Young birders take the prize at Spurn Migfest

The 2024 Martin Garner Spurn Young Birders have been put through their paces, testing their general birding and identification at the Spurn Migration Festival, and the winners have been named.

10 October 2024

The Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder (MGSYB) awards celebrate and highlights the remarkable enthusiasm of keen young birdwatchers. Six youngsters, who have crafted their ornithological skills, knowledge and fieldcraft, are selected from the many impressive entries and invited to Migfest, where they set out to impress the judges via a series of challenges.

Reaching the finals is in itself a huge achievement, and the six finalists are split into two categories: a 'junior category' for those ‘13 and under’ and a 'senior category' for those aged 14 to 16.

The chosen six young birders have to demonstrate their skill, identifying birds in the field and answering questions related to four distinct habitat types: Estuary Watch, Seawatching, Visible Migration and Birding the Bushes. Also, part of the assessment includes an indoor theory session where they are assessed on bird calls and songs, topography, and general knowledge questions.

The finalist with the highest score in their respective age category were awarded the top prize. Edgar Joly, aged 11 was the winner of the junior grouping, while Sam O'Donnell aged 16, was awarded top marks in the senior category. Close behind this outstanding pair were the remaining junior finalists Felix Urwin (12), and Milo Dawes (11), and seniors Hugo (14) and Jac French (14).

All participants were presented with an award to recognise their achievement, along with membership packages from sponsors Rare Bird Alert, British Birds and Oriental Bird Club, alongside BTO and Spurn Bird Observatory. The two winners also received a pair of Opticron (junior category) and Swarovski (senior category) binoculars.

The competition was initially launched in 2015 by the late Martin Garner, a well-known and highly respected birder. A pioneer in bird identification, Martin was also devoted to helping develop the skills and knowledge of young birders. The competition was renamed the Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder award in honour of his memory, after he passed away in 2016.

Sarah Harris, Spurn Bird Observatory Chair, said “Every year, we are amazed by the incredibly high standard of bird identification and general knowledge of these young birders; the judges often remark how they themselves would have struggled with some of the questions that these finalists sailed through! One thing we noticed at Spurn Migfest this year was the encouraging number of younger people who were present. We hope that this event, among others, will continue to engage young people with birding and showcase the skills we need to ensure continued monitoring of our birdlife, and in turn, how we conserve it."

Sarah continued " Well done to everyone who applied to take part in the MGSYB 2024 and we’ll look forward to meeting yet more inspiring ‘ornithologists of tomorrow’ at Spurn in 2025!”

Martin Garner Spurn Young Birder finalists and assessors - Jonathan Dodds

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