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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Young Birder (1 Viewer)

HI RR,
Good to read of your enthusiasm and your superbly apt coments re your average 12 - 15 yo,although must not use too wide a brush to tar them all with.
Having spent the last 20+ years teaching in primary school I have tried to develop a life long interest in natural history with children in my class. (Mini Colster was in my class although not too much birding etc done then.) I now run a school bird club, with monthly trips and weekly indoor meetings for powerpoint presentations on observation tips and spotting skills.
Regards myself, in 1960's I was member of the YOC (junior branch of RSPB) and each year went on organised holidays , staying at youth hostels and having guides to show you the local birds. My first, (still clear in my memory ) was er, now I'm sure I can remember, was Northumberland. Visited Farne Islands, Holy Island, Cheviots and local beaches. coming from city centre of Liverpool just about everything I saw was new (peregrine, puffin, purple sandpiper just to name the p's.
Don't know if these type of holiday/courses are now stioll available. I was 11 when I went ot Northumberland. Whole trip was just such a growing up experience for me before secondary school. I had to get train from Liverpool to Newcastle, changing at Leeds, Doncaster and York before getting a bus to Alnwick.
I appreciate in today's climate much more difficult for youngsters to travel alone but through this site, should meet some local birders who would be willing to help but beware of the obvious.
I wish you well and if you ever find a cheap way to get to Stansted airport by bus on a Saturday our local bird club visits areas around South East. Always welcome to join in.
Check out: www.fly.to/bsbg
I wish you well,
Jono
 
Jono - You obviously did a good job on mini-colster! I keep talking to him on msn and he really knows his stuff!
Dan (dwayne950) said about an RSPB Phoenix trip to Scotland, Norfolk and Lancs, which sounds great! I'm gonna look into that more, but dan said he would send me some info - it hasn't arrived yet! lol
I'd love to visit the Farne Islands, and to go to Holy Island again - the one time I've been there I did very little birding but I still managed to see several Roseate Terns. :)
I've had a look at the website you mentioned and it looks fantastic to me, especially the last trip you did, which, had I gone, would have provided me with six lifers! I'll ask Mum about it but, Mum being Mum, there are certainly no guarantees. I'm still trying to persuade her to take me to Draycote Water soon!
Cheers!
 
Hi all,
I can't believe it, I didn't know that that many young birders even existed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My British List is 165, my yearlist is 142, and my lifelist is 270 (I've been to India). I keep a local patch list which is 75, latest goodies being Firecrest, Barn Owl and Grasshopper Warbler.
Hope to chat to you all soon.
Cheers, Jyothi
p.s. I'm 12 and have been birding for 5 years
:hi: :hi: :hi:
B :)
:D
 
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Jyothi, if you have MSN, I've PM'd you my addy, feel free to add me if you want. If you don't, then please let me know.

Just to update on my current situation:

My lifelist now stands at 176, with my year list at 138, and both are growing all the time - aiming to reach 200 BOU on my lifelist by the end of the year - fingers crossed.

I'm still going on the local RSPB group trips, and on the latest one Dan was going to be at the same location at the same time as me, purely by good fortune. That was at Lakenheath, fantastic views of a male Golden Oriole perched in the open, through Dan's 'scope - Thanks for that!

No twitching yet, but working on it, perhaps in the not too distant future...

Happy birding,

Sam
 
Hi Barn Owl, and all you young birders.

I'm not as young as many of you (19), but I suppose I would still regard myself as a 'young' birder.

Despite my elderly status (comparatively ;) ), I have only been birding for a year and a bit. In that time without being able to drive, or have anyone else to drive me, I have a life list of 169, and a year list of 153 (not really many rare birds in it, except Cattle Egret) I usually cycle around my local area, and sometimes I will go by train a bit further afield. As you can imagine there is not alot of twitching (although I have got Great Grey Shrike, Black-throated Diver, and Hawfinch through this method).

As Barn Owl has said, joining your local RSPB group is hugely beneificial to you as a birder, you get to know others birders, and you share in thier skills and experience (like you Barn Owl, I am the only young person in my group).

Happy birding (whatever your age). :t:

Sean
 
Hi Sean,

My parents still say they are 'young at heart', so obviously 19 is practically a toddler ;)

You're not doing bad for the length of time you've been birding, especially without a car! Maybe train-birding is the way to go (parent-allowing)

The rarest bird on my list is probably Ring-necked Duck, about 20 mins from my house

Sam
 
Also a young birder, interested in birds since birth. (My first coherent word was bird :eek!: ) Seriously birding for a few years, life list (all USA) 239 birds (give or take a species) and the rarest bird on my list is the California Condor I saw in Grand Canyon. My dad takes me birding, as he also birds. Favorite guide is The Sibley Guide to Birds, favorite bird book is Condor by John Neilsen. Favorite birds are birds of prey. I've traveled around the country, visiting national parks and camping. Last year I went to 21 national parks, and added a good number of birds to my life list. Wherver I go, i'm am always birdwatching. Schoolyard, field trip, friend's house, anywhere. By the way, just a question for you other young birders, what do you friends think of your love of birds? (Mine tolerate to a degree, but it gets on their nerves when we're biking and I yell "Osprey!")
 
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Hi,

I'm not sure what to call myself, but I guess I was a young birder two years ago (when I started birding at 16). My life list is 243, and my birding has been rather sporadic, due to spending on excessive amount of schoolwork. I don't know any young birders in this area, although I do know some peers whose parents are birders. I was formerly interested in mammals, insects, reptiles and all aspects of natural landscape, but didn't had too much interest in birding until a local birder introduced me the hobby. Our family doesn't really travel for serious birding, but we often happen to stop by birdy destinations, which gives me some opportunities. My birding began in a nearby local man-made reservoir.

On the other note, my last day of high school is in three days!!! YIPPEEEEE!!! :D Strangely, I don't feel much different.

Tim
 
Nice to see so many young birders communicating so well.

Me, well I am young in the head and that's about it. :'D
 
At 23 I am probably no longer 'young' in the sense used on this thread.

I pretty much never encountered anyone my age when I was a teenage birder. Around this time, I served for a while on the committee of the Fife Branch of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. When I was introduced, the chairperson said "our other new member is Jonathan Dean (me), who will respresent our younger members." "i.e. I represent myself," I muttered under my breath: only a few us were below 45!

I am therefore pleased to see a new crop of folk younger than myself.
 
aythya_hybrid said:
When I was introduced, the chairperson said "our other new member is Jonathan Dean (me), who will respresent our younger members." "i.e. I represent myself," I muttered under my breath: only a few us were below 45!
Click to expand...
I know that feeling! My local Audubon chapter said basically the same thing when I was introduced (My dad and I both brought the median age down a few decades). I have yet to meet another young birder in person. By the way, what milestone (150, 200, 350, etc.)are you guys closest to? I'm 11 away from 250. It was annoying to go on a bird walk and get a buch of lifers, only to find they left me one below 240.
 
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Hi, I'm Hubert, i'm form Poland and i'm young birder ;-) (17).
I'm seriously interested in birds for 5 years. My lifelist is 202 in Poland and 213 in whole world. The rarest bird is probably Lesser Sand Plover (can be Lesser Mongolina plover, I don't know which name is being used in English Language, BTW second sighting in Poland :] ). I'm member of OTOP's Warsaw Group. It is local group of Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (like RSPB but in Poland). If somebody is planning to visit Poland (especially near Warsaw), he/she can ask me about the best place for birding. Warsaw Group arranges trips(one they or few days) and everybody can join us. :]
 
Hi Hubert,

In Britain the current name is Lesser Sand Plover, in fact I've never heard of a Lesser Mongolian Plover. Not too many sightings in Britain either, though I think a fair few more than two, probably due to a proportionately larger population of birders.

Out of interest, what is the current Polish list?

Sam
 
444 species had been recorded in Poland. During last year there were a lot of changes. One new species has been added to the national avifauna – the Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla, but one had been removed from list :/ because of one birder. He is swindler and it was proved to him. All of his reports was invalidated. But a few species was added due to genetic research. Here is website of polish Avifaunistic Commission:
http://www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/komfaun/index.html (also in English).

Polish club 300:
http://www.club300.pl/ This site is not in English yet.
 
Well, of course we have stringers over here, but nothing that serious, or at least, nothing that I know of. Please somebody correct me if I am indeed wrong!

Sam
 
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