Watch the Birdies

There is a lot of talk about our ‘formative years’ and what that means. It can apply to life principles, friends you make, music you like, sports you partake in, politics and so many other topics.

For me today I want to highlight a particular few years from aged 12 that formed me in several respects that I still appreciate 40 years later.

One of my best friends at the time became interested in ornithology. Studying birds. She spoke with such enthusiasm for her new hobby that I started to go with her.

Soon we were members of our local Young Ornithologist Club that organised coach trips on weekends. Green cagoules, a guide book of British Birds and a pair of binoculars and we were off!

We were visiting new nature reserves identifying birds and recording what all we had seen in a notebook. What was soon very apparent, to me anyway, was that it was not just about birds.

It was about being outside in nature. Every trip was different. The habitat changed, the landscape differed and that influenced the birds you would see in any environment. We spent time at lakes, rivers, woods, dales, wetlands, mountains and at the sea. Members of the club were just as diverse and interesting to me. Of course many wanted to spot birds with expensive telescopes, but a few were interested in art and sat sketching, a couple were interested in photography and had incredible cameras. Others were not into the birds but enjoyed the company of a group and the places the trips went. Every aspect of the trips was enriching.

Even now the almost magical names of reserves hold great affection to me. Blacktoft Sands, Fairburn Ings, Loch Leven, Filey Brigg, Blakeney Point, Mawddach Valley, Minsmere, Bempton Cliffs, Marazion Marsh are clumped together to me. All we did was jump in the coach and a few hours later we were there.

My view of the UK was formed right there on those trips. It was all just one place; I never saw borders for Wales, England or Scotland. I was oblivious to them being separate countries.

The bird club would also involve work parties where we were helping with managing woodlands, we were planting trees, clearing reed beds, creating hedgerows, netting/ringing migratory birds. It taught us at a young age about the importance of a healthy eco-systems, biodiversity and sustainability.

After a few years with the RSPB the lure of motorbikes won! I’m pleased to say my friend kept going and went on to a career as a full-time warden in different reserves around the UK. I continued being a volunteer helper with her. We would erect fences, build beehives, make footpaths, dig out ponds from dragonflies, plant wildflowers meadows (properly!), count deer numbers, we tested reservoir water samples and organise local work parties.

To this day I just love being outside in nature among wildlife. We sometimes even walk in the woods among trees I remember planting as saplings!