MEET THE AUTHOR Kit Jewitt
The birder tells us about his recent project inspired by Britain’s red-listed birds.
Why did you create this book?
I have been fundraising for birds for a few years now, through Probable Bird Society, which I co-founded with my friend, Stew Graham. We have raised money for hen harriers and curlew, amongst others, but reading the Birds of Conservation Concern list, known as the UK ‘red list’, I realised that so many other birds need help, too. The main aim of the book is to raise funds for BTO and RSPB, for their crucial work to help red-list species, but also to bring the red list to a wider audience and hopefully inspire people to take action themselves, whatever that might be. This book is a call-to-arms.
How did you manage to get 134 people to contribute to the book?
Purely by brass-necking it! I have met or interacted online with a lot of brilliant people over the past few years and when the idea formed in my head, I contacted people such as Chris Packham, Melissa Harrison, Rob Cowen and Ben Garrod, to see if the idea had legs. Having a few well-known wildlife advocates on board helped give the project some credibility and it snowballed from there. The book would not have happened if not for those early adopters and others, such as Derek Niemann, who helped me to reach more contributors. Some of the artists, such as Matt Sewell, had also supported a previous fundraising project, #99Birds, and were happy to take part again.
Why did you choose to write about the redwing?
The redwing is mainly a winter visitor here, but there is a tiny, dwindling breeding population in the Highlands, hence its inclusion on the red list. I love all thrushes, but particularly like the fact that redwings arrive at the onset of winter and lift our spirits when the days get cold and short. I also have a cool story about redwings that I mention in the book.
Do you think that any of the redlisted birds will become extinct as a breeding species in the UK?
It may already have happened – golden oriole and fieldfare last bred in the UK in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Breeding turtle dove and whimbrel populations are decreasing at alarming rates, and these could well follow the likes of wryneck and serin as birds that are now considered extinct as breeding species in the UK.