Sunday 20 April 2014

AFON & BTO Young Birders Workshop

I have been a member of A Focus On Nature since September 2013 and have gained a lot from them. I was invited to the New Networks for Nature "symposium" last November and really enjoyed the 2 day event networking with people from around the UK who work in the Nature field, including researchers, guides, wardens, photographers, artists, writers and conservationists. After asking for some binocular advice, I was offered a pair by Opticron, who sponsor AFON members, and am looking forward to using these in Sweden.
When I heard about the Young Birders Workshop, I knew I had to attend! It was held at the BTO head office in Thetford, which is a LONG way from Bangor! So I arranged to stop over with Matt (from ringing) who now lives in Rugby and was one of the "young" birders speaking at the event. Matt was also giving Ed a lift, so it was good to spend the evening speaking to him about his photography and writing, which I have enjoyed looking at through the AFON facebook page. 
An early start to get down to Thetford for 9.30 was hampered slightly by missing the intended junction and taking a detour down the motorway. Following Sat Nav seemed to be taking us a long way, so I cracked open the road map and found a better route, even enabling us to stop for McDonalds breakfast! I hate Sat Nav, so was quite happy to be playing navigator.
We arrived about 9am, which gave us some time to network before the event started. I was busy chatting to Peter about AFON when I got slightly (well, 3 seconds worth) star struck because Andy Clements, Director of the BTO came over and joined in our conversation! He asked where I had come from (picking up on the slightly Scottish twang) and when I said Bangor, he said that he had studied there. When he asked what I did, I said I had 2 days left at Asda, then I was off to Sweden to monitor Pied Flycatchers for the summer. He then told me about watching them in Aber when he was a student, and was very interested when I mentioned that I'd monitored them there last year. Someone then called him over, and we were told to take our seats for the start of the workshop. Andy opened with a quick welcome, and he name dropped me, which I consider a bit of a claim to fame... wonder if he'll remember me when I drop him an e-mail in a couple of months asking about a job?
The workshop started with a 4 minute introduction by some BTO staff explaining about their jobs and how they came to work for the BTO. I found this very informative as many had not followed what I considered the the traditional path of University, post grad with a few years in the ornithological field before getting the job. I was surprised by how many had come from IT background, but guess I shouldn't have been considering that I am one of the thousands who use the various programs and databases the BTO use to collect data from around the country (Birdtrack, IPMR etc). 
Following this, we got to choose 3 45 minute workshops to attend, each one highlighting a different area of the BTO's work. I chose to learn about Nest Recording from Dave Leech, who ensured us that when he first started he knew virtually nothing about nests. It was great to learn some tips about finding "wild" nests from him, although I must admit I quite like that many species will nest in boxes that we provide for them! We got a quick test on bird songs, as this can be used to help locate nests, and I was disappointed only get 1 out of 4 correct - definitely something I hope to improve over the summer! We then went outside into the grounds to find a few nests. I was surprised that the Chaffinch nest looked so much like a Long Tailed Tit nest, and that the female was definitely not going to leave her clutch of eggs. The Song Thrush left her nest, allowing us to see her clutch of three eggs using a handy mirror on the end of a pole. Dave then took us to a Blackbird nest and being a Ringer, he took a chick out of the nest to show us briefly the aging characteristics that are inputted to IPMR. 
Marsh Tit
I then joined an Introduction to Bird Ringing workshop, run by Jez Blackburn and assisted by Jacquie Clark (both of whom are very well known to Ringers) They had 4 bags waiting for us, and I liked trying to guess what was in the bag! The first bird was a "life tick" for me, as I don't recall ever seeing a Marsh Tit before. I've recently followed a few discussions about identifying the differences between Marsh and Willow Tits, but one of the main features is that Marsh Tits have a pale line running along their bill, which Jez showed to everyone in the audience. I was slightly jealous of Harry, who got the chance to release this lovely specimen as he was the only person who had not handled birds previously. I had guessed that one bag had a Blackbird in it due to the bouncing around, and we had two male Blackbirds and a lovely male Blackcap to finish the session with.
The last workshop I chose was Better Birding by Nick Moran, who I had spoken to at New Networks for Nature. His talks are always interesting and it was mostly a discussion on ways to improve your birding, whether that is by learning birdsongs, taking part in surveys such as WeBS, BBS, NRS, CES or RAS, keeping more records and submitting them to Birdtrack, reading more journals or publications or having some friendly competition and motivation by birding with friends. 
After lunch, which involved lots more networking, we sat down to hear from some Young Birders. It was amazing hearing about their experiences so far, and how they got involved with birding. Many have parents or other family members to thank for their passion for birds, and it was great that many of the parents had come with them too. As Lucy pointed out at the end, those of us who are currently looking for jobs in the field need to watch behind us with these youngsters snapping at our heels!
Following this, there was a discussion about Young Birders. There were some concerns raised about isolation and sometimes bullying by other youths towards birders. I understand where they came from, but my advice is simply to do what you love. If others don't understand why you spend your weekends out in all weathers looking for birds, then try and engage them. My friends quickly accepted that I had very different hobbies to them, and any friend worth keeping will have to deal with this. We also had a bit of a discussion about acceptance by the older generation of birders, including hide etiquette (something I must admit doesn't interest me much as I'm not a twitcher).
The day ended with more networking before the long journey home to Bangor. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and hope to visit Thetford again when I return from Sweden. Massive thanks to Lucy, AFON and BTO for organising a great day, and to Matt for driving down and back, and putting up with my "feedback" on his talk!


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