Inspiring youngsters
Teenager Alex White explains how his passion for all things wildlife has encouraged him to campaign for a better future
Iactually can’t remember much about it, but my old pre-school teacher regularly egularly reminds me that, as a three- or four-year-old, I would spend most of my hours standing at the window watching the birds outside on the tress, and continually asking what they were called. By the time I left for primary school I probably knew more bird names than letters of the alphabet.
This experience, together with my mum taking me Badger-watching and a very enthusiastic teacher at primary school, is what kickstarted and encouraged what I hope to be a lifelong interest in not only birds but all wildlife and nature.
I’m not particularly well known in the wildlife community for birdwatching. My interest encompasses all species, from butterflies and beetles, to birds and Badgers, basically whatever turns up on my local patch. I can’t speak for all of my generation, but many young people that I have come in contact with over the past few years, whether on social media, at conferences, or in local groups, have a similar, all-embracing approach.
Perhaps this is because we have grown up, and particularly in the past few years, with the devastating statistics about the ecological crisis and State of Nature reports that have been published, we (my generation) and others have come to realise that it isn’t enough to just watch birds, we have to step up and do something.
See the wider picture
I’ve been on numerous species-focused walks and surveys and to several talks, and what becomes apparent is that many members of each species-specific group (for example bats, moths and butterflies, birds or mammals), are fiercely protective over their chosen field of interest, or expertise. While this is amazing and is to be celebrated, sometimes the wider picture is forgotten about, or becomes just a second thought.
Each individual species is just a tiny part of the overall ecosystem, and each tiny part can’t live in isolation. When one species starts to decline, disappears or becomes out of sync with the natural order of things, it can create a domino effect.
A case in point is the timing of our native birds laying their eggs. Great Tits are laying their eggs 11 days earlier than 40 years ago. This can mean that as the eggs hatch, the chance of survival of the chicks may decrease if their natural food source (caterpillars) is not yet available.
What I love the most when photographing, filming, or just watching birds and other wildlife, is noticing the patterns change throughout the year, the comings and goings of certain birds that mark the changing of the seasons.
Perilous journey
I have a contact on social media that lives in South Africa and each February they post that the Swallows around the Cape of Good Hope are gathering and getting ready to leave.
I wait and wonder where they are on their perilous journey. Until the first ones, usually the males, arrive on my local patch around the third week in April, heralding the coming of summer.
They dart and dash around the nearby
ON MANY OCCASIONS, I HAVE USED BIRDS AND THEIR EVENING CHORUS TO COUNT DOWN THE TIME WHILE WAITING FOR THE BADGERS TO EMERGE FROM THE SETT...
fields, feeding their young on the wires over the garden, until suddenly, around the beginning of October, the noise of their chattering, that had slipped into being background noise, is silent, firmly marking autumn. The more you watch the birds on a familiar patch, the more the interconnections between those birds and the surrounding wildlife become evident. I would like to share an experience with you to demonstrate this…
As I’m walking through the woods, a tiny Wren notices my presence and sends out an alarm call. In the distance, a Nuthatch picks up the warning and joins in to let the wood know that there is possible danger about. Through the gaps in the trees, a vixen trotting through the Bluebells, twitches her ears to listen to these signals, puts her head down, and disappears quickly behind the brambles. Is she using the bird’s warnings for her own safety?
On many occasions, I have used birds and their evening chorus to count down the time while waiting for the Badgers to emerge from the sett.
During the spring, while sitting up against an oak tree, surrounded by birds flitting from branch to branch, I notice the Blue and Great Tits disappear first, shortly followed by the absence of the Wrens. The Jackdaws at the other side of the wood are flying in and settling down, and around the sett, the Robins come to the end of their songs.
Finally, the last Blackbird falls silent and, within a few moments of that happening, the first black-and-white stripy head appears. I often wonder whether this
is pure coincidence, or the Badgers can hear the birds underground and wait for the silence, but more likely something in the change in air temperature that signals to both birds and Badgers that the night is approaching.
If anyone knows, I would be glad to hear from them.
Young are raising awareness
Plenty of young people I see around me are passionate, they care about the environment and want to protect it. We are worried about our future, and not only about our future, but about the future of animals we share our planet with, and the land that we stand on.
You only have to look at the youth climate strikes and rise in the number of young people taking to social media to raise awareness of plastic pollution, fossils fuels, wildlife crime and environmental destruction, to see that young people and others are keen to get involved and stand up for what they care about.
However, for every person that is out there doing the best they can, there are still hundreds more who don’t connect that the clothes they buy, the food they eat, or the way they behave has an impact, not only in our local area, but on the world around us.
Back to the toddler me, standing at the pre-school window watching the birds. Children are interested, they have a natural curiosity about the world they live in and the creatures they share it with. Young children stop and absorb minute details, the way one bird flies differently from another, the subtle changes of colours on a bird’s wing, or the different notes in a bird song.
If encouraged and nurtured, this passion stays for a lifetime. It may be pushed in to the background at certain stages in life, such as exams, but equally can be used to relieve stress.
Whether it’s birdwatching or general nature-watching that interests you, an all-embracing approach can only be a good thing.
About the author: Alex White, aged 16, is a wildlife photographer, blogger and author. Since the age of 10, he has won a number of photography awards. He has appeared on panels and spoken to audiences about his love of wildlife, from small local gatherings to BBC TV’s Springwatch Unsprung. Alex is passionate about British wildlife and keen to show other people how to find amazing wildlife on their doorstep.