BirdGuides

WHICH WAY NOW? Hi! My name is Toby Carter and currently I work for Rare Bird Alert as part of their Bird News Team. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always had a keen interest in nature, with birds the main focus, especially after visiting Titchwell Marsh RSPB during a summer event in which seeing my first avocets and oystercatchers was the catalyst of what was to come. Usually when you’re picking universities the standard way is to find the course you want to take and then look at which universities offer that course. Well, after college, I wanted to explore somewhere new with only two boxes that needed ticking: mountains and coastline. There aren’t many options that top Bangor University, NorthWales. In September 2019 I started studying Environmental Conservation and having graduated with a 2:1 I can proudly say this choice wasn’t a mistake: not only was the landscape spectacular (and damp to say the least at times), but also the birding was amazing, from lekking black grouse to goshawks circling above the city and dotterels every spring on the Great Orme. After graduating, I worked part-time for Focalpoint Optics helping with their social media and online presence until November 2021 when I was lucky enough to get my current role at Rare Bird Alert whereby, using many different sources including Twitter and reports sent in directly, bird news from across the United Kingdom and Ireland is distributed for our customers who use any of our different services including Pagers, App, Website and Text Alerts. What has been most rewarding so far, I’ve found, is putting out news on a rare species and then seeing that particular bird at a later stage. A good example is the belted kingfisher that wintered in Lancashire: after putting out news for weeks. praying it would stay, at the end of January I finally connected with this bird. On the side I’m also an ambassador for Zeiss Optics and have been since October 2020, which has allowed me to test and use their best optics, attend events and represent Zeiss, showing the public what they have to offer. Their Harpia scope is particularly impressive, worth checking out if you’ve never looked through one before, let alone their amazing binocular range, but of course other optical companies are available and with optics it does always come down to individual preference. Hello! My name is Abbie Burrows and I am currently the Visitor Experience Officer at Elmley Nature Reserve.  My route to achieving my dream role was a little different from others, I studied ecology and animal behaviour at college and was indecisive about my next step, as there was so much that I wanted to do with my life. Therefore, I decided to work a couple of jobs for two years and travel the world, instead of attending university, as I felt as though I needed more life experience beforehand, to help guide me.  I travelled across Asia, Australia and South America over a four-year period. I took part in a wide variety of voluntary conservation projects, lived in rehabilitation centres and several months in the Amazon. I spent a lot of time throughout this period tour-guiding, in mostly the cultural and wildlife sectors, which is where I discovered my passion for guiding.  My current role, as a Visitor Experience Officer, is an extremely rewarding and fulfilling one. I manage the walking tours, children’s activities, engagement and the membership community. I absolutely love educating our guests at Elmley and taking a step with them into the natural world, showing guests their first ever wild owl, boxing hares, or innumerable marsh harriers diving into reedbeds with a pinky/red sunset backdrop is just phenomenal each and every day. I aim to guide the public onto the right path on how to respect and behave around nature, and at the same time to enjoy it! I have ventured across the world and made so many memories, yet this role is my biggest thrill and adventure yet.  For anyone seeking a role like mine, or something similar, I would recommend gaining some life experience and as much related voluntary work as you can from a young age, before committing to university or any other large undertaking. University can be attended at any age, admittedly at a cost the later you leave it. However, exploring the world moulded me into who I am today, whilst gaining the experience I needed. You do not have to take the expected path – you have the right to choose your own. Hoping for a career in conservation? Three young people share their experience and give you some tips Hi! My name is Alex Masterman, and I work as an animal keeper and wildlife rehabilitator! Though I’ve always loved animals my passion for conservation really sprouted when I did my Bachelors degree in Zoo Biology at Nottingham Trent University. The degree contained a placement where I got my first conservation-based paid job at Shepreth Hedgehog Hospital as a care assistant. It was because of this that after graduation I started volunteering at Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Rescue which eventually led to an offer of a paid full-time job. This allows me the best of both worlds, getting to work with the resident animals as well as taking part in the rescues. I assist in the rescues and releases of wild grey and harbour seal pups, their care whilst in the Sanctuary, as well as any other wildlife that comes in, especially birds such as dunnocks, goldfinches and house martins, but specifically, seabirds like guillemots, gannets and several species of gulls. I really enjoy such a hands-on job and especially giving these animals a second chance at life. I got my opportunity through volunteering, experience and showing a keen interest – this is the best way in! Research your local wildlife rescue and ask about volunteering and ask lots of questions, as passion and determination are exactly what these places look for. 32 j G LOBAL B IRDFAIR 2022