end, he stayed with the vehicle keep everything safe. To go into the shopping centre we were scanned and our bags opened, checked and scanned. It seemed pretty high security, even compared to two armed Rangers in Uganda. Then I remembered about the Westgate Shopping Centre killing in the centre of Nairobi two years ago. Moses said that the shopping centre had only just reopened in July 2015 because of the damage. I'm sure people here prefer to live with high security than be at risk to terrorists.

We then went the short distance to Nairobi National Park, which is probably the only game reserve in a city anywhere in the world. It’s about 300 square kilometres and is the smallest of Kenya’s reserves. There were lots of people just out for a drive and a few with loud music playing. There are three big cats here, which we didn't see one of but we did see Giraffe, Zebra, Buffalo, Wildebeest, antelope, Jackal with a baby sitting in it’s hole and a snake on the road.

We saw a few new bird species here, which was great to sneak it.

Moses and Max dropped us at the airport, which was really close to one of the park gates. We said our goodbyes and sent into the airport at 6.30 pm, with plenty of time for checking in, having dinner and catching our night flight.

At the gate, Mum and I noticed 2 Kenyan women with four young girls about 10 years old. There were no husbands or other children and we speculated whether the girls had been brought here over the summer for FGM. If we’d seen them on the way out, Mum might have reported them, just to be on the safe side but there was nothing we could do now.

We have had a really great trips with some brilliant birds and animals. There are so many questions that I have about conservation projects out there. Poaching and big game hunting are obvious issues but the positive is that there are still huge areas of National Park here.

List – 585 birds for Uganda, 183 birds for Rwanda, total trip list of 612 for Uganda and Rwanda, 753 total trip list and 399 lifers for me.

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Saturday, 29 August 2015

East Africa - Week 6

Uganda 23 August 2015 to 29 August 2015

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog without wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

The highlight of our sixth week, which was in Kenya was visiting Samburu National Park and getting close up views of all the animals, including unbeatable views of Leopard, Lion, Elephants and different species of Giraffe and Zebra. It was was also fantastic to see some Somali specialist birds like Somali Bunting, Bee-eater, Ostrich and Crombec.

Day 36 – Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria and Thomsons Falls

Day 37 – Nyahururu Lake and Mukuruweini

Day 38 – Aberdares National Park

Day 39 - Castle Forest and Mwea irrigation Scheme

Day 40 – Samburu National Park

Day 41 - Samburu National Park

Day 42 – Samburu National Park

Trip List – 585 birds for Uganda, 183 birds for Rwanda, total trip list of 612 for Uganda and Rwanda, 391 trip for Kenya, 753 total trip list and 399 lifers for me, taking me over 4,100.

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

East Africa - Day 42

Kenya 29 August 2015

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog because there has not been any wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

Today is the eleventh day of our birding trip to Kenya which we have organised through local ground agent and bird guide Moses Kandie of Birdwatching Express Tours. He provided lots of references, who all said that Moses was a brilliant guide and well organised. Having now birded with him, he is a great birder, very focussed on what we want, which is seeing our target birds, and a great guy too. I would highly recommend him. Our driver Max was also great and we had loads of space in our extended Toyota Land Cruiser. He drove quite fast, but that speeded up our journey time and I didn’t mind the ‘African massage’ as it didn't stop me sleeping or reading, though blogging was challenging!

The story from everyone we met in East Africa was the same. Tourism had been devastated everywhere for the last eightieth months, with almost no one coming. This was since the Nairobi Westgate shopping centre massacre at the beginning of last year and Ebola, even though this was 1000 miles away. When I told people at school that I was coming to East Africa, virtually everyone said ‘don't get ebola’. I couldn't be bothered to give them a geography lesson. When you are sitting at home, it’s easy to not appreciate your decision not to travel on people abroad. East Africa is safe to travel to, so long as you avoid the border with Somalia. I hope some people reading my blog decide to go there for birding or wildlife.

This morning we were up at 5.30 am, for a 6.00 am breakfast and then out into Samburu National Park birding on our way out of the park. Here we are in North Central Kenya, but also getting a little close to the border with Somali than is comfortable. Certainly, we wouldn't want to get any closer.

There was a couple of Genet cats that came in close to the dining area, which came in for food. They were like a long necked Civet and was stunning. It must have been up all night and was still there at our early breakfast time.

We were north of Mount Kenya, where you get specialist birds, many with Somali in the name.

In terms of a game reserve, although Samburu NP is relatively small, it was fantastic for animals and seeing them close up. I would highly recommend it. Also I liked the lodge, especially as our room was next door to the dining room and reception, so easy to get in and out. With the river being bone dry, there was a high risk the animals such as Elephants and Lions would try and cross the river bed during the night and maybe get into the compound. It definitely felt safer to not have to walk far.

We saw lots of elephants right next to the track, including quite a few cute babies with the herd. We also saw some Mongoose, antelope and Monkeys.

We didn't see any new birds during the morning but got some good views of Somali Bee-eater, White-headed Mousebird, Red-neck Falcon, Taita Fiscal and Black-faced Sandgrouse. Samburu was an excellent birding destination and one of my favourite places for birding in Kenya. We also got much closer to the animals than anywhere else we’d been.

We then drove the long journey to Nairobi, where we were staying the night. We didn't stop enroute because the journey was so long and Nairobi traffic can be really heavy.

It can be frustrating having pretty much a whole travel day, but there's no point having that kind of attitude. You have to take the travel time into account when going somewhere as good for birds as Samburu. It was about 6 pm by the time we got to our hotel, so time so Mum and Dad could re-arrange stuff in the bags before we had dinner in the hotel.

It’s strange when you get towards the end of a long trip. I always want the trip to carry on but at the same time I look forward to getting home, to my room and my own bed even if it's just for a couple weeks like in 2012, when we went to South America,

Trip List – 585 birds for Uganda, 183 birds for Rwanda, total trip list of 612 for Uganda and Rwanda, 391 trip for Kenya, 753 total trip list and 399 lifers for me.

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

Friday, 28 August 2015

East Africa - Day 41

Kenya 28 August 2015

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog because there has not been any wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

Today is the tenth day of our birding trip to Kenya which we have organised through local ground agent and bird guide Moses Kandie of Birdwatching Express Tours. He provided lots of references, who all said that Moses was a brilliant guide and well organised. Having now birded with him, he is a great birder, very focussed on what we want, which is seeing our target birds, and a great guy too. I would highly recommend him. Our driver Max was also great and we had loads of space in our extended Toyota Land Cruiser. He drove quite fast, but that speeded up our journey time and I didn’t mind the ‘African massage’ as it didn't stop me sleeping or reading, though blogging was challenging!

This morning we were up at 5.30 am this morning, for breakfast at 6.00 am and the out into Samburu National Park.

We were on the northern of Mount Kenya, where you get specialist birds many with Somali in the name.

As soon as we came out of Samburu Game Lodge, there was a large Bull Elephant by the road and I was able to get some photos. During our morning safari drive we had stunning views of a young leopard, close up views of a adult male lion, lioness and three youngish males and quite a few elephants. There were animals everywhere here. We also saw more water, so felt better for the animals that have to survive here.

We had some brilliant and special birds during the morning game drive the best of which were Vulturine Guinea-fowl (we saw loads but this was the only time were saw them), Golden-breasted Starling, Somali Bunting, Yellow-vented Eremomola, Blue-Naped Cordon-bleu, African Silverbill, Black-bellied Sunbird, White-headed Mousebird, Donaldson’s Bulbul and Fischer’s Starling.

We came back to the lodge for lunch followed by a 3.30 pm safari drive going until 6.30 pm when we had to be back for the curfew. We saw Red and Yellow Barbet, Ashy Cisticola, Somali Long-billed Crombec, Mouse-coloured Pendulin-tit and Taita Fiscal. We also saw the same lions walking in the dry riverbed, which was brilliant as all the lions we had seen so far were lying down.

It was an amazing day’s birding with lots of animals thrown in.

Trip List – 585 birds for Uganda, 183 birds for Rwanda, total trip list of 612 for Uganda and Rwanda, 391 trip for Kenya, 753 total trip list and 399 lifers for me, taking me over 4,100.

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly
Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig

East Africa - Day 40

Kenya 27 August 2015

I have not been able to upload photographs to my blog because there has not been any wifi or decent band width but will add my photographs to my blog post as soon as I can.

Today is the ninth day of our birding trip to Kenya which we have organised through local ground agent and bird guide Moses Kandie of Birdwatching Express Tours. He provided lots of references, who all said that Moses was a brilliant guide and well organisedHaving now birded with him, he is a great birder, very focussed on what we want, which is seeing our target birds, and a great guy too.

Today was our ninth birding day in Kenya.

Last night we stayed at Castle Forest Lodge, which is forest raised at 2,300 metres. It is on the south side of Mount Kenya.

We were up at 6.00 am this morning, a late start for us. We had a brief look in the forest for Green Ibis again with no luck before breakfast.

After another quick look for green Ibis, we headed out of the forest, having to wait for the Forest Guard to get up and dressed before coming and opening the gate to let us out.

We were on our way to the northern side of Mount Kenya, to Samburu National Park, where you get specialist birds many with Somali in the name.

On the way, we stopped at a desert location which was quite high up and very windy. We saw a swirling dust whirlwind here. We were searching for Jackson’s Widowbird which we didn't see but we did see a Black-winged Plover.

We crossed the Equator today for about the 5th time on this Kenya trip, but this time stopped for photos. I also got to have a scientific fact which I knew in theory, demonstrated to me in practice. Water, when north of the equator, spins clockwise and when south of the equator spins anti-clockwise. On the equator itself, water doesn't spin at all. This is because of the earth’s magnetic forces and was amazing to see.

We arrived at Samburu Lodge in time for a late lunch, first seeing different species of Giraffe and Zebra, antelope including Giraffe Gazelle and lots of Elephants. We also saw a Somali Ostrich (which was flapping its wings to cool down) and Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill. There was a large river running through the park which had dried up. Moses said that he hadn't known it to dry up before but this was the second time it had happened this year. As we drove in, there were lots of Elephants, antelope and other animals in the dried up river bed trying to get some moisture out of it. The elephants are able to dig down to get to the water.

I felt really guilty when we arrived at the lodge, firstly there was a large water feature by the entrance. There were no water saving rules in place, eg restricted length showers, no towel changes, no swimming pool. Apparently, they had their own bore hole for water.

After lunch, we went into an open seating area for hot drinks. Dad went off and when I looked up, there was a Vervet Monkey with it’s nose in someone’s tea dregs. I felt a bit sorry for it, so left it to it’s drink.

We met up to go birding around the Park and was pleased to see the fountain off. Talking to Moses, he said the Elephants were able to go as far as Mount Kenya for water.

Moses showed us a photograph of 3 Cheetah together on his last visit only two weeks ago, but there was still a little water in the river then, so it might be more difficult now.

We had the pop up top open in the Landcruiser, but because I was in my Tevas (outdoor activity sandals) on for once, I was a bit short to look out. I wasn't holding on tight enough, so when we went over rocks at speed, my mouth smashed onto the metal side of the vehicle. I thought I'd knocked my front teeth out, but luckily they were fine. I came away with a big cut on my lip, which wasn't too bad.

We also crossed a small river, so I felt better for the animals and less guilty about their water usage.

We then found a lioness under a tree in the shade, with the carcass of a zebra, with about ten vultures sitting in surrounding trees. Then close by there were three of the cutest cubs. One was tiny and could only be a few months old and the other two maybe from last year’s brood. We couldn't stay long though as we were rushing to get to the site for Somali Courser and back into the lodge by the Parks enforced curfew of 6.30 pm. That was a bit disappointing as I didn't get a chance to get a decent photo of the cubs.

As we returned to the lodge, we crossed a bridge over the river bed. In it were three crazy and stupid white girls running along in it. This is where we saw about thirty elephants earlier, as well as lots of animals and not far from the lions. The sun was setting and it would be pitch black in about 15 minutes, as we were so close to the equator. Moses was extremely concerned for their safety and said that he was even more worried that they might be attacked. We almost immediately passed the forest guard’s house, but he had gone leaving the barrier up, even though it was only 6.20 pm and he was meant to be there to check everyone was back before 6.30 pm. We left Moses discussing things with the guards from the lodge. We didn't hear anything more about them except they were probably from an overland truck. So hopefully they were OK and they were told why they shouldn't do it again.

Best birds of the afternoon were Donaldson-Smith Sparrow-weaver, Black-capped Social-weaver, Somali Bee-eater, Banded Parasomer, Buff-crested Bustard, Pink-breasted and Foxy Lark, Litchensutein’s and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Rosy-patch Bush-shrike, Orange-bellied Parrot, Somali Courser and Mottled Swift,

Trip List – 585 birds for Uganda, 183 birds for Rwanda, total trip list of 612 for Uganda and Rwanda, 371 trip for Kenya, 733 total trip list and 381 lifers for me.

About the Writer

Young Birder Birdgirl Mya-Rose Craig on Scilly

Photograph taken by and copyright Chris Craig