Last weekend (16-18th October) we ran our first Young Birders Club Residential at Cameron’s Cottage, RSPB Franchises Lodge in the New Forest!

Our Young Birders Club was established two years ago, running successful free day events like bird boats, ringing demos, and conservation talks for young people aged 13-18 and made possible due to funding from the Cameron Bespolka Trust. It’s been fantastic to see this group grow to over 200 members, providing a community for like-minded young naturalists and birders looking to gain experience and understanding of birds and conservation whilst finding peers interested in the natural world. It’s been a real joy to see the club go from strength to strength. Some months back we had the idea to develop this even further, by putting on a residential weekend, using a wonderful site in the New Forest, Cameron’s Cottage. Set in RSPB’s only nature reserve in the New Forest, Franchises Lodge, it’s a private site, making it very peaceful and ideal for connecting with nature.

14 young people from across the south-west joined us for our first residential, arriving after finishing school on the Friday. We started off the weekend with some fun icebreakers, mostly bird-related, which went down well! Food was provided, with the BoPH cooking up vegan food throughout the weekend. It was an early night, as we had a busy day ahead with an early start! A 6am wake-up allowed us to get out before it got light for a morning of birding. We headed to some of the nearby heathland just outside of the reserve and were treated with a stunning sunrise. Highlights of the morning included an adult White-tailed Eagle, a first for many of the group, alongside a flock of 5 Hawfinch flying overhead! We then headed back to the cottage for a second breakfast, whilst recording what moths we’d caught in the moth trap overnight, including the very pretty Merveille du Jour.

The RSPB then lead some brilliant activities for the group, including a team building session, a talk about the habitat management and conservation on site, and the groups favourite, rhododendron clearing. It was fantastic to see everyone getting involved and understanding the importance of effectively managing sites like this. The last activity of the day was a night wildlife walk, where we saw some glow-in-the-dark fungi using a UV torch, and a couple of bat species including Common Pipistrelle. After a busy day, everyone was ready for dinner and some rest, before the moment everyone had been waiting for, the evening bird quiz! The groups split into teams and answered questions on a range of bird topics, including a feather ID quiz.

The next day started bright and early, with a 6am wake-up call. We headed out to meet Marcus Ward and the team from Wild New Forest for a bird ringing demonstration on a site from outside of the reserve. Marcus explained the importance of bird ringing alongside his other work in the forest monitoring Pine Marten which was fascinating. A nice range of species were caught, including Redwing, Goldcrest, Firecrest, and a control (already ringed) Marsh Tit. Whilst at the ringing table, we could do some vis-mig (visible migration) and watch over 300 Redwing arriving back in from Scandinavia alongside a few Fieldfare.

We then headed back to the cottage, identifying a range of fungi on the way, and trying to see as many species as possible for our day list. After a rest, we went to collect the trail cameras we had put out on the Friday evening, and started going through the moth trap. The anticipation was high for finding out what species had been seen from the cameras. After going through the footage, Badger was the highlight! The weekend ended with a summary talk, sharing photos we’d taken over the weekend. It was lovely to hear all of the young birders favourite moments and species seen. These included the White-tailed Eagle, the rhododendron clearing, and simply spending time with like-minded young naturalists.

Thank you to everyone who made the weekend possible – the Cameron Bespolka Trust, the RSPB, Wild New Forest, and our volunteers Izzy and Kate. These opportunities are so important for nurturing the next generation of conservationists and we hope to be able to run another residential again soon!