A Review of 2019

    It's crazy to think that the year where I did my GCSEs 7 months ago has almost finished - what a year! For me, on the nature front, I've had some seriously amazing experiences and memories to treasure. 

    Although I haven't left England since the summer of 2018, I've had some seriously good time to explore a lot more of the country, and visit areas I'd always wanted to visit.

Overall, it was quite an achievement (well when put in perspective, I've still not seen the likes of Kittiwake/Goosander etc) to get 37 lifers in the UK in 2019. I finally managed to see my first Little Owl, even if it took until December 15th for me to do so. 24 of them came across three days out, and it was great to finally see some species that I'd never seen before. Some of the sites I visited included Spurn, Titchwell (and a lot of Norfolk,) Pagham, Oare Marshes, Rutland and many more. While 12 of my lifers would be considered 'scarce' or 'rare' by most birdwatchers, it was the wildlife spectacles I got to see that were my favourite, as I'm less likely to ever witness them again. Managing to reach 200 birds in a year was also a surprise, as I didn't think I'd see anywhere near that many. My top 5 highlights are also further down this post.

    On top of this, I had plenty of time for patch birding (read below for my brief summary on that.) It's obvious to me that Morden Hall Park has become a special place for me, and I wouldn't have got through 2019 without somewhere to visit when stressed...

Lifers of 2019

National Trust:

     On the environmental side, I'll remember it most for the opportunities that have come up through the National Trust. Since I joined a young rangers group in Feb 2018 at Morden Hall Park NT, I've been fortunate enough to be given a range of opportunities related to environmental campaigning and conservation over the course of the year. Despite the fact that my greatest interests are in birdwatching and nature, I've realised that I just can't enjoy the hobby as much when I can see nature declining and struggling. With a youth movement growing significantly since the end of 2018, I've been lucky to get involved with so much of it, which is almost all down to those at the National Trust. For example, this year I've:

*helped lead youth groups for nature;

*done talks/panel discussions about engaging young people with nature;

*spoken to MPs about how they can use their power to help, especially in education;

*written blogs for a range of people who are also trying to achieve similar things;
*become an ambassador for the #iwill campaign;

*visited Morden Hall Park regularly to complete active conservation work, whether that's maintaining habitat, creating areas for wildlife or even communicating with the public to get them involved.

    I'm so grateful to have a platform to share my ideas about engaging young people with nature and trying to bring about change, which has been possible for example by joining a youth forum for the London Wildlife Trust, or going to events led by the British Ecological Society or World Land Trust. Again, ultimately this has come down to those at the trust who have helped me so much, and so the 4 people I thank most for that are Hattie Clayton, Gemma Jones, David Coughlin and Richard Newman.

Speaking on a panel at Countryfile Live (August)

    Morden Hall Park has continued to grow as my much loved patch which I try to visit weekly, or at least fortnightly. I'll be doing some writing for a few groups about the importance of it to me in the coming months, as it is 100% my place to visit when stressed/bored/in need of wildlife. I'd estimate that I've visited at least 35 times in 2019 and spent well over 200 hours there in total, just emphasising how important it is to me. With the additions of Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Whitethroat, Pheasant, Green Sandpiper and Rook, my all time list here has reached 91 at the end of the year, which means reaching 100 species by the time I go to university is very possible. My highlight here of 2019 was finding 3 nests of Common Whitethroat, 2 of which successfully fledged young. Although frustrating at times as I'm still yet to find that patch 'mega,' I've really learnt to appreciate seeing the common species like the warblers, Kingfishers, Little Egrets more than ever before.
As always, I'm happy to show people around, and it's always much more fun when visiting with other people!

Morden Hall Park 2019. The bottom left/middle is the same habitat after conservation work to create a winter marshland. It'll be reedbeds again by March/April

The Cameron Bespolka Trust:

    With 2019 being almost like a 'break through' year for my environmental interests on the whole, birdwatching - as I've said - has always been the thing I enjoy most, and so I couldn't be more proud to be an ambassador for the Cameron Bespolka Trust. After Cameron's tragic death in 2013, the work Cameron's mother Corinne has put in for the benefit of the upcoming young birders is nothing short of inspirational. To recover from such a loss and be able to help so many more young people has made her one of the most admirable people to the young birders community, and so the young ambassadors team have been trying hard to help her continue this. Alongside my friend Sam Levy, we've been organising Young Birders walks in London for over 18 months now, with our most recent walk(s) being 'Bespolka Walks.' 

As my good friend Elliot Montieth, who has been struggling for a long time on personal levels, said perfectly after the 29th October, the group of people and young nature-lovers that make up the Cameron Bespolka Trust are like a family. It sounds like a weird thing to say but we all want to see the same thing achieved, which is a future that helps the younger birdwatchers of the UK have the opportunity to enjoy nature with others. We're a team of people that all get along very well and so it's become something I love being part of. I can't wait for the future of the Trust, as I feel it will only continue to grow and will help so many more people.

My Top 5 Memories of 2019:

5. Two days of Birding

 
    After a disappointing 2018 where I didn't really go birdwatching much, and when I did I had absolutely no luck with weather etc, this year my luck turned and I ended up getting out much more. There were two particularly notable days - visiting Oare Marshes with Calum & James in July and spending a day out in Bedfordshire with Sam and Megan under a week ago. Across these 2 days, I got to see some awesome wildlife; Oare Marshes - despite the blistering 37 °C heat on the day - was rewarding with the range of species we saw, from Lesser Yellowlegs and Bonaparte's Gull to Curlew Sandpipers and Southern Migrant Hawker Dragonflies. Sunday the 22nd December however was more about quality, and the two star birds of the day were both pretty rare for the UK; a pristine adult male Black-throated Thrush and a stunning Great Grey Shrike. With both days in the company of 4 of my  best mates, I really couldn't have asked for more. The fact I got 6 bird lifers and two insect lifers across the two days made them so much more successful than I'd ever been before, and was a massive bonus.

Ruff and Lesser Yellowlegs (Oare)

Waders at Oare

Black-throated Thrush

4. Birdfair

    As I've already said, I'd not been able to go to many social events related to wildlife before 2019; that's despite being interested in it for many years. So being able to go Birdfair this summer, where I met an endless number of people I considered friends yet had only 'met' online, was something I thoroughly enjoyed. Since it helped raise money for conservation, it was for an important cause, and therefore was something that I hope to go to again. Of course, the birding was pretty decent as well...

Great White Egret

Toby Carter's walk

3. Norfolk (and Sussex)

    Before 2019, I still had a pretty pathetic life list for birdwatching in Britain. I was missing some species that I just couldn't understand how I'd not seen, and were all pretty cool birds. With the help of a handful of older birders, I was finally able to go to some quality places for birdwatching. Across these two days, with Sussex in January and Norfolk earlier this month, I saw 20 new species of bird, with a great deal of entertainment along the way. I haven't had a chance to do a blog post about my trip to Norfolk yet, but the dawn-dusk visit included my best moment of birdwatching in the UK...

colour ringed Sanderling

Shorelark

2. London Young Birders Walks

    These walks really increased in popularity this year. As more young people now seem to want to meet up for the social aspect of birdwatching as much as the birdwatching itself, it was so good to be able to help lead these walks at London's best nature reserve, Rainham Marshes. 4 successful walks took place across the year; each walk was well-attended (over 15 different young people overall,) while the species seen numbered over 100 across all 4 walks, including Caspian Gulls, White Stork, Water Pipits, Cattle Egret, Wood Sandpiper and much more. The 3rd of January will see our first walk of 2019 for the Cameron Bespolka Trust, and will hopefully be the best one yet, especially with at least 13 people signing up already. For me, it's one of the highlights of my holidays, as it gives me a chance to take a step back from work and everything else, in the company of friends I can only wish to see more often, at a place I always enjoy visiting.

1st winter Caspian Gull

Young Birders

White Stork

1. SPURN

 
    This was by far and away the best thing I did all year and arguably the most enjoyable 5 days of my life. It had been a dream for many years to visit a bird observatory and visit Spurn, so being able to stay at the Spurn Bird Observatory for the BTO Young Leaders Course in August was just a dream come true. I couldn't have asked for anything more during the visit; I got to learn from some of the best at the BTO, go birding every day, all in the company of people that have now become close friends. Not often do I find myself learning and birding at the same time, in a community as tight as the Spurn area, where everyone's a friend. Seeing White-rumped Sandpiper, over 140 Willow Warblers which were practically dripping from the bushes and thousands of waders was just an added bonus. I can say for certain that at Spurn, I really did find my happy place, and so can't wait to go back. https://wildthingsandwings.blogspot.com/2019/12/spurn-day-5-9th-august-2019.html

Spurn at sunset (picture by Luke Hawkins)

Wood Sandpiper

juvenile Willow Warbler

White-rumped Sandpiper

The Wildlife/Birding Community - Young Birders:

    Realistically, I shouldn't have anything to complain about after such an amazing year for my nature hobby. Yet I've more or less ended it how I started it, where I've had some memorable experiences but still don't feel as happy. School is probably the biggest cause of this, and I'm really fed up of hearing the constant stupid jokes about birds; there's only so many times you can ignore it. Despite enjoying learning at my school, with the academics and sports side of it showing how lucky I am, it can still be a pain to deal with. As frustrating as it is, and as upset as it can make me feel, I know other people are suffering from similar problems.
    All I can hope for in 2020 is for people to be more supportive and actively tell those who make the comments to stop. After all, every one of us are 'normal' people - there's not a requirement to be a birdwatcher, or to like nature. It should be for everyone to respect and enjoy, and the fact it's seen as a weakness just seems stupid to me. From the pic below of some of the friends I've made this year, it's obvious that there's nothing to split us from someone who plays a sport or a musical instrument etc. At the end of the day, we're all normal people that like a 'normal' thing...
    In reality, I know that though I've tried to stop birdwatching a few times when in a bad mood, the thing I need the most when I'm not feeling great is nature; whatever it is about it, just the fresh air, and looking for things, or for me birdsong which always makes me smile, it does have the power to make you relax and feel a lot calmer. Just hearing a Redwing call in the miserable winter weather or a screaming swift in the summer has kept me going through stress, and so the idea of 'Bird Therapy' as written in a book by Joe Harkness does sit very well with me, as I don't think I'd be anywhere without it. If I could teach one thing to my school friends before 2020, it would be to just try and enjoy what the natural world has to offer; without birds and insects and foxes, the world would be a noticeably boring place, and if you don't realise that soon, by the time you do it'll be too late...
 

This may be a weird picture of young birders, but to me it shows what it's about perfectly. There's nothing different to a 'normal' group of 12-17 year olds. Just a group of young people having a great time out birdwatching, as many would when going to the cinema or playing a sport.

    However, much as I need wildlife, the thing I feel I need even more is the wildlife and birding community. This year, when I've often felt a bit isolated at school etc, I've become so reliant on this circle of people to keep me going. Without some of the older birdwatchers, such as Ed Stubbs, David Campbell, David Walsh and Shaun Ferguson to name a few, I'd never have been able to visit some of the places I'd been to, and so therefore owe a lot to them for offering to take me out, so I can forget any other problems and just enjoy birdwatching.
     But above all, the people that I owe the most to are without doubt the other young people I've got to know via Twitter. With the exception of one, the highlights of 2019 have been in the company of other people my age with similar interests to me. Meeting some of the young birders at Spurn, Birdfair and via the walks we've organised has given me the chance to take a step back and enjoy the company of people that respect me more; it's a shame that I could go a week without having much conversation with school friends in the holidays, yet now I'd feel terrible if none of the close friends I've made from the nature circle messaged me in a normal way. Without a doubt, all the young birders have become much more important to me than they may ever realise, and even if this is a bit one-sided because they have their own school friends, I really wish I could meet up with some of them more often. The thing I look forward to most always involves birding and people, which shows that although birdwatching by yourself can be fun, for me it's so much better with other people.

Some of #teamkittiwake at Birdfair

London Young Birders Walk #3 

London Young Birders Walk #4

Spurn

I apologise for the slight rant at the end of the post...

    Nonetheless, I'm extremely excited at entering a new year and new decade, where I'll continue to dream of seeing people appreciate the natural world more, and where I can enjoy birdwatching with young people as much as I have this year.
I'd like to wish all my readers a belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Spurn. Pic by Sam Levy